Katherine Hearn speaks to judge (and Maine Coon lover) Daphne Butters.
“Maine Coons are just easy-going clowns,” said Daphne Butters, who as a judge for the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) and one of the first breeders in the UK is an expert in everything there is to know about the popular breed.“They are beautiful cats but it’s their personality that will win you over – the breed is very sociable, very intelligent but also not very demanding – and they are highly addictive!”
“Some people might be attracted to Maine Coons because of their size,” said Daphne,“but once they live with you, their size becomes irrelevant and it’s their character that makes them so special. They are not necessarily lap caps, but they want to be doing what you are doing and they are very adaptable to different situations due to their undemanding nature. They are gentle giants.
“They really like to be part of the family and although they like people in general, they do have members of the household who they prefer.”
Daphne used to show her non-pedigree cats when, in March 1989, she was at the Lancashire cat show when she saw two Maine Coon cats – rare in the UK at that time – and she was entranced.
“We thought that one of my cats at the time looked a bit like a Maine Coon – but they were pretty few and far between back then – then I saw one actually in the flesh and thought they were beautiful.”
FIRST MAINE COON
Then by luck two days later she saw that a breeder advertising kittens – and that was the start of her life with Maine Coons! Daphne's grandfather had recently died, leaving her a small legacy with instructions to buy something special and with that she bought her first Maine Coon, a blue and white girl called Bealltainn Breeze. She was soon joined by a red tabby, Bealltainn Hunkdory.
Daphne said: “I was lucky enough to be mentored and helped along the way by the breeders who were emigrating to Canada. I imported two cats in 1992 and then as well as showing Maine Coons we started breeding them, then I started stewarding at shows and then judging.”
When Daphne is judging Maine Coons she is looking to see how each cat measures up to the GCCF breed’s standard of points. For Maine Coons, these include things like having a strong head shape, ears that are in proportion to the cat, a distinctive ruff, a long tail to balance the cat out, and the characteristic two-layered coat.
Daphne said: “Basically Maine Coons were working domesticated cats who evolved in a rural environment so th
