Breeders Profile

Lunaris Maine Coons

1st pic (Ron and Jean) courtesy of Bob Fox, 2nd (Jean) Beryl McMillan, three of cats, Ron & Jean Brown.

Tell us a bit about you:
We live in a small village called Aldwincle in East Northamptonshire and we run a boarding cattery, which we set up ourselves in 1989. 

(left: Jean and Ron (centre couple) at a recent show. © Bob Fox).

We have had our prefix “Lunaris” since the mid seventies when we used to breed and show Burmese. I suppose that you could say we quite like cats, our children always said “if we were covered in fur and had four legs we would get more attention” which definitely was not true. All three have cats of their own, now that they are grown up and have their own families.

As Burmese breeders we had two stud boys Lunaris Eduardus and Lunaris Ortheus, it was from Ortheus that the famous Cassiobury Jeannie Brown came. She was bred by my friend Ronnie Brooks for us but we stopped breeding soon after and Ronnie took her back, she was the mother of a few grand champions, Beechnut being one. We also had a home grown Champion Lunaris Bellona who was from Eduardus.

Why did you choose your breed(s)?
We had not had a litter of kittens for about 17 years, then one day a large brown tabby cat called Jason with a chunky muzzle and tall ears came into the cattery. We had never seen anything like it before and we loved the long body which makes them semi-foreign type and they have a wonderful temperament.

Why/how did you start breeding?
After meeting Jason in our cattery we knew that we wanted a Maine Coon, and ‘once a breeder always a breeder’, we were thinking about what the kittens would look like; what sort of blood lines there are and so on. 

(right: Jean again - since you couldn't see her in the above picture!  © Beryl McMillan).

We went to a couple of shows to study the Maine Coons, taking in all the different colours and chatting to a few breeders. We then made a decision that we would try to buy a couple of girls from two different blood lines and bought a brown tabby Kassaro girl and a silver tortie Kagoza girl and the rest is history.

Why did you choose your prefix?
Our prefix Lunaris was chosen when we were Burmese breeders.  We used Latin names for our kittens then (so seventies but nice). The Latin meaning for Lunaris is “Of the Moon” and Ron drew a wonderful quarter moon with a Burmese cat sitting on it which has been our logo ever since. The name seemed to fit the Burmese temperament. They are wonderful crazy cats who just like the Maine Coons act more like dogs.

When were your most memorable occasions as a breeder?
Well the thrill of that first litter, they were all brown tabbies and it was so thrilling to think that you could breed brown tabby pedigree cats (remember Burmese are non agouti) tabbies are still my favourites.

Then of course our beautiful Lunaris Peg of my Heart, watching her develop and grow into a beautiful girl and then tentatively taking her out to shows and realising that we had picked the right kitten to keep.

Who were/are the most memorable cats you've had?
EC Coonattack Mr. Morpheus (right); he was such a darling boy, he loved being the show boy and he loved staying in hotels with us for two day shows. He would chirrup at us all night, we even took him to Holland for a two day show and he just loved it. A lot of his breeder’s friends came to see him and he was pulled out to be shown off and he did not mind at all, it seemed like he was smiling at everyone. Sadly he died in February this year, aged 4 years and 7 months - it happened so quickly it took our breath away, he did not even look ill.

Then of course our two home bred show winners, IC Lunaris Kind of Magic (JW) (below left) who won Fife Kitten of the Year 2004. She was also a junior winner, and from our IC Kagoza Hey Jude and EC Coonattack Mr. Morpheus. Also of course our GIC Lunaris Peg of My Heart, DSM (above left), she was also from Kagoza Hey Jude (way to go Kaeren!) and GR.CH. Kassaro Taronga.

What are your hopes for the future of your breed/your breeding programme?
To look after the Maine Coon breed and try always to be discerning with regard to the health of the breed, who to sell kittens to as they are a truly wonderful cat and their popularity unfortunately can attract the wrong kind of person that wants to make a fast buck. Anyone who can make money from breeding “aint doing it right” and the cats suffer.

We are collecting a new boy from Denmark in May  who has, we think an exciting bloodline, then with our home bred girls and our Kititas girls we are very excited about the future.

Is there anything else you'd like to mention?
We wanted the new boy from Denmark so that Mr. Morpheus could be neutered and live as a pet with us, but the best laid plans of mice and men, etc. So he is not a replacement but an exciting new addition.

We would also like to say thank you to all the hard working clubs and show managers, entry clerks and every one involved in keeping our wonderful hobby going.

Ron & Jean Brown

www.lunaris.uk.com

May 2007