I'm going to do something unusual: I'm going to answer every single verification question in this checklist about my own cattery, Chatlerie. Because if I'm asking you to hold breeders to this standard, I should be willing to be held to it myself. My TICA number is verifiable on tica.org. My HCM echo reports have my cardiologist's name on them. My cats — Euro, Coco, Libra, Angel, Eddie — are real and I'll show them to you on camera anytime you ask. Here are the 15 questions you should ask any breeder before you send a single dollar.
Why Verification Matters More Than Ever in 2026
The Maine Coon market in Illinois — and nationally — has been flooded with opportunistic breeders who appeared during the pandemic pet adoption surge and never left. Many have professional websites, active Instagram accounts, and registration numbers. The difference between a legitimate breeder and a problematic one is increasingly invisible to the untrained eye. The 15 questions below reveal what photos never will.
Before you begin: Never pay a deposit without completing this checklist. A legitimate breeder will welcome your thoroughness and answer every question without hesitation. One who deflects, rushes you, or takes offense is telling you something important.
The 15-Question Verification Checklist
TICA registration is verifiable at tica.org/find-a-breeder. Simply having a number isn't enough — you want to confirm the cattery name matches, the registration is current, and that it's not a lapsed or transferred registration being used misleadingly.
The answer must include a named board-certified veterinary cardiologist (DACVIM Cardiology credential). A "vet check" or "cardiac exam by our regular vet" is not HCM screening. Request the actual cardiologist report — not a breeder-created summary.
Optimal Selection and Wisdom Panel are the gold standard options. The panel should test for HCM mutation (MyBPC3-A31P), PKD, SMA, PK-Def, and blood type. Both the mother and father should be tested. Results should be on company letterhead, not a breeder's personal summary.
The answer should be 12 weeks minimum, with a substantive explanation of why. Breeders who say 10 or 11 weeks are marginal. Breeders who say 8 weeks are optimizing for turnover. The 12-week standard exists for feline socialization science, immune development, and litter reliability.
Any legitimate breeder will say yes immediately. The call should show kittens in their actual living environment, ideally interacting naturally — not a staged five-minute session. Watch for evasion, technical excuses, or offers to send more photos instead.
A legitimate health guarantee covers genetic conditions for a minimum of 2 years, specifies what documentation is required to make a claim, and defines the remedies (replacement kitten, partial refund, vet bill contribution). "We stand behind our kittens" is not a guarantee. Get the actual contract language.
Every responsible breeder includes a right-of-first-return clause. They want their cats back rather than having them surrendered to shelters. If a breeder has no policy on this, they're not invested in the long-term welfare of the cats they place.
The ethical standard is no more than two litters per year, with adequate rest periods. More than two litters annually per queen is a significant welfare concern. Breeders who keep this information vague or who frame it as "we match supply to demand" are often overbreeding.
References from actual families — not just testimonials on a website — are a powerful verification tool. Legitimate breeders maintain relationships with their kitten families and can provide references. Ask the references directly about the kitten's health, breeder communication, and whether they'd adopt from this breeder again.
At minimum: FVRCP doses appropriate for age. Legitimate breeders provide a written vaccination record on veterinary letterhead, not a handwritten note. They should also tell you exactly what your vet needs to administer next and when.
Kitten brokers present themselves as breeders while actually reselling kittens produced by others — often at higher prices, with no actual knowledge of the source cattery's health protocols. The breeder should own the mother, care for the kittens from birth, and be personally present throughout development.
A legitimate breeder can describe specific socialization activities: daily handling from week two, exposure to household sounds, introduction to different people, play sessions, grooming desensitization. If the answer is "they grow up in our home," that's a start but not a program.
A knowledgeable breeder has strong, specific opinions about nutrition and can explain their feeding philosophy. They should send you home with a supply of the current food and a clear transition plan. "Whatever you want to feed is fine" from a breeder with no feeding philosophy is a minor flag.
Responsible breeders maintain lifelong relationships with their kitten families. This includes availability for health questions, guidance as the cat ages, and genuine investment in how the cat is doing years after placement. A transactional breeder who disappears after the sale is a red flag.
The best answer involves temperament matching — pairing specific kitten personalities with family lifestyles. A breeder who says "first deposit gets first pick" or "you can choose based on color" is optimizing for sales, not outcomes. Matching the right kitten to the right family is what produces 15-year success stories.
Interpreting Your Results
| Score | Assessment | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 13–15 Pass | Excellent breeder — meets high ethical standards | Proceed with confidence. Trust your instincts. |
| 10–12 Pass | Generally solid — minor gaps worth discussing | Follow up on fails specifically. Most legitimate breeders will address gaps directly. |
| 7–9 Pass | Concerning — significant protocol gaps present | Walk away or get written commitments on every fail before any payment. |
| Below 7 | High-risk operation — not recommended | Do not proceed. The money you save now will cost you many times more in veterinary bills and heartbreak. |
How The Chatlerie Performs on This Checklist
We pass all 15 questions. We can provide our TICA registration number, our cardiologist's name and most recent echo dates, complete genetic panel PDFs for all breeding cats, references from recent kitten families, live video calls on request, and a contract with specific health guarantee terms. We hold kittens to 12 weeks minimum, practice structured socialization from week two, and maintain lifetime relationships with our families. If any breeder you're evaluating can say the same, they're worth serious consideration — regardless of whether they're us.
Documents to Request Before Any Deposit
- TICA cattery registration (verify independently at tica.org)
- HCM echocardiogram report from board-certified cardiologist — both parents
- Genetic panel results (Optimal Selection or Wisdom Panel) — both parents
- Vaccination record on veterinary letterhead
- Full adoption contract (review before signing, not at pickup)
- References from at least two recent kitten families