29.03.2024

The owner of 29 giant cats had to buy them a separate apartment

29 cats of the largest breed in the world in one apartment — what a nightmare for neighbors is paradise for Alexandra Petrechenko. The girl has been breeding Maine Coons for several years in an ordinary Krasnoyarsk apartment.

Infinitely affectionate, the heroes of the most touching videos and funny memes, captured not only her heart, but also a separate apartment. NGS24 journalists visited the breeder, stroked her cats and learned what it is like to leave the office for the cats, how expensive it is to keep them and how much you can earn from the tail business.

The Maine Coon is the largest cat breed that descended from Maine animals in the northeastern United States. Males can weigh up to 8 kilograms, females up to 5.5 kilograms. The total length of a cat with a tail can reach 120 centimeters. All individuals of the breed have small tassels at the tips of their ears.

A room in an apartment in a residential area of ​​Krasnoyarsk accommodated about 15 of 29 cats — it was not possible to accurately count. Only the vaccinated and not pregnant women were honored to pose for the photographer NGS24.RU. The rest should be taken care of, explained the owner of the Maine Coon cattery Alba Ruthenia. But even from the sight of these cats, the level of mimicry is off scale — the hands are still reaching out to cuddle and stroke the pussies.

Alexandra is an architect by profession, but she has been working as a freelancer for a year now. The rest of the time he spends in his «cat company». For which, by the way, there is a separate apartment on the same staircase — you don’t have to go far.

— We wake up, go to feed, clean up, then some questions come from buyers, from potential owners. A lot of time is spent on paperwork, exhibitions, veterinary services. Almost the whole day is tailored for cats, — breeder Alexandra explains with a smile.

She admitted that 6 years ago, when she took the first cat, and did not think to breed them. But then “something went wrong”: I persuaded my mother to take the second cat. And then — everything is as if in a fog.

Cat business

— I took a kitten at first without the right to breed, just as a pet. Then this topic interested us, went to the exhibition, my first breeder helped me. Then I opened my own nursery two years later. First, one cat appeared, then a cat, and then we stopped counting them, — the girl admits, laughing. — The number grew, and I wanted everyone to have premises. So that the animals and us feel comfortable. And at the same time, so that everyone has enough love, affection, care.

The animals were resettled, and work began — exhibitions, vaccinations, childbirth. Seals are bought not only by local people, many have long received a foreign veterinary passport.

— Our kittens already live in America, Italy, France and England. And now three more girls are leaving for England soon. Foreign breeders are interested in the exchange of blood; they cannot constantly work autonomously. New injections of blood are constantly needed to make the animals more interesting. We are remote from the whole world in Siberia, so all shipments take place through Moscow. They already have their own couriers who meet animals and transport them abroad. The costs in this case are borne by the buyer.

The cat protects the ruble

According to Alexandra, catteries keep the average price in Krasnoyarsk from 20 to 40 thousand for a Maine Coon kitten. Girls are cheaper, boys are more expensive. And if you include the cost of delivery abroad, then it comes to 2.5-3 thousand euros.

— Understand that a purebred animal cannot be cheaper. By saving on the price of a kitten, the buyer saves not on documents, but on the work of the breeder, which has been going on for generations. For years we have been conducting a high-quality selection, not only externally, but also internally — to bring out and consolidate a certain temperament with which it will be comfortable to live. That is, cowardly, aggressive animals are removed from breeding, — says Alexandra.

Keeping such a «flock» is not cheap — this month alone it took 130 kilograms of meat and a couple of bags of dry food. The priority is natural nutrition. And despite the fact that the girl has been only breeding Maine Coons for a year now, she does not consider this a profitable business.

— It’s not a business after all, but an expensive hobby with very unstable earnings. Our cat may not give birth, kittens may not be sold. There is no stability here. Now I have two litters in the cattery, and it so happened that there were no kittens for sale. It is always different. If we try to calculate the average level of sales, then this is 2-3 kittens per month (the average check is 50 thousand per month. — Ed. Note).

“Sasha, get up! We’ve already dropped everything! «

Alexandra assured us that she had never come across aggressive Maine Coons. Quite the opposite — they are sociable and balanced cats, affectionate and curious.

— They have a very interesting hierarchy in the pride. When you have 1–2 cats, this is not visible, and when kittens are already growing up, then it becomes obvious. There is an older cat in the cattery — Eva. She decides who eats first, who can lie where, where to sit, who can come to me to soak up. He also keeps discipline in nutrition: first, pregnant cats always eat, then kittens, then cats, and only then cats. If they get something (laughs). She is also the first to run to separate if someone decided to fight.

The breeder assured that there is no significant difference in keeping Maine Coons from ordinary, say, Siberian cats. Unless you need a larger tray. Well, and we must not forget about the wool — in order not to collect tumbleweeds in the corners, you need professional care.

— I take childbirth myself, for about a dozen for sure. My record is 13 kittens in one litter. There is always a veterinarian on hand who can do a cesarean. I give kittens no earlier than 3 months — he needs to be vaccinated, neutered and prepared, — the girl reasons. — Many people think that quality is lost behind quantity. I used to think so too. In fact, without a large amount, it is very difficult to secure the desired type that we would like to get — the condition of the coat, the profile, the size.

She honestly admitted that she could refuse a buyer who is not ready to take responsibility for a big cat.

— This is especially true for windows. I am very fanatically afraid that the cat might fall out the window. I ask if the person is ready to put protective screens on the windows. And if he answers that, they say, my cat lived for 10 years and never jumped out, then I can say goodbye to such a person. Unfortunately, there were cases when my «graduates» broke up. Maine Coons are very large and heavy, and they do not land on their paws like regular cats — they land on their faces.

— Parting with kittens is always difficult. Animals end their “breeding career” in 2–4 years, are sterilized and put into good hands. I try to give it to friends, to close relatives. Pick up good, loving hands. It happens that kittens stay with us for up to six months, you already add to them, — the “mother” of cats says sadly.

After university, Alexandra worked for a year in an international textile company as a designer, but she admits that she is not going to return for a five-day period now — the selection and the mustachioed company of devoted fluffy lumps are so far winning over the desire to work in the office.

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