Happy Christmas to the Maine Coon mad crowd!

Well it's been an eventful December with Cloud!  She's been out in the snow, had to fast for 24hrs because she ate dog food (not good for cats), and I've just spent half an hour trying to work out how she had rotated the screen on my laptop when she wandered across my keyboard.  Usual Maine Coon kitten stuff, I suppose.  Anyway, as always, she wins me over with just one look.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Your child and your new pet

If you want your child and new pet to bond - why not get your child this Design Your Own Pet Bowl set for Christmas?  Easy to do (comes with permanent marker pens, so no messy paints to worry about) and your child will love the fact they've designed the new pet's food bowl.

Available from Amazon's Maine Coon MAD Pet Store.

Christmas Gift Ideas for your pet

I've just seen the perfect gift for my beautiful Maine Coon kitten.  How fab is this? 

OK it's quite pricey, but reading the customer reviews, it's excellent quality and the cat's tail is a handy way to pick it up for cleaning (no more bending down to fill up bowls).  For those with style-conscious cats, it also comes in blue and yellow!

Or there's this simple polyresin bowl with hearts...





Both are available at Amazon's Maine Coon MAD Pet Store.

Working at home with a Maine Coon kitten

I work from home 3 days each week, so Bella Cloud has been investigating my desk, computer and all those piles of papers I should have filed... Naturally the mouse is an attraction, as are the power cords which for her are irritatingly out of reach, and she's already attempted to file my papers several times (usually on to the floor). Nevertheless I've perservered just because it's lovely to have her around me whilst I'm working. At the moment rolling a pen across the desk is enough to divert her away from climbing over my keyboard, and this morning she's been happily chasing an empty toilet roll tube around and under my chair.

Oh, and sleeping of course!

From wild fluffy ball of terror to purring happy cat....

Bella Cloud is just lovely... middle of last week, I was prepared to start wearing my thick gardening gloves because my hands were being pounced on, swiped and bitten quite frequently.  But quite suddenly, she's realised that being touched and stroked is enjoyable, so my hands are now being licked.  Literally overnight, she's gone from a semi-wild fluffy ball of terror to an affectionate, purring pussy cat who even sat on my lap last night & slept.  I'm convinced she's doubled in size too, and only wish I'd found a way to weigh her when she first arrived because she's so much bigger now. 

In the last couple of days, everything has fallen into place - the dogs are no longer looking concerned when she gets too close, and she's stopped jumping in the air every time one of them moves.  She's absolutely fascinated with my border collie (can she sense that Maisie's a female too?) and spends a lot of time watching her play and copying her.  Our last cat grew up thinking he was a dog - so maybe Bella Cloud will too (no - she's too smart for that!).

Here are a few photos I took just now - can you see how much she's grown?

  

Life is so exhausting...!

She's here.....!

My longed-for Maine Coon has arrived.  She's currently residing in my spare bedroom and slowly dominating the entire household.  Both dogs are reacting predictably - my Lurcher has taken to talking or rather squeaking to her through the door, and my Border Collie is pretending she's invisible.

Anyway, she's gorgeous.  Her little face, fluffy white tummy and dark brown eyes (which were blue in earlier photos) make her simply irresistable.  All I want to do is cuddle her - but she'd far rather chase a ball across the floor or charge out of her room and down the corridor at 60mph.  She's an absolute bundle of playfulness, and hasn't stopped eating.  I particularly love her feathers on the tip of her ears and in between her toes.

Here's some photos of my new baby Bella Cloud, now 12 weeks old.

Breeder's recommended Maine Coon kitten food

For those in a simliar situation, we have been reliably informed that the very best food for a Maine Coon kitten is Royal Canin Kitten 36. It's a complete diet dry food which is good for the teeth and keeps well. You can also feed a small amount of wet food (good for kidneys and if your kitten doesn't drink much) but don't leave it out because it goes off very quickly. Our breeder recommended MPM Applaws for kitten wet food.

As for litter, World's Best is recommended becuase it's totally natural and can be put down the WC. It's a clumping litter so is easy to keep clean, and you won't use as much as with other litters which will need emptying more often.

To summarise:

Dry Food: Royal Canin 36
Wet Food: MPM Applaws
Litter: World's Best

All above available from most pet stores, although your breeder may also be able to supply you. Or shop from our Maine Coon MAD Pet Store.