Debonair Maine Coon

 

Debonair Maine Coon - Photo: Tatiana Rostorgueva.

I have selected the word "debonair", a word used to describe a sophisticated, confident, stylish and charming man and applied it to a domestic cat. But I think it's appropriate because this breeder is creating Maine Coon cats which have a human appearance. And if you look into this cat's face I think you can see a stylish human!

The person who created this cat lives with 50 Maine Coons! And of course she delights her followers on social media with photographs. Her name is Tatiana Rostorgueva, 45, from Moscow, Russia. She is a professional cat breeder and a kindergarten teacher. She lives with her husband Vladimir.

It does not surprise me one bit that a Russian woman bred this cat. They have a habit of creating amazing-looking Maine Coon cats and specialise in making them with a human face. Clearly the face is not a human face but you get an inkling that there is a human behind those eyes.

Tatiana began professionally breeding Maine Coons in 2002. She says that they capture her heart completely because they are such an amazing breed. She said that, "They are smart and obedient and loyal companions. They can rightly be called 'labradors of the World'".

She started with cats from a Dutch cattery and then others from Australian and Polish catteries and finally some of them came from America. The cats that she creates are an expression of what she believes the Maine Coon should look like and she has spent more than 18 years creating that appearance. It is "the result of painstaking selection work". Impressive. Russians are better at Maine Coon breeding than Americans in my opinion.