Social media user asks why Maine Coon cats are expensive. I answer.

Sometimes people think that Maine Coon cats are expensive and they ask why. They could ask the same question about any purebred cat although there is some variation between them in terms of price. For example, the first filial Savannah cats are far more expensive than any other purebred cat.

And within the Maine Coon cat breed you will see a variation of prices. Why should the price vary; sometimes considerably?

Why are Maine Coons expensive? Are they? 

The price of purebred cats including Maine Coon cats depends on market forces essentially. And the better the quality of the Maine Coon cat the more expensive they are. Because market forces dictate the price, the price is always right! It is always correct. 🤔👍Anyway, what are you measuring the price of a Maine Coon against?

Of course, there are expenses to cover for a breeder. They have overheads to meet which provide a baseline above which they can start to make a profit.

That said, nearly all Maine Coon breeders are hobby breeders working from home. Normally, they don't have to upkeep commercial facilities. The breeding takes place in their home and the kittens are socialised underfoot in the home. This dramatically reduces overheads.

The price is about quality ultimately. It's about how good the breeder is. Breeding cats is complicated and difficult. The breeder has to produce kittens that are as healthy as possible which can be tricky because all breeders inbreed their cats in order to fix the appearance.

If you over do inbreeding you create unhealthy kittens through inbreeding depression.

And so selective breeding in a very difficult and balanced concept. You can see some terrible mistakes when cats have been overbred to the point where their appearance looks ghastly. I feel terribly bad for those kittens.

But the best breeders produce beautiful cats in line with the breed standard but with strong features which emphasise the breed standard such as a strong, square muzzle, lynx tipped ears, tall triangular ears, and I flowing plumed tail, fur between the toes and a shaggy coat.

It takes quite a long time  - sometimes many years - for a breeder to arrive at a Maine Coon cat which fits exactly with the breed standard and at the same time is very impressive and therefore attractive to buyers.

But the exact pricing is down to market forces. What amount of money is a person prepared to pay for a Maine Coon kitten? How much can the breeder get from customers for their kittens? They can ask what they like and if they can get it that is the price at that time for that kitten.

It's a very fluid situation but of course there is expectation. Doing research on Maine Coon kitten prices you know the kind of price they should sell up and therefore if a Maine Coon cat breeder sells at a much higher price, sometimes double the average price, you need to know why. 

The reason why will be quality. That person is producing beautiful cats which are probably healthier than Maine Coon cats in general.

The last point is worth making once again because sadly, this breed inherits far too many genetic diseases due to, I would argue, irresponsible selective breeding. 

This goes back to the point I made earlier about a balancing act between health and appearance. The pressure on breeders is to go too far and focus too strongly on appearance in order to meet breed standards, impress show judges and impress buyers.

I hope this helps. It is a bit of a ramble. It was dictated from the top of my head on the go.

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Please excuse the occasional typo due to preparing these articles at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I don't have a proof reader.