Why Are Maine Coon Cats So Expensive? Here Is The Real Reason

Let me guess, you are thinking about getting a Maine Coon? So you did your research and after seeing the price for such a Maine Coon cat you almost had to cry? Yes? Well, I understand that. We also paid around $1200 for our Maine Coon cat.

The question is, why are Maine Coon cats so expensive? Let me explain it to you. I am sure after reading why they are so expensive you will think differently about the price.

Actually, Maine Coon cats are not expensive at all if you see it from a different point of view. If a breeder has kittens that are going to be sold, all kittens have to be checked and vaccinated by a vet. The vet doesn´t do that for free, so the breeder has to spend money a lot of money before making any money. A serious Maine Coon breeder will feed the Maine Coon mother and the kittens only high-quality cat food to make sure that the kittens grow and stay healthy. A male cat marks it´s territory if it is not neutered. This is another thing a breeder has to deal with as it does not smell nice. Often breeders have to change all their furnishings because the male cat has marked it and the smell doesn´t go away anymore. Actually, breeders make almost no money with breeding Maine Coon cats.

So what does that mean in detail and what does that mean for you? Actually, you can get Maine Coon cats for less money than you think, but you have to be smart and to have to know your stuff.

This article will show you exactly what you should look out for. With this knowledge, you will be able to negotiate a lower price.

Maine Coon Price – What Do They Cost?

Regular house cats are pretty easy to get and it costs almost no money. Everywhere people are trying to sell their kittens and they do that for a very low price. You can even often find kittens that you can get for free or you could adopt a cat from a shelter.

Most Maine Coon cats cost around $1000. It always depends where you buy your Maine Coon, but if you buy your cat from a respected breeder, this is the price you should expect.

Why They Are So Expensive

Breeding regular house cats is not hard at all and it does not involve a lot of costs. A lot of times people who “breed” regular house cats do not even have to deal with the male cat. They just have a female outdoor cat and one day it comes home and they notice that the cat is pregnant.

The regular house cat gets fed like always, the kittens are born and nothing really changes. The only work those “breeders” have is that they have to make sure that all the kittens are fine and they have to clean the house or room where the kittens live.

Because, well, newborn kittens don´t know how to use the bathroom yet.

Then, most of the times, after 8 weeks (it should always be 12 weeks or more) the kittens can be found for sale on the internet. Without any documents, without being vaccinated, without being tested for health issues or similar stuff.

Here Is How A Respected Breeder Raises Maine Coon Kittens

With Maine Coon cats, or with any other purebred cat, this is totally different. The female cat does not simply come home and the breeder notices it is pregnant. Maine Coon cats that are used for breeding are never outdoor cats.

The breeder has a female and a male Maine Coon cat that meets all the requirements of a perfect Maine Coon cat. Nice ear tufts, a big snout, good teeth and much more.

Further, those two cats have been tested for health issues. Maine Coon cats are known for having hip dysplasia, heart diseases, and kidney diseases.

The breeder makes sure that the cats that are going to mate do not have those health issues and that they don´t have those health issues in their genes.

Only those two cats are allowed to breed. The breeder needs to separate those two cats from other cats since breeders actually plan the next litter of kittens and they continuously work to make those two cats mate.

This sounds funny, but actually, it is a lot of work for the breeder. The two cats have to be separated from other cats so that no (happy little) “accidents” could happen.

As I already said above, male cats mark their territory if not neutered and that means that all the walls, all the furniture of that breeder get marked.

If you have smelled that one time, you definitely know that this doesn´t smell like roses. Breeders have to replace all their furnishings after some time because it smells so bad and after a while, this smell doesn´t go away.

Some breeders only have a female cat and pay a lot of money for a perfect stud male from another respected breeder.

Respected Breeders Make Sure That You Get The Best Cat For Your Money

If the two cats mated, the breeder takes the female cat to a vet to check if everything went well and the cat is pregnant. This costs money and the cat is not always pregnant then. Which means that the breeder has to pay multiple times in the worst case.

If the female cat is pregnant the breeder starts to feed the cat with special food that delivers more energy, which is needed during the pregnancy. This will ensure that every kitten in the womb has enough energy to grow and stay healthy.

When the kittens are born, the mother cat still gets that food so that she has enough energy to produce enough healthy milk for all kittens. Sometimes a kitten is too weak and the breeder has to act as second mother and gives that kitten a special treatment.

This means hand-feeding – which can be exhausting.

When the kittens grow up they get that special food as well so that they have enough energy to grow and stay healthy. All kittens get checked for all the diseases Maine Coon cats are known for.

The breeder actually gets documents that approve that the kitten is in good health. You will receive those documents when buying the kitten.

All kittens get vaccinated before they are sold, so you don´t have to worry about anything. That´s what I call a good service. Remember, the kitten you buy is your baby and someone before you took great care of it.

Isn´t that a great feeling?

How To Negotiate A Lower Price

A lot of people that sell Maine Coon cats are not official breeders. They don´t breed with cats that have a good family tree and they don´t make sure that the Maine Coon cat shows all the typical features of a Maine Coon.

That´s why there are more and more Maine Coon cats that are small, that don´t have a big snout, that don´t have those nice looking ear tufts. This destroys the breed.

However, those breeders often still want around $1000 for a kitten or a little bit less to sell the kittens faster. I don´t recommend to buy from such breeders, but this would be a cheaper way to get a Maine Coon.

• Are the kittens vaccinated?
• Have they been checked for health issues?
• Are there documents that prove that they have been checked?
• Does the breeder have an official family tree?
• Does the kitten show the typical features of the Maine Coon breed?

If not, this would be a reason to not pay the full price for a kitten. If everybody would know this and not pay the full price for those kittens, those breeders would disappear, because it would not be lucrative anymore.

There Is An Exception

Not all of those people are bad. Sometimes accidents happen and people just try to sell the kittens because they can´t keep them all. That´s absolutely okay and as long as the kittens are healthy everything is okay.

However, those people should definitely demand less money for their kittens and most of the times, people who had accidents actually do this.

So I am not bashing people who had an accident and want to sell the kittens, because they don´t have enough time and not enough space. I am only saying that people who pretend to be an official breeder but don´t make sure that the kittens are healthy should be boycotted.

Why You Should Pay The Price With Pleasure

As you have seen, a Maine Coon cat breeder does a lot to make sure that their cats and the kittens are happy and healthy. This means that you will get a happy and healthy cat and you don´t need to worry about anything.

However, all the work, all the stress and all the expenses that I have described above are not the only reasons why you should pay the high price for a Maine Coon cat with pleasure.

Let´s say no one would be willing anymore to pay the high price for a Maine Coon cat.

Do you know what would happen?

The Maine Coon cat would disappear. Why? Because no breeder would have enough money to make sure that the cats are healthy. Costs for vets, costs for perfect stud males would be just too high as the breeder would not get enough money per kitten anymore.

Slowly, breeders would stop to breed Maine Coon cats, because it would get too expensive. The market would be flooded with Maine Coon kittens that are not vaccinated or checked for health issues. Healthy Maine Coon kittens would get rare.

Finally the appearance of the typical Maine Coon cats would disappear as breeders would not have any reason to only breed with pedigree cats.

Also Read: How Old Maine Coons Really Get!

Conclusion

As you see, sometimes a high price protects things from turning bad. In my opinion, the price is absolutely fine.

The price is high enough to at least cover the expenses of the breeder, but not so high that every wannabe breeder starts to breed Maine Coon cats because there is money to make. Currently, only real cat people and lovers of the breed breed those cats.

So if you really love this breed, be thankful for what respected breeders do. They make sure that the Maine Coon breed gets more and more healthy and they are determined to continue to do that.

If you want to get a Maine Coon cat, I recommend doing your research thoroughly. Only buy from respected breeders.

Don´t get me wrong here. I am not rich by any means. I am just a normal person, but I appreciate good work and I happily pay for good service, because that´s what I believe in.

I am not associated with any Maine Coon breeder and I don´t get any money to promote a breeder.

I just think that we should not always look for the cheaper solution. We should look for the solution with the highest quality. What do you think about that? Do you think the price is too high? Let me know in the comments below!