Teddy Bearz's Baby Book Updates

[Karol]

I heard that the so-called "line breeding" (breeding with related cats) was (and sometimes still is) done to make sure that certain characteristics that are typical for the maine coon breed, are kept for future generations. Some breeders also do it in order to create a type of coonies from which other people will immediately say "oh that's a cat from that cattery"; so in order to create a cat that is automatically linked to their cattery just by its looks.

Also carry in mind that the number of maine coon breeders wasn't as big in the past as it is now, so that the number of different blood lines was also lower, and that inbreeding can sometimes have been out of "necessity" cause their wasn't another choice.

When it comes to line breeding, you really have to know what you are doing, though! You cannot just mix related cats with each other. You have to be absolutely sure that those cats are as healthy as possible; because inbreeding does involve an extra risk when it comes to health.

Nowadays there aren't as many breeders who still practise inbreeding, though every now and then I hear about someone who still does. The opposite is becoming slightly more popular lately: breeders bring in new blood (foundation cats), mostly longhaired house cats who have the necessary characteristics for maine coons. They show them a number of times in order to get a certificate that states that the cat answers to the so-called "standard image" of the maine coon, and then they breed new generations maine coons with a new bloodline.

[mcguy]

You know what? The more I look I realize that he is related to every bloodline there is. :lol"

I think if anyone tries this, I am certain they will end up in the same spot at one point. :lol

Yes, the vast majority of modern MCs have highly similar bloodlines. I used to be surprised how a distant MC could look so similar to one of ours, but now I realize that it is not really unexpected given the common sources of most of their genes.

I also recommend this article from the Pawpeds MCHS:
Interview Calicoon and Tanstaafl cattery
And here you can still find Beth Hicks cattery along with some info and photos:
Tanstaafl & Calicoon Maine Coons
Photos of some of the famous ancestors can even be found here:
Maine Coon Ancestors - An archive of Maine Coon breeding cats and their breeders.

And here is our girl Bella's entry in Pawpeds:
http://pawpeds.com/db/?a=p&id=631672...e=iso&o=ajgrep

[candes]

Hi all! Lost my electricity for 3 days. Right when I was starting to have fun with this linage stuff.

Anyways, I found some interesting things. You see, the spots were what got me looking around. They don't seem very common. Plus the spots appeared in the same fashion as would a wild feline. And he eats like a wild animal. No, not just quantity, but his mannerisms... Teddy does have a lot of relatives outside of the main foundation lines. And that is the part of the family the spots came from. Ahhh Ha....!

But get a load of this relative amongst others.... Havenwood Bobcat of family Zoo Now I am certain this is a MC, but I found it funny given it also came from his spotted side. Anyways, I won;t be happy until I find where those spots came from. Since I am worried that something odd happened down the line.

noteworthy lines....
- Jo Stad Jon Bell of Belwitch///Jo Stad Prudence///Jo Stad Milo (see pic - this page) http://pawpeds.com/MCO/mchs/articles/JoStad_de.html

Pics of Ancestralk MC
http://pawpeds.com/MCO/ancestors/ancestors1.html

Nice notes
http://www.loxly.com/mclc/foundation...rom_ulrika.htm

[candes]

Oh and almost forgot. Teddy B grew a tremendous amount in those 3 days. Check out his recent pic.

[Antonia]

Oh and almost forgot. Teddy B grew a tremendous amount in those 3 days. Check out his recent pic.

Wow... his spots are turning out nice as well...
I hope your neighbours weren't too attached to that gerbil.

[FreyjaRoMaine]

Oh and almost forgot. Teddy B grew a tremendous amount in those 3 days. Check out his recent pic.

You might not want to let him chase butterflies on the dining table anymore - he'll hang over both ends of it now...

[candes]

I picked that picture since the face reminded me so much of a Mackeral MC. Just add the spots... Oh right, I have those already.

Anyways, I am a huge history buff. So this ancestral suff was fun to read. What our cats history comes down to? Just grab a few kitties from the local shelter or woods in Maine and breed them. Many of our cats ancestors were strays at one point.

Teddies spots came from his mothers side. And it appears that one of the recent catteries in his linage went for the lean, long bodied, shorter fur, muscular, and striped or spotted look. Which I think was carried forward from earlier catteries in his mothers linage. On this side he has the least relatives from the main stream. And more from the smaller unknown catteries in Maine. (He is an eastern US kitty.) So Teddies gene poll is more diverse than the norm.

Now he does have different Jostadt cats on both sides of his family. And from what I read it is rare to have cats from that linage.

[candes]

Well, Teddy Bear is quite the jumper now. And nothing is off limits. My sister gave me some doggie chicken jerky for Teddy to teeth on. And he decided to help imself to the bag on the kitchen counter. 2 pieces left out of like 10. Yes teddy is teething even worse now. And just as hungry as ever.

Took Teddy out on a harness and leash yesterday for the first time. He is an immature and spry ol chap and not to be trusted without a leash quite yet. He did very well, and his moggie siblings made sure he was comfortable in strange surroundings.

He also went for his first car ride on a leash also. He was the perfect gentleman. And was also well behaved when visiting my mother. Walked on the leash somewhat decently.

In the first pic he was telling my husband "hey comb me too". Now Cleo is a very large 16 pound cat. My little baby is catching up very fast!

In the next pic, Teddy is trying out his new dog bed. Oh oh.... How long will this bed last?

The next pic was during our power outage. Still cute...

The pic on the couch shows how he is such a ham for the camera. Darn, he kept posing for me. Totally serious! He LOVES having his pic taken!

The pic of him with my redhead Nala... She is an exceptionally large female moggie. Look at the size of Teddy at 4 3/4 months!!!

And finally, look at the length of this babe! Wowza!!!

[Howlinbob]

Hi Candes, lovely pics! Isn't he coming on well. I'm impressed you have walked him on a leash already. I have tried my 2 on harnesses and they hate it. Larry can wriggle out of his in 5 minutes, and Monty just crouches down and sulks, you can just imagine him saying 'get this thing off me NOW'. Maybe I should persevere, but now we've enclosed the garden there doesn't seem to be much point.

[candes]

Well, Howlinbob, the leash and harness business was not perfect. He did bulk for a minute. But he did manage to visit a large porion of my yard on it. Now running didn't work out very well since the retractible leash was only about 15 feet long. Picture that one... A nice sprint then, whoa.....brakes..... He will learn...

Tonight I took him outside after work at 2AM. It was windy and very cold. He tried walking with his tail wraped around himself at first. But later, I even got the ol "ahh ma... can't I play a bit longer"....

The harness in the yard is temporary anyways. Just until he can be trusted not to jump the fence. It takes a while to train them to stay in the yard. Then we will just use it for walks in the park , relative visits, or pet store visits etc...