Breeding stunning Maine Coon Cats for health, temperament, and joy
Our Emotional Support Maine Coons Program
Cats have the natural ability to ease stress and lower blood pressure, just by petting one for a few minutes every day. Because Maine Coons are highly intelligent, trainable and love to be around people, they make excellent Emotional Support Animals. Maine Coons are not known to be “lap cats” (although a couple of mine are), but they are very affectionate. Often they will choose one person to bond with, and that person will be their person for life. These gentle giants also enjoy going for car rides, being outside and walking on a leash. So if you are looking for a cat as an emotional support animal, a Maine Coon might just be your perfect companion.
New Mercies Maine Coon Cattery understands the daily struggles life with PTSD and anxiety cause. My husband has PTSD from being deployed during his time in the military. I have anxiety, and my Maine Coons are a great help to my husband and I both. One of our daughters also has somewhat severe anxiety, and she has a Black Lab who is a registered ESA.
We are a family who knows that PTSD and anxiety are real disorders, and have seen first hand how helpful Maine Coons can be. So I am sure one could help you as well!
Because of our first-hand experience with emotional support animals, we want to help to make sure others get the same help. So New Mercies Maine Coon Cattery has an Emotional Support Maine Coons Program (ESMCP).
With the Emotional Support Maine Coons Programs, people who suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD, are on the autism spectrum, or disabled can get a kitten at a discounted price to be their help and companion. The Kitten Application and Emotional Support Maine Coons Program Application must be filled out and approved, and you must provide a letter from your doctor (therapist, psychiatrist or MD in some cases), on their professional letterhead, that states you have one of the above mentioned disorders and need an emotional support animal. This is to ensure our Emotional Support kittens go to people who actually need them, not people trying to find a "cheap" Maine Coon.
Who is the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program for?
Our Program is meant for those who have severe anxiety and/or depression, as well as a host of other conditions. We do not have a checklist for what it takes to get approved into the Program. Each application is judged on a case by case basis. However, you do need to be actively working with a therapist to treat the condition for which you need an emotional support animal.
Unfortunately there are A LOT of people who need and want an emotional support animal, and much of the time we get more applications for people wanting to join the Program than not. So, we have to be very protective of our ESMCP, and very picky about who we approve for the Program. We sometimes have to make the difficult decision to deny people. This does not necessarily mean they can't get a kitten, they just need to join our "general" Waitlist and get a "regular" pet kitten.
If you are denied for the Program but not for a kitten, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just about every kitten we produce makes a great emotional support kitten and companion, and if that is what you are looking for we will of course help you pick the right kitten that will meet your needs. You also can usually get a kitten quicker by joining our "general" Waitlist. And, you get much more freedom when picking your kitten and are not necessarily bound to just 1 or 2 choices.
How the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program works...
Once you have been approved for the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program, and signed our Waitlist Agreement, you will be added to our waitlist. We have a "general" Waitlist and a Waitlist for the ESMCP. Everyone gets a kitten in the order they join our waitlists, and those who join our "general" Waitlist may get a kitten after someone in the ESMCP. However, not every kitten in every litter will be eligible to be in the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program. This means the wait for an emotional support kitten could be much longer than if you join our "general" Waitlist. The only acceptation for this is for military/first responders in the ESMCP, and breeders. Those people will be bumped to the top of the Waitlist and receive preference in our next litter, in the order they join. There is not a waitlist fee to join the Waitlist in the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program.
When the litter is born your kitten will come from, we will watch their personality and temperament closely as it develops. You will be able to pick your kitten, however, regardless of your place on the Waitlist, you may still only have the pick of 2-3 kittens, or a kitten could just be assigned to you. This is because we will only allow kittens to go to the ESMCP who we feel have the best personality and temperament to be the perfect emotional support cat. The look or color/pattern of a cat has nothing to do with his/her ability to be a good emotional support animal/companion. Therefore, you do not get to pick your kitten based on gender, look, color/pattern, eye color, or if the kitten is a polydactyl or not. The kitten(s) you have the option to reserve must be received happily by you, otherwise you will be removed from the Program, and even may not able to get a kitten at all from our Cattery at all. If this is going to be a problem, the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program may not be the best option for you. Please look at the chart below to see the differences between getting an emotional support kitten and pet kitten, and which option will be best for you.
Kittens are available to be reserved when they are 6 weeks old. Once you have picked your kitten, you will then sign the Sales Contract and pay the $500 reservation fee. When the kittens are 13 weeks old, you will sign the Kitten Care Agreement and pay the remaining balance. Kittens will have their final vet checks around 13 weeks old as well. After the final vet check, you will sign the Health Contract with Spay/Neuter Agreement. Depending on when you are able to pick and reserve your kitten, you may sign both contracts and pay for your kitten at the same time.
Kittens in the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program are sold at a discount and are meant to be for emotional support/companionship only. Therefore, kittens sold through the ESMCP are never given show or breeding rights. These kittens are not of any lesser quality than any other kitten in New Mercies Maine Coon Cattery. No matter which kitten you get, he/she will be a beautiful and loving, pedigreed Maine Coon. The Sales Contract, Kitten Care Agreement, Health Agreement, and spay/neuter contract with SpaySecure will all be signed for each Emotional Support kitten. You can click here to review my contracts. Please note that there is not a specific contract for the Emotional Support Maine Coons program, only a specific Waitlist Agreement. All cats and kittens that leave our cattery have the same contracts. Anything that needs to be specified due to individual circumstances is done so in the Kitten Care Agreement or Health Agreement.
If you would like to have your kitten flown to you with one of our pet nannies, those arrangements can be made once your kitten is reserved. If you would like further information on our pet nanny service, you can click here.
Please contact us if you have questions or would like further information on our Emotional Support Maine Coons Program or policies.
Green is the official color for Mental Health Awareness
Pictured here is Conall when he first came to us at 5 months old. As of now he will be the only King to our Emotional Support Litters. He was a sweet boy from the beginning! Click here for more pictures and information on Conall.
You may only apply for a kitten for yourself, a minor child, an adult child with mental disabilities, or your spouse. Kittens will not be sold on behalf of someone else, or to be given as a gift/surprise. If you would like to give a kitten to someone as a surprise, please email us.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...
Isaiah 61:1
Our kittens make great emotional support animals and companions for both adults and kids!
Click the Facebook icon to find pictures and videos not on our website!
If you would like to apply for the Emotional Support Maine Coons Program, start by clicking here and filling out our Kitten Application. Once your Kitten Application has been submitted and reviewed, the application for the ESMCP will be sent to you.
What is the Difference Between Getting a "Pet Only" kitten vs an Emotional Support Kitten?
Emotional Support Kitten
-A separate application and letter from your therapist is required to be approved for the Emotional Support Program.
-A limited number of kittens from a litter are available as emotional support kittens.
-Not every litter will have an emotional support kitten.
-Usually longer wait time.
-Kittens cost less.
-Your kitten's only purpose is to be your companion.
-You may have your kitten assigned to you, or only get to choose from 2-3 different kittens.
-Kittens are not given breeding or show rights.
- Your desire in color/pattern, gender, eye color, or polydactyl are not taken into consideration. Emotional support kittens are assigned based only on personality/temperament.
-You must take one of the kittens the Breeder feels will suite your needs and wants best. This almost guarantees you get the perfect companion kitten.
"Pet Only" Kitten
-Does not require a separate application or letter.
-95% of kittens in each litter go as pet only.
-Usually shorter wait times.
-Kittens cost more.
-Your kitten can serve multiple purposes.
-You can pick just about any available kitten from a litter you would like.
-Show quality kittens are automatically given show rights. Breeding rights are not given to pet only kittens.
-Breeder will recommend the kitten(s) we feel will best suit you, but you are not necessarily bound by those suggestions.
-When picking your kitten you can take color/pattern, gender, eye color, or polydactyl into consideration, as well as personality/temperament.
-There is a very high chance you will get an amazing emotional support and companion kitten.
Training an Emotional Support Cat
Training a cat for emotional support is somewhat tricky. Cats can be trained, however, when it comes to helping with emotional support, they can't exactly be trained for that. When a dog is going to a person as an ESA, they are trained to meet their person's specific needs. Dogs can be trained to sense when their person is having a panic attack, falling into a deep depression, stuck in an anxiety loop, or a host of other things, and preform a task. They can bring their person an object such as a blanket or medication bottle, or they can even be trained to sit next to or lay on their person's chest if that is what is needed. Cats cannot exactly be trained in this way. A cat may sense their person is in need of them and respond, but that is not necessarily going to happen each time. Maine Coons are still cats, and while they are amazing and love people, they can still have the classic "I don't care" attitude at times.
So what do our emotional support kittens do?
Mostly, they offer companionship. They are there to give attention to their person, but also to give their person something to focus on. Having a purring cat lay in your lap while you pet him is very calming and relaxing and can help ease anxiety. But an emotional support cat also gives a person something to take care of and live for. They help make you feel like you have a purpose and lift your spirit.
Do we do anything to train our emotional support kittens?
Yes! The first step we take is to carefully pick our breeding cats. We want breeding cats that make good emotional support cats themselves and love attention and people. When we have a litter of kittens, we watch the personalities and temperaments of each of them as they develop. Once we identify the kittens that show the most promise to be good emotional support cats, we start working on desensitizing them and make sure they are highly socialized. They go on car rides, meet people, are handled often, and get use to loud noises so they are not easily startled by anything. We try to make it so they are raised around people constantly, therefore they will always want to be around people. A lot of this happens with the entire litter, which is why so many of our kittens are great for emotional support, whether that is their main purpose or not.
Is there anything you can do to train your kitten once you get him/her home?
Yes, and no. Like we said, cats can't be trained like dogs. But what you can do is make sure your kitten is with you as much as possible. Kittens can easily and quickly adapt. So if you are not spending time with your kitten like we did, they will at first cry a lot, telling you they want attention. But if they don't get attention, they will quickly stop asking for it and become use to not having attention. You will also want to make sure your kitten knows that you are caring for him/her. Make sure your kitten sees you filling the food/water bowls and changing the litter box. If it is possible for the kitten to sleep with you, that would be ideal. This will all help your kitten bond to you. This is also why the training we are able to do with the kitten for you is somewhat limited.
After your kitten has bonded to you and grown a little, that is when you will start to see the kitten respond to your emotional needs. You need to understand that a 16 week old kitten might not be capable of responding to your emotional needs as they are still a baby. But after a month or so you will likely begin to see some response when you need it. When you do see that response from your kitten, reward it! Pet the kitten, snuggle and give him/her treats. If you are not able to give treats yourself at that moment, have someone else do it for you while the kitten is responding to you. Rewarding behavior in the moment will be key to training your kitten to continue to respond that same way each time you need it. Again, we can't promise your kitten will respond the correct way every time, but hopefully, with enough time and work, the kitten will come to help you more often than not.
Did you know that emotional support animals can get some of the same benefits as a service dog? Here are some links that can provide you with some helpful information.
If you would like information on registering an emotional support animal or getting a letter from a doctor, you can visit this website.
This website explains the difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal. It is from the AKC so it specifically talks about dogs, but the information is the same for all species.
If you are looking for information on the law pertaining to emotional support animals and housing, you can read this PDF written by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And here is another PDF from the same department with some general information on the laws for emotional support animals.
Finally, here is a PDF written by the Department of Housing and Urban Development explaining that emotional support animals do not need any special training. It looks like it is blank at first, but keep scrolling.