Coonyham Maine Coons

[Coonyham kittens]
These three darling kittens include two six-week old brown tabby males and in the center, an eight week old blue tabby and white female. On the left is SGC, IW Coonyham Antonio Banderas of Hojpoj (aka Bandit) and on the right is his littermate, Coonyham O'Malley. Bandit grew up to be a very beautiful Maine Coon and he is indulged constantly by Brad and Toni Jones in San Antonio. O'Malley lives the good life in Visalia, CA with the Moccio family. In the center is QGC Coonyham Mirabella of Guardian Angel who lives in Japan. All three of these adorable kittens were sired by SGC, IW, OS/GC Coonyham Navarro who is now retired.

Coonyham Maine Coons - we are located in two locations in California's San Francisco Bay Area, where we have been showing and breeding Maine Coons since 1989. We are breeder members of the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association (MCBFA), having joined MCBFA in 1989. Coonyham-bred Maine Coons have been shown in many domestic and international cat associations. We personally enjoy showing our cats and kittens with The International Cat Association (TICA). We have a favorite look and expression that is distinctively "Coonyham". Our cats are large, healthy and typey and for the most part, they show well with a "look" is generally well received in most cat associations worldwide. Internationally, our cats have competed with some of the best cats being shown in all breeds and they have competed well. :-) Not only have we bred fourteen TICA International Winners and numerous TICA Supreme Grand Champions, TICA Outstanding Sires and Dams but we have also bred a number of CFA Grand Champions, Grand Premiers and CFA Regional Winners. One handsome male we bred - DM, GC Coonyham Surfer Dude of XTC recently achieved his CFA DM by siring 15+ CFA Grand Champions. Congratulations to his owners - RC and Mary Smith of XTC Maine Coons. Our own most memorable achievements have been to twice earn "TICA Maine Coon Cat of the Year" with our males Navarro and Rough Rider. Those small black and orange ribbons and titles means more to us than any other award, trophy or rosette earned by our cats. :-)

Showing cats permits one to develop friendships with breeders and exhibitors around the world. We enjoy exhibiting our cats and have shown them at cat shows over much of North America and Western Europe promoting both TICA and Maine Coons in general. The Coonyham cattery name is registered in ACFA, CFA and TICA. It is also gratifying to breed cats who have contributed in some small way to other breeders' breeding programs. Maine Coons are made up large and long, interwoven families. It can be humbling and exciting to make up a portion of a pedigree. Our success is built on the trust of those breeders who have sold us our cats, permitted us to use their studs and also to those breeders who came before them. No cat springs up from nowhere - we thank those who have helped us. Our success is their success as well. :-)

What we do?

Maine Coons are wonderful companions and this is why we breed them. We breed for a healthy, typey, large lapcat with a wonderful personality. We are committed to breeding only healthy and sound cats; therefore we ultrasound the hearts of our breeding cats over the age two for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and we also screen for hip displasia via x-ray (usually between 1-2 years of age). We want to produce beautiful kittens who are both a tribute to their parents and an excellent example of the breed. We've added photos of kittens sold as pets to our photo-album page because we feel that every Coonyham Maine Coon is a star. :-) While our goal is to create gorgeous show quality kittens, we will usually have beautiful pet-companion quality kittens available as well. Every so often, we will have an older, retired adult available (these are usually spayed females) for adoption. We are interested in Maine Coon rescue and have our name listed with several local shelters so check out our special page on possible rescued or special needs Maine Coons if this interests you. While we don't breed for quantity (in fact, we have only one litter per year); we do breed for quality, health and a super loving temperament in our kittens. The show successes are just the icing. That said, here are the answers to some of the most frequent questions we are asked...

What color....?

Our kittens are produced in a variety of colors; usually brown, blue and red tabbies and torbies (tortoiseshell tabbies) with and without white markings. Occasionally, we have silver and red-silver tabby kittens. A few years ago, we've had some fun solid colors - black, black and white, tortoiseshell and blue-tortoiseshell. Tori is homozygous for silver and since she is a smoke tortie (i.e. is a solid or self cat), she has produced black smokes, red smokes and smoke tortoiseshells. What's left? Since we concentrate on type, health, size and temperament, we let Mother Nature play around with the colors (and recessive genes for solid and dilute). We know the genetic color possibilities, but the end results are often capricious and fun. :-)

How big....?

Our adult Maine Coons are typically within the average size and weights of 14-18 pounds for males and 9-12 pounds for females but we do sometimes have males and females who are larger than average. We do NOT breed for size nor emphasize size in our breeding program so if you are looking for the largest cat possible, please look elsewhere. We cannot guarantee size and have had the smallest kitten in the litter turn out to be the largest adult at maturity - go figure.

What do they look like....?

If you would like, you can virtually tour our cattery, starting with the males or the females. We have had a lot of success in showing brown tabbies both with and without white, but many folks who have seen Sundance, Santana, Navarro or Lone Star winning at cat shows may not know that we have Coonyham stars in different colors and patterns such as solid black, red tabby, silver tabby and blue tabby and white.

Where can I find a Maine Coon Cat....?

There are many Maine Coon breeders in the USA and Canada (and in other countries). Most are dedicated to the protection, preservation and promotion of the breed. Anyone desiring a well socialized, loving companion kitten or adult is welcome to contact us. We prefer to sell our pet kittens and retired adults locally. Our show quality kittens have been sold to loving homes throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan.

We urge anyone looking for a pet kitten to check out their local Maine Coon breeders. Also, if you're considering a kitten from a breeder, see TICA's pet kitten brochure on what to expect from a responsible breeder. We and other Maine Coon breeders welcome inquiries from serious, responsible pet owners who will keep their kittens safely indoors, protected from harm and stresses, will not declaw their kittens and who will alter their pet kittens prior to six months of age. We have been altering most of our pet kittens prior to their leaving us at 12 weeks of age or older and the results have been great!

We have kittens available very infrequently so please check out our list of available pet kittens if you are interested in being owned by a great big, beautiful, bundle of love from Coonyham.

Other sources of information on Maine Coons....?

We suggest you read the Maine Coon FAQ sheet. Consider joining MCBFA, the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association, as a fancier member which will give you the quarterly Scratch Sheet newsletter.

How can I find you....?

Coonyham Maine Coons is Sharon, Laura and Joe Cunningham - our cats are our beloved friends and companions and we have homes - not catteries. We are not a *business* with open hours but we will make appointments for people who are seriously looking to purchase a Maine Coon kitten or adult AND who are interested in the kittens/cats which we are currently offering. You may reach us by e-mail at info @ coonyham.com .

We are located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please be persistent if you are truly interested in a kitten or cat from us as we sometimes get swamped with our other lives and with travel. And we breed very infrequently now, sorry!

Our cat club, Fog City Cat Club, which we founded in 1999, puts on a nice show every year. We hope to see you at the next Fog City Cat Club show in Pleasanton, November 28-29, 2009

Thank you for your interest in this wonderful breed of cat and we hope you enjoy visiting our web site. We have hundreds of photos and links embedded throughout the pages but we have avoided putting animations, music and large photos up in order to speed up the site's load time - Enjoy! Laura & Sharon

Our web site was originally designed for us by Jean Marie Diaz of Ambar Maine Coons. Thank you Jean!!

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Last modified: October 3, 2009