Introduction to Gradach Maine Coon Cats & Kittens in Australia

Cath Walker

02 47829812

gradach@exemail.com.au

Our Cat of the Year Placings for 2006-2007

Gradach Rhett Butler - Best Entire Longhair Kitten of the Year

Ch Gradach Thunda Downunder - Best Longhair Neuter of the Year

GC, RW Nascat Race4TheChase (Imp USA) - Best Entire Longhair of the Year

Our Cat of the Year Placings for 2008

Gradach Kettricken - Best Longhair Entire Kitten of the Year

GC, RW Nascat Race4TheChase (Imp USA) - Best Longhair Neuter of the Year

A special thank you to Fiona Cooper and Sofia Fitri for some of the wonderful photographs they have taken that may be seen throughout our website. Thank you girls for your artistic flair!

Gradach is a small cattery, registered with The Feline Association of NSW Inc. We are founding members of the United Maine Coon Fanciers of Australia.

Gradach was established in 1992 by Catherine Walker. My daughter Ellen has in 2007, formally joined Gradach as a breeding partner. Ellie formerly bred Maine Coons under the Elvenbane prefix and has many years experience with Maine Coons and has always harboured a secret love for Siamese and Orientals! Gradach specialises solely in Maine Coon cats.

Gradach has proudly worked in partnership with our dear friend, Iris Selby of Diamantina Maine Coons since 2004 co-owning our two stud boys Rhett and Rogue.

We take great pride in the generally well being, health and happiness of all of our cats and, subsequently, our kittens available for placement into loving and permanent homes. Our breeding cats are screened for hip dysplasia (HD) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), disorders which are not uncommon amongst the breed. We have also ourselves, tested our lines or purchased cats from tested negative lines, for PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) and SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), diseases not found often in Maine Coons.

Disclaimer: Screening for HD and HCM is currently the recommended method to aid in reducing the occurence of these conditions in our breed. Breeders though cannot guarantee that their cats will not develop either of these conditions. Gradach can though, guarantee, that we are diligent in our screening of our breeding cats in a continued effort to produce healthy sound Maine Coons to the best of our ability.

As we maintain very small numbers of breeding cats, we ensure they are able to enjoy maximum attention and love as family members.

Our kittens spend their first six weeks in isolation in our bedrooms with their mothers. After their first vaccination they are slowly introduced to the household they are raised in. When our babies leave us they have been socialised with older cats and children and the usual noises of normal and busy households.

Our kittens are not forcibly separated from their mothers. They usually start to wean themselves between 4-6 weeks of age onto solids and water. We feel that this time spent with mum is a very important learning and socialising time for each kitten. Rarely do we have a mother who does not want her older kittens around her.

Exactly when a kitten is placed is variable and depends totally on when we feel it is ready to leave the "nest". This usually happens at around 13-16 weeks of age after it has been given its second vaccination and has been desexed but, sometimes at a slightly later date if we feel the kitten isn't ready. We assess each and every kitten's readiness for its journey into the big wide world.

We occasionally place kittens into breeding homes but it is much more common for us to place our babies into either pet and show homes as on many occasions, this lifestyle much better suits the individual kitten.

We do ship nationally and internationally to approved persons but will not ship kittens internationally earlier than 4 - 5 months of age and nationally, no earlier than 3 months of age. Gradach Maine Coons cats can be found nationally in: New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. We have exported cats also to the USA, Hawaii, Austria, Singapore and Japan. We utilise the service of two animal transport companies who are able to arrange very competitive international quotations.

Please check out our pages "Kittens Available" for photographs and information on kittens currently ready for placement into suitable caring homes.

Please email us for any further information regarding the manner in which our babies are raised.

Updated 11 December, 2008