Wording in an ad and things a seller says that mean you needn't bother going to see the kitten. Each one explained, with what lies behind it.
Most bad purchases could have been called off before anyone set off, just from the text of the ad and the messages.
The most serious signs: they want to meet you at a metro station, they won't show you the mother, the parents haven't been tested, they refuse a contract, they let the kitten go before three months.
Papers are neither decoration nor a mark-up. The birth certificate confirms that the kitten was born in a registered cattery to specific parents, and that those parents are Maine Coons.
Without papers you are buying a kitten of unknown origin. It could grow into anything, and, worse, nobody answers for the health of the line.
"We didn't get a pedigree, you don't need one for a pet" says the same thing, only more politely. Birth certificates are issued for the whole litter at once, so you can't just "not do" one for a single kitten.
Nobody can promise a particular adult weight. Size is inherited in complicated ways, there's a big spread within a litter, and fifteen kilos in a cat means obesity, not good breeding.
Anyone who promises that either doesn't know what they're talking about, or does and is counting on you not knowing.
Polydactyly does occur in Maine Coons, but in most systems such a cat is kept out of mainstream breeding. When extra toes are presented as a plus, that's marketing.
A "rare colour" almost always turns out to be either an ordinary colour with a fancy name or a colour that isn't allowed in the breed. Chocolate, lilac and colourpoint in a Maine Coon mean mixed blood.
A breeder plans a litter in advance and doesn't sell kittens off in a hurry. The urgency is for the seller's benefit, so you don't have time to think or look at a second cattery.
A kitten doesn't leave before three months. Before that it hasn't finished with its mother's milk, hasn't had both vaccinations and hasn't learned social skills from its mother and littermates. Anyone willing to let a kitten go at a month and a half doesn't care about its health.
Are all the pictures on a white background or cropped tight? Often they're someone else's photos, or shots that give no idea where the animals live. Ask for a video of the kittens in a room.
This is the most important point on the list. You see kittens where they live; otherwise you won't see the mother, the conditions or the rest of the litter.
The reasons sound convincing: quarantine, building work, it's a long way to come. To any of them you can say "then we'll wait".
A queen really is tired after giving birth, but you must see her: she shows you the type, her condition and how she's treated.
If they won't show you the mother in any form, she isn't there and the kittens were bought in for resale.
DNA tests for HCM, PKdef and SMA and a yearly heart scan for the breeding cats are standard practice for a cattery. "They're all healthy" with no results to show means nobody has checked. You can't tell from the outside whether a cat carries cardiomyopathy.
A contract protects both sides. It records the cat's details, the terms of the handover, the health obligations and the neutering condition for pet-class kittens. If the seller refuses a contract, once you've paid you'll have nothing to hold them to.
A breeder knows each kitten by name and will talk you out of the wrong one: this one's a scrapper, this one's quiet, and this one won't get on with your dog. Indifference to which kitten goes to whom shows that, to the seller, the litter is just stock.
When questions irritate the seller, that's already an answer. Ask a real breeder to "show me the parents' tests" and they simply go and fetch the folder.
This is how any oddity gets explained: letting kittens go early, no vaccinations, mating a queen every time she's in heat. By pointing to common practice, the seller avoids giving you a real answer.
A good breeder asks questions too: whether you have other pets and children, how long the cat will be alone, whether there are screens on the windows. They get the documents out without being reminded, tell you a particular kitten's faults, don't rush you and suggest you think it over. And after the sale they stay in touch, because they want to know how things turned out.
Before you go, check that the cattery has a name and is registered with a cat federation, ask for a video of the kittens in a room, and find out what comes with the kitten.
When you're there, look at the mother and the other kittens, at how clean the place is and how it smells, and at how the animals behave around you. The kitten should be lively, with clean eyes and ears, a firm belly and no discharge.
If anything bothers you, leave without a kitten. Litters come along regularly, and you can wait for the next one.
There's a detailed guide in Choosing a cattery, and the blog has separate articles on documents and on buying from classifieds sites.
Home in Raksi Maine Coon cattery, St Petersburg. See our kittens on the Kittens page, and ask your questions in our VK group (in Russian).
Waiting list for a litter: how waiting for a Maine Coon kitten works23 October 2026
Reserving a Maine Coon kitten: how the deposit works and what to put in writing22 October 2026