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Why is our cattery named Cat Paravel?
The name actually came to us pretty quickly. We wanted something unique — not tied to trendy words like cool, VIP, or luxury — and something that wouldn’t easily be duplicated.
We also wanted the name to have a connection to Narnia. Our whole family loves C. S. Lewis, and The Chronicles of Narnia has always been one of our favorites. If you’ve read it, you probably remember the beautiful castle of Cair Paravel — magical, warm, and full of life.
And then it just clicked. My daughter said, “Cat Paravel”… and we all instantly loved it.
It felt perfect — a little magical, a little meaningful, and completely ours.
How do we bathe our cats?
I love bathing them, and I do it about every other month, sometimes more often.
The first thing I do is apply degreasing Groomer’s Goop paste to the tail, belly, neck, and behind the ears. It’s important to apply it to dry fur! I thoroughly spread the paste over the tail so that almost every hair is covered. Leave it on for about 5 minutes, keeping an eye on the cat to prevent licking.
Then rinse everything thoroughly with water. After the paste, we use Groomer’s Goop Shampoo twice — it removes the paste best. Some people use dish soap for this — I’m not sure how it works, but it does. After GG, I like to use Yuup or Jerob shampoo, and for white or mostly white cats, I use a purple shampoo (Yuup or White on White). Don’t forget to rinse the shampoo thoroughly after each application.
I don’t always use conditioner, since the coat can get greasy afterward. But I do apply cologne — just to make them smell nice! There are many options on Amazon.
For drying, you can use a regular hair dryer, a pet dryer (high-velocity dryer), or a special drying box for pets.
Who to choose; male or female? or Both?
This is the first question I ask my clients when they’re looking for Maine Coon kittens . Honestly, I don’t understand why, but about 60% prefer a male, 30% prefer a female, and 10% don’t care — 'show us the photos and we’ll decide.'
Here’s my personal opinion and experience as a Maine Coon breeder in Minnesota. First, something important I always mention right away: if you’re getting just one kitten, you most likely won’t notice much difference at all. One kitten means one personality, and everything usually goes very smoothly.
Things start to feel a little different when you’re getting two Maine Coon kittens. From my experience, the easiest combinations are male + male or male + female — those tend to be the most balanced dynamics.
A slightly different story begins when it’s two females — not bad, just… more interesting 😄. Females aren’t harder — they’re simply more detailed in their personalities and often need a more thoughtful, attentive approach… just like girls usually do. Males, on the other hand, tend to be simpler and more straightforward.
Males just need to sleep, eat, have their bellies scratched… and chat with birds through the window. And females — well, like real girls — they want attention, emotions, involvement, and yes… a little DRAMA 😄. They’re always ready to 'solve' things TOGETHER.
Starting a fight over a toy? Easy. Opening the unopenable, tearing off the untearable, climbing where no one can reach — no problem!!!! Every female has a BFF — or even several — and these girls quickly organize a small 'criminal gang.' One starts chewing on the corner of a door, and the others must try it too — 'what if it tastes good?' And suddenly everyone’s involved.
They’re incredibly smart and sometimes a little… creative 😅. Yes, whiskers may suffer — usually the weakest one’s — but that’s part of learning feline social dynamics.
So in short: If you enjoy an active home, strong personalities, emotions, and interaction — a female can be an amazing choice. If you prefer calm, predictability, and peaceful vibes — a male might be a better fit.
Some people worry about males marking, but after neutering they usually don’t mark at all. They simply stop caring — girls are no longer interesting, so there’s no reason to mark. And my 5-year-old stud (the father of all kittens) doesn’t mark either — even though he’s not neutered.