Our socialization process

Continuous socialization is vital throughout each kitten's development. Kittens are born with propensities for certain behaviors, and those tendencies are shaped by experience. One of our important responsibilities is to encourage individual personalities to flourish by appreciating--and reinforcing--these innate tendencies.

At appropriate ages, CaliMaine kittens interact with a variety of loving humans, adult Coons, and our canine family members. Care is taken to insure positive experiences for all.

If you have a canine member of the family, you need not be hesitant to own a Maine Coon... at least not a CaliMaine Coon.

We raise our kittens with dogs, Karelian Bear Dogs to be specific, helping to ensure an easy transition for our CaliMaine kittens into families with their own canine family members. Hence the meaning of our paws logo. We believe both the cats and dogs benefit from interacting with each other, as these opportunities help us to socialize our animals to be good citizens.

Our Karelian Bear Dogs, full of energy themselves, enjoy a playful but respectful relationship with all of our Coons. Our Border Collie, Danny, helps to herd the cats, which is especially helpful at bath time.