FAQ
These are the Most Common Questions Asked
FAQs
No one can guarantee that your kitten will never have a medical problem. A responsible breeder is committed to following a breeding program that uses specific practices that are evidence-based, which will increase your chances of adopting a healthy, happy, well-adjusted kitten.
Happy Heart is a registered cattery that follows a strictly ethical, evidence-based breeding program. We use selective breeding practices that include genetic and DNA health screening as well as echocardiogram.
A reputable cat breeder will be:
- Registered with a cat association
- Parents of the kittens are certified
- Willing to let you visit the cattery and meet the parents and kittens.
- Ask you a lot of questions
- Answer and encourage questions
- Screen their cats for inherited diseases including cardiac echo and hip dysplasia. DNA testing is NOT enough
- Guarantee the health of their kittens
- Follow strict ethical breeding practices
- Make sure their kittens are spayed/neutered
This is a question that is strictly personal and in no way meant to offend non purebred animal lovers and owners. There are gorgeous loving healthy non purebred kittens and cats. All animals deserve a warm, safe, loving, nurturing home.
Health, size and body type, coat length, personality and other traits are unknown until the kitten matures. Even their color can change in some cases. Purebred kittens, on the other hand, develop into cats with highly predictable traits based on their parents and pedigree. Through selective breeding programs you can have a much clearer picture of what your kitten’s health, look, and temperament will be like once they mature. Buying a purebred can help take a lot of the guess work out.
So, in short PREDICTABILITY is the main reason people opt for a purebred kitten or cat.
Yes, registered with The International Cat Association (TICA) and Loving Cats Worldwide (LCWW).
According to an article published by CBS News in 2017, “Meet the most expensive cat breeds in America”: In the United States, prices for a Maine Coon cat can range anywhere between $1500-$4000, with a total yearly maintenance cost of approximately $980 (including food, a few toys, and excluding grooming services).
COVID has increased the costs of everything from food, grooming, vetting, importing, etc. You should expect kitten prices to cost more now than in 2017. I have seen Maine Coon kittens sold for less and for a significantly higher amount. BEWARE of catteries claiming pedigree kittens are available below the national average price range! Most times these listings are scams.
Just because a kitten or cat costs more does NOT automatically guarantee they come from breeding pairs who’ve undergone proper health screening prior to producing a litter!
Regardless of the price, DO NOT SETTLE for a breeder who only performs DNA testing!
Before deciding on purchasing any kitten be sure to do your research. Learn what to look for in a reputable breeder, ask questions and take your time. Remember this is a lifelong commitment for you and your new Forever Friend.
No. Not at this time.
Absolutely! All Happy Heart breeding cats have been DNA tested and are NEGATIVE (Not at risk) for HCM, SMA, and over four dozen other different gene mutations commonly found in feline breeds, including PKD, and PKDef. Results of this health screening and cardiac echo results can be viewed for each of our breeding cats by clicking the corresponding links found under each of our King’s and Queen’s profile pages.
We currently feed a mix of high-quality food. Royal Canin, Stella & Chewy, Fussie Cat, Nulo, and FirstMate are our preferred brands. We use Royal Canin Mother & Babycat canned ultra-soft mousse in sauce for our kittens with Mother & Babycat dry available for free feeding as much as they desire. As they grow, we will mix in Stella & Chewy’s Raw Coated Kibble and FirstMate’s Grain Free Cat and Kitten Kibble with the RC Mother & Baby.
All our kittens are born in our home and are treated as part of the family. They do have their own kitten nursery where they will live with their mother until it is time to go to their forever homes.
As part of our family, our kittens receive the highest quality care possible. We follow a strict breeding program/schedule to produce healthy, outgoing kittens that conform to the breed standard.
Our kittens are $2500-3000, depending on color with shaded/shell being the more expensive color. They are sold as PET/SHOW ONLY. No additional pricing will be added or subtracted based on gender or whether polydactyl or standard.
All our Kittens are seen by a licensed veterinarian at an AAHA-accredited, full service veterinary hospital.
With each wellness visit, kittens will receive a physical exam, age-appropriate vaccines, fecal test, and preventative dewormer (as needed).
Before leaving the cattery, each kitten will be fully vaccinated (age appropriate) and microchipped.
Because we always want to keep the best interest of the kitten in mind, if there is a reaction to a vaccination or a kitten becomes unwell, the scheduled pick up date may be adjusted accordingly.
All our Happy Heart Maine Coon breeding cats are descendants of carefully selected Eastern Europe Maine Coon bloodlines and have very high standard pedigrees. Our kittens are raised in our home, so they receive plenty of attention, affection, stimulation, and socialization. They are kittens that are suited for multiple pet households, children, and used to the everyday bustle of life.
Yes. We prefer that all kittens be picked up in person, from the cattery, on their scheduled pickup date but understand there are instances when this is not possible.
ALL delivery and transportation of our kittens is the financial responsibility of the new adoptive parents and will be discussed and paid in full prior to kitten leaving cattery. This is an additional fee added to the price of your kitten. Pet Jet Pals or Pet Nation Transportation courier services are recommended if the adoptive family cannot retrieve their kitten in person. Transportation to local airports (within 2 hours) is also available. The airports we currently service are Tyler Pounds Field, Dallas Love Field, and DFW.
All kittens must be transported via Pet Nanny, by the Breeder or the adoptive family IN CABIN on airplanes!
Have a Question for us?
Just send us a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
For the health and safety of our family, cats, and kittens Happy Heart is a CLOSED CATTERY. This means we do not offer or accept stud services and we only allow in-home cattery visits for approved applicants and by appointment only.
For those approved applicants who are not local to us and are interested, we are more than happy to schedule a time in advance for a video call for virtual visits.
Once a kitten is reserved, we’ll also be sure to provide photo and video updates so that you don’t miss out on seeing your kitten mature and grow.
Happy Heart currently accepts Cashier’s check, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, and Cash.
Each kitten is evaluated prior to leaving the Happy Heart nursery to determine proper health and socialization before being turned over to its new adoptive parents. This timeframe may vary from kitten to kitten, but the approximate age of departure will be between 12-14 weeks of age. Don’t worry! There is still a lot of cute kitten play left to experience! Maine Coon kittens are slow to mature. They don’t achieve their full growth expectancy until 4-5 years of age!
Both TICA and CFA ethics state a breeder should keep their kittens till at least 14 weeks of age and LCWW recommends at least 13 weeks of age.. This ensures the kitten will be emotionally and physically ready for its new home. Allowing a kitten to leave younger than 13 weeks can compromise its emotional well-being and immune system for its entire life.
- A beautiful Maine Coon kitten that has been raised to custom fit your lifestyle and personal preferences.
- Kitten has been raised in our home by a loving and nurturing Happy Heart Dam and given as much love, attention, and socialization as humanly possible.
- Continual communication from the time you reserve your kitten.
- Private photos and videos sent directly to you after reservation and until pickup.
- Five-year Replacement Guarantee! For genetic health conditions (besides being an unaffected carrier), this includes protection against HCM, SMA, PKD, and PKDef.
- Official Health Certificate signed by Veterinarian
- Registration papers for The International Cat Association (TICA)
- Health and Vaccination records for your kitten
- DNA records of both parents of your kitten
- Personalized Video chats with your kitten and Us
- Microchipping and registration for your kitten
- FVRCP x 2 (vaccinations)
- Rabies at 16 weeks of age (if still in Cattery)
- Deworming
- A basket of toys, food, and a special personalized gift for your kitten
- Shampoo, Blow-dry, brushed/fluffed, ear cleaning, and nail trimming prior to going home.
- LIFETIME SUPPORT FOR YOU AND YOUR KITTEN
The asking price is far below the normal rate for a popular breed (pedigree Maine Coons average between $1500-4500 USD for pet, and upwards of $6000-8000 USD with the right to breed).
The person offering the animal insists on shipping and rebuffs offers to collect the pet in person.
Emails from the seller or the shipping company have poor spelling and grammar.
The seller requires payment by money transfer that does not have a dispute option (such as Western Union or MoneyGram), gift card or prepaid debit card.
The shipment is continually held up by demands that you wire more money for, say, insurance, pet food, veterinary care, or a special crate.
Be skeptical of deep discounts.
Do a reverse-image search for pictures of a specific animal you are considering buying or adopting. Copy and paste text from a sales site or ad into a search engine. If you find matching images or text on multiple sites, you’re probably dealing with a scammer.
Do search for the seller’s email and web address to see if the person has been the subject of complaints and check the seller’s name against watchdog lists of suspected scammers (links below).
Don’t be swayed by authentic-looking websites. Scammers swipe photos, videos and testimonials from legitimate pet sites and create detailed web pages for fake transport companies.
Don’t deal with an advertiser or seller who doesn’t provide a phone number or will communicate only by email or text.
Don’t deal with someone who won’t take payment by credit card, which offers you far greater protection in case of fraud or dispute.
Don’t believe threats that the animal will suffer, or you will face criminal charges if you don’t continue sending money.
If you suspect or have been victimized by a pet scam, you can report it to:
The Federal Trade Commission (online https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt or by calling 877-382-4357)
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
If the scam occurred online:
The BBB Scam Tracker https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker
PetScams an online watchdog that catalogs and reports on pet-related fraud https://petscams.com/report-pet-scam-websites/
You can also check sellers’ emails and websites against lists of suspected scammers maintained by PetScams and the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (https://www.ipata.org/pet-scams), a trade group for companies that ship animals.