Breeders Profile

Rozeecoonz Maine Coons & Australian Mists

Photos courtesy of Bob Fox and Eddie & Rose Kitching.

Tell us a bit about you:
Eddie (left) and I (below right) live in a little village in Pembrokeshire (no shops); we moved here last summer bringing our 20-odd cats with us.  We have them in big runs and pens in the garden and they are allowed to wander about freely throughout the day (first making sure there are no boys out at the same time as the girls); they come in and out of the house and generally they are in charge, we are only the slaves.

We have always loved animals and both of us have always had some kind of pet all our lives, but its only in the past few years after we had to retire that we have been able to really indulge ourselves and surround ourselves with cats and kittens. The kittens are born in the house, usually in the kitchen which, as the house is open plan, means they can spend all their time with us. Or, on nice days, supervised in the garden, having a bit of fresh air as they get bigger. The litter we had last summer when we moved were, by the time they went to their new homes, proficient builders and double-glazers - and a couple, no doubt, will be able to re-plaster their new homes!

Why did you choose your breed(s)?
We chose Maine Coons accidentally - we had seen an advert for them in the local newspaper and having never heard of them looked on the internet.  Once I had seen pictures that was it, nothing else would do!  Unfortunately when we phoned up about the cats the people had moved, so then it was a case of searching everywhere to get a kitten.

Why/how did you start breeding?
We decided that as we were now both no longer at work we had the time to spend on a hobby, so after much thought and discussion we decided to try breeding.  We found three little girls after months of searching and brought them home and, once they were grown up, we had them mated and although one girl never had kittens the other two produced lovely babies.  We were hooked!

Why did you choose your prefix?
After a lot of thought we decided that we would have some sort of theme to our cattery, so we decided that we would mix my name and my favourite flower together with the coons bit and came up with Rozeecoonz.  We also decided that all our cat names would be rose names, luckily there are thousands to choose from and I have found a website which gives me names from all over the world.

When were your most memorable occasions as a breeder?
Having several people who have bought kittens from us in the past, coming back and saying that they want another kitten, but will only have one from us, and will wait until we have one available. Other occasions are when I’m at a show and see some of my  babies that have left home doing well on the showbench, there are several GIC/GIPs and some IC/IPs.  It makes me so pleased to have been able to give other people the fun of being taken over by a coonie.

Who were/are the most memorable cats you've had?
Warrior (above left) has to be one of the most memorable cats, he was from our very first litter and I couldn’t let him go.  Everyone thinks he’s amazing and everyone who comes here wants to take him home, he is such a clown! Another cat which we had when I was little was the most amazing hunter - he would leap off the roof of the bungalow to catch birds as they flew past.  He was a farm cat that grew almost as big as the coonies, and we never knew what ‘gifts’ we would find from him - they ranged from full grown rabbits to the smallest shrews, occasionally frogs and lizards and once a grass snake - all brought in fairly unharmed and let loose around the house ...

What are your hopes for the future of your breed/your breeding programme?
I am still trying to produce that elusive Maine Coon with the huge ears and looooong tail, the one everyone tries to produce, the one the judges look at and say ’here’s the perfect Maine Coon’.

Is there anything else you'd like to mention?
This year we are going to be part of starting the process of getting a new breed recognised by FIFe, Australian Mists (left and above right), so we are busy getting our plans sorted and working on our breeding programme.  It's something Eddie and I are very excited about, we will be one of only a handful of breeders in all of Europe to breed Australian Mists. They are beautiful little cats and hopefully will be first seen at the Aristocats show in Thornbury, June 2007.

Rose Kitching

www.rozeecoonz.co.uk

June 2007