TARASCANI MAINE COONS

I saw my first Maine Coon in 1987, a beautiful silver-tortie girl called Bealltainn Chevrolet, owned by Mrs Janet Sadler of Allagash Maine Coons. In 1989 I was lucky to get her daughter from her first litter, Allagash Aphrodite ("DeeDee", pictured right) a silver-tortie chip off the block.

DeeDee was first shown at the Chester & North Wales Cat Club Show, where she received her Merit (these were pre-championship days) and was the first Maine Coon to win the Ivormore Tankard for the best foreign kitten. She also won first prize in most of her side classes.

After a few more shows and Merits DeeDee retired to become a very good mother and the cornerstone of my breeding programme.

I acquired a few more breeding girls and then my first stud boy, Allagash Bostonbrownie ("Harley", pictured left). He was born in quarantine after his mother, Gensway Shera Coon of Purricoon, arrived from the USA. His father US Gr Ch Purricoon's Arthur Coonan-Doyle, a Distinguished Merit winner, was still back in America.

Harley is now in retirement supervising his grandchildren. He has been succeeded by other stud cats. My policy is to keep the best daughters from each and go down the female line and bring in suitable males to complement them and keep the bloodlines fresh. My retired breeding cats are neutered and homed with suitable people, many going as companions with their offspring (see Kittens For Sale, in the Kittens Pages).

I concentrate on breeding good quality family pets. The Tarascani family is spread all over the UK from the Shetland Isles to Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands as well as the mainland. Some have gone as far afield as Cyprus, the Canary Islands, South Africa and the Philippines.

Many owners stay in touch and it is great to get photos (some are in the album) and hear what my cats get up to. Some are working cats, helping to run shops, hotels and businesses. Others just like to join in family activities and go visiting, driving, boating, camping and even motorbike racing!

I breed the following colours, although I don't have them all the time - brown tabby, blue tabby, red tabby*, cream tabby*, silver tabby, tortoiseshell tabby, dilute tortoiseshell (blue/cream) tabby, solid black, blue, tortoiseshell, dilute tortoiseshell, black smoke, blue smoke, all these colours are with or without white.

*Red and cream are sex-linked colours and are usually males (totoiseshell being the female version of the red gene). However with planned matings I am breeding rare red and cream tabby females +/- white.