FAQ's
Q - How much does it cost to adopt a Maine Coon Kitten from Snake River Maine Coons?
A - The current price for a kitten born at Snake River Maine Coons is $3,000 plus Idaho sales tax of 6%
Q - Why are Maine Coons so expensive?
A - Maine Coon cats are a special pedigree cat, and are one of the most sought after cat breeds in the world. Their price is a reflection of their quality, scarcity, and popularity. Our price also accounts for our warranty and the efforts we make to ensure your kitten is as healthy as it can be.
Quality
Maine Coons stand apart from other cat breeds in looks, size, and temperament. While their colors are similar to many breeds of cats, they have larger, tufted ears (lynx tips), extra fluffy coats, super long and extra fluffy tails, strong muzzles, as well as other beautiful features.
Being the largest breed of domestic cats, Maine Coons are often featured in videos on social media sites where owners boast about their incredible size. On average, females weigh between 13 and 18 pounds, while males tip the scales at around 20 to 28 pounds.
What sets Maine Coons apart from any other cat more than anything else though, is their temperament. While each cat has their own personality, there are traits that are true to the great majority of the breed. Often described as the dogs of the cat world, Maine Coons are loving and loyal, while being at the same time independent. They are smart, can be trained to do tricks and walk on a leash. They remain playful, even well into adulthood. When introduced correctly, they get along well with children, dogs, and other animal playmates.
Scarcity
If you've been trying to get your hands on a Maine Coon kitten for a while, you're not alone. Most new Maine Coon owners were surprised how long they had to sit on a waitlist to get their fluffy new companions, especially those after a particular color or coat pattern. Even now, as a breeder trying to find the perfect cats for our program has been exhaustive. We were hoping to have three additional queens by now, but we've been waiting for the perfect ladies, and unfortunately we're still waiting.
CAUTION! Due to price and scarcity, many scammers target potential Maine Coon buyers with offers of cheaper cats, available today, even claiming to be one of the well know established breeders. When we first started shopping, we were strung along for weeks by a scammer who finally set off enough red flags to scare us off. Just remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Popularity
Maine Coons are blowing up on social media right now, with many cats that have their own accounts. People are starting to notice what incredible companions these gentle giants make. In fact, many buyers can't stop at just one, two cats are twice the fun.
Q - Do you offer a warranty on your kittens?
A - We stand behind the quality of our breeding program and offer a one year warranty on any kitten sold from our cattery to be free from breed common defects and diseases for the first year of your kitten's life. Each kitten will be checked by a vet to make sure they are healthy and receive all age appropriate immunizations. If buying a young kitten you will need to have your own veterinarian finish their last round(s) of immunizations. If your new kitten comes down with one of the breed common and contracted illness, we will pay a portion of medical costs towards it's healing, or replace the kitten as soon as possible if recovery is out of reach.
Q - How do I reserve an available kitten?
A - To reserve an available kitten from one of our litters, first fill out our Kitten Application telling us about yourself and letting us know which kitten you hope to reserve, next we require a deposit of $300 to move your kitten from the available to the reserved list. After adoption of your kitten and we have received proof that your kitten has been spayed or neutered from a licensed veterinarian, we will return your $300 deposit along with the pedigree slip for your cat.
Q - Do you have a waitlist?
A - If we don't currently have your ideal kitten available in one of our current litters, there is the option to join our waitlist. Getting on our waitlist is the same process as reserving an available kitten. First, fill out our Kitten Application telling us about yourself and letting us know about your ideal kitten. We'll help you know if our breeding stock is capable of producing your ideal kitten, as well as the probability of that occurrence in any of our planned litters. To secure your place on our waitlist we require a deposit of $300. This deposit will be paid directly to Snake River Maine Coons LLC and we will give you details on how you can pay us this amount with confidence that it is going to reach us. We prefer not to transfer money directly through payment apps like PayPal, Venmo or Apple-Pay to avoid scams, but can make exceptions if it's your only way to pay.
Members of our waitlist will have the first kitten picks of each litter born at Snake River Maine Coons depending on their place on the list.
Q - Do you spay and neuter your kittens?
A - We don't spay or neuter our kittens before their adoption, but being a TICA registered cattery, we have made an agreement with that organization to include in our deposit agreement a condition that you will spay or neuter your cat within your first year of ownership. Many catteries will have this procedure done before you can take your kitten home, but we have seen enough evidence that spaying and neutering too early can effect a cat's health, and even cause orthopedic issues later on in life. For this reason we leave it to you to spay or neuter your kitten and recommend having the procedure performed when they are between six months to a year old.
Upon receiving proof of your cat's spay or neuter procedure from a licensed veterinarian, we will present your kitten's TICA breeder Slip. (These are not breeding rights, but allow you to register your cat with TICA). Upon proof of your kitten's procedure, we will also return your initial $300 deposit.
Q - Do you sell any kittens with breeding rights?
A - We prefer to sell kittens with breeding rights to other TICA and CFA registered catteries. If you're a breeder that is interested in a kitten from our breeding program, please contact us.
At this time we are not comfortable with mentoring and selling breeding rights to new breeders, but will be more comfortable and willing to do this in the future once we have more experience under our belts. We look forward to helping new breeders in the future.
Q - How do I get my new kitten home?
A - Our kittens will be ready to go to their new homes after they are 12 weeks old. If you're coming from out of state or country, your kitten(s) can be picked up from the Idaho Falls Regional airport (IDA), Pocatello Regional Airport (PIH), Boise Airport (BOI), Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), or the Salt Lake International Airport (SLC).
If personal pickup is not possible, at your own expense we can also arrange for flight nannies to deliver your kitten to your local airport, or ship your kitten cargo in an airline approved cat carrier.
For local buyers, we can deliver your kitten for free to anywhere within a five hour drive radius from our location in Southeast Idaho. We can also offer low cost delivery options outside of that radius and within Idaho adjoining states.