In the beginning...

Liscoonvarna cattery was established in the spring of 1994. My love for the breed began when I purchased a Silver Mackeral Tabby pet quality Maine Coon named Mewsette. She arrived in March, and by summer I was on the lookout for someone who could help me get started with breeding. I went to every show I could find in Southern California for a couple of months, talking to all the Maine Coon breeders and learning as much as I could about these wonderful cats. When I wasn't show hopping I was tracking down and reading books and magazines on Maine Coons, breeding, cat care, and anything else even remotely relavent. I have owned cats all my life, and had some experience as a teenager with breeding purebreds when I helped my parents with raising Siamese, so that combined with my avid interest in genetics (from high school biology class to raising various color morphs of corn snakes) gave me a head start. Finally, I met Elizabeth Wilkerson (Pacificoon Maine Coons in San Diego, CA) at Incats in Anaheim, and after hearing my case she agreed to help me get started, with the condition that I would work closely with her until she felt I was ready to be on my own. Betsy soon became one of my closest friends. Pacificoon's Antera Gael was my first breeding female, who was joined that fall by Coycoons Greystoke of Liscoonvarna ("Ace"). I began showing Antera at the first possible opportunity, and through showing and breeding I made a lot of really great friends as well as learning more about cats than I could have thought possible. Learning a breed standard is more than just reading the description, and I looked at literally hundreds of Maine Coons before I had any sort of grasp on what made a good one. My first litter, from Antera and Pacificoon's Blue Bear, was a whopping ONE kitten. Liscoonvarna's Smoky was a beautiful healthy blue classic tabby boy who went home with a wonderful girl in the Los Angeles area. After Antera had recovered from that one, Ace got a chance to prove himself at the ripe old age of 8 months. The result: NINE kittens! I fell in love with the black smoke boy, Liscoonvarna Sssmokin' ("Mokers"), and he eventually took over for Ace as my primary stud cat. Over the next couple of years I brought home Coonriggers Enya of Liscoonvarna and Charlemaine P. LadyJ ("Jessie") of Liscoonvarna, went to countless more shows, had lots of beautiful kittens, and made a lot more friends through the shows and new kitten owners.

Liscoonvarna, the name...

Almost everyone who hears the name Liscoonvarna wonders how on earth I came up with it. The question is actually where, and the answer is Ireland. A couple of years before I discovered Maine Coons, I became completely enamoured with the Emerald Isle and determined that I must go there as soon as I could manage it. I took my first trip in May of 1993 with my best friend Mary, and during our travels we passed through an adorable little town called Lisdoonvarna in the middle of The Burren in West Claire. Lisdoonvarna hosts the annual Matchmaking Festival. I remembered this when searching for a cattery name, and with a little appropriate editing came up with Liscoonvarna.

Liscoonvarna today...

In April of 1999 my husband Scott and I moved to Denver, Colorado, and in fall of 2000 we purchased our first home with our friend Mary and her son Ryan. We are all very happy to have lots more space for us and the kitties, and of course it is a wonderful relief to stop thowing money away on rent! The current Liscoonvarna feline family consists of Ves'tacha (Oakbear Ves'tacha of Liscoonvarna, brown patched classic tabby with white female), Fireon (Royal Mainly's P. Fireon Ice of Liscoonvarna, red-silver (cameo) classic tabby with white polydactyl male), Shania (Liscoonvarna's Shania Twain, dilute calico smoke female), Chinook (Aviricoons Chinook of Liscoonvarna, blue mackerel tabby neuter), Pele (Amerrykoon Pele of Liscoonvarna, tortoiseshell and white polydactyl female), and Chiana (Liscoonvarna's Chiana, blue smoke female). For more information on all of our cats, go to the FAMILY page. Liscoonvarna kittens are raised strictly indoors with lots of love and attention and are never caged. They are fed a good quality balanced diet (Natura pet foods, dry and canned), kept free from parasites, and protected from infectuous deseases by a vaccine schedule of Fort Dodge Fel-O-Vax 4 at 8 and 12 weeks of age. This includes Rhinotracheitis, Calici, Panleukopenia (distemper), and Chlamydia. Feline Leukemia vaccinations are left to the discretion of new owners (except in the case of international shipping), as recent studies have found that this vaccine can cause injection site sarcomas (tumors) in a small percentage of cases, and they should be unnecessary with strictly indoors-only cats. Rabies vaccines have been recently reformulated (Purevax), and no longer pose the risk of sarcomas, however both Rabies and Feline Leukemia vaccines should not be given until four months of age. Adults and newcomers are tested, and all of our cats and kittens are guaranteed to be free from infectuous diseases. Our kittens are litterbox trained, socialized, vaccinated and ready to go to new homes at the age of 12 weeks, or 16 weeks if they will travel by air. Please see the Shipping page for more information on air travel. We use a standard sales contract which assures the health and happiness of each kitten. Please watch the NEW KITTENS page for the latest information about kitten availability, pricing, and general breed info.