Maine Coon kittens are irresistibly cute and extremely amusing. Their price, unfortunately, is very high. If you have your heart set on one of these kitties but your budget won’t stretch that far, what can you do?
This article describes where to find free Maine Coon kittens or how to at least pay a lot less.
Can you find free Maine Coon Kittens?
You can sometimes find free Maine Coon kittens ready for adoption at cat shelters, but you may have to wait for one to become available. You are usually asked to make a donation so technically the kitten is not really free but you will pay a fraction of the price you would to a breeder.
Adopting any kitten (or cat) from a shelter is the best thing you can ever do – and there is more about why a bit later.
When adopting a Maine Coon from anywhere other than a breeder you will probably forsake knowing its true lineage.
But this really shouldn’t matter because it will be just as deserving of a loving home as a cat that is a proven purebred.
How To Find Free Maine Coon Kittens
There are several places you might locate free Maine Coon kittens including:
- Specialist Maine Coon Adoption agencies
- Cat shelters and rescue organizations
- Cat cafes
- Breeders
- Private adverts
Specialist Maine Coon Rescue Organizations
To find a Maine Coon Rescue group, enter ‘Maine Coon Shelter‘ into a search engine such as Google.
These are the top results:
- petfinder.com allows you to search specifically for Maine Coons. If necessary, you can register to be alerted when any become available.
- Mainecoonrescue.net is a nationwide organization and its website fully explains the adoption process. You can see photographs of all cats currently hoping for loving homes.
- Mainecoon.rescueme.org has a map of states with the number of cats available in each. You can click on your chosen state to see photos and details.
Cat Shelters
Enter ‘Cat shelters‘ into a search engine and a whole list should appear.
Here are a few examples:
- adoptapet.com allows you to narrow down your search to within a certain distance from your location, the breed, gender, and age of the cat.
- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) allows you to enter a search area, breed, and age as well as other qualities such as suitability with children, other cats, or dogs.
There are many other shelters and you will have to take the time to look through each to see all the cats available.
Breeders
Find all your local breeders and leave your name and number with them as someone who is willing to adopt a returned kitten.
Occasionally, purchasers return Maine Coons to breeders who will then rehome them, usually at a much lower price.
Cat Cafes
These are becoming more and more popular. We visited Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium in London and had afternoon tea with a room full of cats.
The cats are all rescued and the cafe’s entrance fee and other profits pay for their keep.
Some cats they keep but some are up for adoption. You may occasionally find a Maine Coon at a place like this – if not, another cat you’ll fall in love with.
Cat cafes are popping up all over the US. These are just a few:
- Colony Cat Cafe, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Crumbs & Whiskers, Los Angeles, California
- Denver Cat Company, Denver, Colorado
- Eat, Purr, Love, Columbus, Ohio
- Give Purrs a Chance, Berkley Springs, West Virginia
- KitTea Cat Cafe, San Francisco, California
- Koneko Cat Cafe, New York
- Mauhaus Cat Cafe and Lounge, St. Louis, Missouri
- Mewsic Kitty Cafe, Nashville, Tennessee
- Pounce Cat Cafe and Wine Bar, Charleston, South Carolina
And in the UK:
- Catisfaction, Hull
- CatPawCino, Newcastle
- Kitty Cafe, Leeds and Nottingham
- Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium, London
- Maison de Moggy, Edinburgh
- Pause Cat Cafe, Bournemouth
- You and Meow, Bristol
Private Adverts
Regularly scour local classified advertisements as now and then Maine Coons crop up for free or at low prices when their owners can no longer keep them.
Before adopting a kitten in this way, make sure to visit it and establish that it is healthy. Ask to see its paperwork, vaccination record and if you can speak to the vet it has been registered with.
Why Adopting a Maine Coon (or any cat) is The Best Thing You Can Do
Animal shelters are packed to the rafters with kittens and cats in desperate need of loving homes. Some have been surrendered by their owners, some have been abandoned and then rescued and some have been abused.
Statistics suggest that shelters receive between 3.2 and 3.4 million cats per year. About 1.25 million are lucky enough to be adopted.
Very few shelters have the facilities or resources to keep cats until they are adopted so heart-breakingly 1.4 million are euthanized – EVERY YEAR.
Here’s food for thought – for every cat sold by a breeder, a cat in a shelter loses its chance of being adopted and is as a high chance of being euthanized.
Therefore it could be said that breeders profit at the expense of the lives of other cats. In reality, it’s the backyard breeders who are really at fault.
Boycotting backyard breeders and rescuing cats from shelters is the best way to relieve this desperate situation.
Things to Consider Before Adopting a Free Maine Coon Kitten …
Ongoing Costs
You may be about to get a beautiful little kitten for free (or a small fee) but be aware that the costs of owning one soon mount up. You will need:
- Pet carrier
- Pet insurance
- Annual health checks
- Food and food dishes
- Litter box and litter
- Toys
- Bed
- Scratching posts
Commitment
Make sure you are ready for the commitment required. Consider these things:
- A healthy Maine Coon can live to 15 years and beyond. Make sure you are able to commit for this time.
- Maine Coon kittens love to scratch things and you will have to patiently train yours to use scratching posts as opposed to your furniture. Are you prepared to overlook the odd scratch or ten! You can’t be too precious about your furniture when you own any cat. Declawing is not an option – see why here.
- Maine Coon kittens like company and attention. Ideally, someone should be around for as much of the day as possible. If you possibly can, adopt two kittens at the same time to keep each other company. The more you socialize a kitten the more likely it is to grow into a confident and friendly adult Maine Coon.
Size
A cute little Maine Coon kitten can grow into a beautiful large adult. My two Maine Coons are only 11 pounds and 13 pounds but some grow to well over 20 pounds. Make sure you are prepared for this.
Space and exercise
If your kitten is to live indoors, you should play with it every day for at least 15 minutes and keep this up even when it is an adult. Maine Coons remain playful all their lives.
You should also make sure your cat has room to run around and is not cooped up in a small space. Make sure its environment is stimulating to prevent it from becoming bored.
Maine Coon Kittens and Children
Maine Coon kittens are wonderful pets for children as they are naturally gentle and tolerant. It is important to teach children to treat kittens gently and kindly to be sure they don’t get scratched.
Also, a Maine Coon does have sharp claws and so children should be supervised carefully when playing with them.
Finally
I hope this has been helpful and wish you good luck in your search for a free Maine Coon kitten.