Latest News
Here you will find all the latest news about the club and articles or events that we feel may be of interest to people.
21st April 2025 - Proposed changes to GCCF Maine Coon Standard of Points (SOP) and Maine Coon Registration Policy
Changes to both the GCCF Maine Coon SOP and GCCF Maine Coon Registration Policy have been proposed by the Maine Coon Breed Advisory Committee, following discussions with breeders, exhibitors and judges. These documents were both discussed at the Maine Coon Cat Club Annual General Meeting in March. They are now both on the agenda for the GCCF Council Meeting at the end of June, where they will be discussed by representative delegates from all GCCF Affiliated Clubs before being voted upon. If the proposals are accepted, the new SOP and Registration Policy will become active shortly afterwards.
To enable breeders, exhibitors and judges to view the potential changes, we have uploaded the draft versions of both documents - please remember that these are DRAFT only, showing the proposed new documents.
SOP - this proposal updates the SOP to prevent extreme type creeping in, and possible related health implications such as very narrow heads, extreme huge ear size and position on the head, eye entropism and unlevel jaw alignment (undershot bites) etc.
Registration Policy - this proposal updates the policy to allow offspring of GCCF registered "clear" Maine Coon cats with verified negative DNA tests for HCMmc, PKdef and SMA, to be registered on the active (breeding register) without the offspring requiring prior DNA testing. If the proposal is approved, this will help with breeders' costs when they are registering kittens on the active (breeding) register, provided both parents have been verified as clear (negative) for all three genes. All imports from any other organisation will still require the full range of verified tests. Cats being registered on the non-active register will not require testing, provided both parents are already GCCF registered (no change).
It also allows breeders/owners to swab Maine Coon cats/kittens purely for testing for colour, provided this DNA swab test is only for colour clarification (e.g. red self or red tabby). They will no longer require the swab for a colour clarification test to be carried out and verified by a vet/VN. However, if the test includes testing for other genes (e.g. HCMmc, PKdef etc), then the test must still be done by a vet/VN.
The policy also clearly states that only pure white Maine Coons can have blue or odd eyes. Any Maine Coon that is not pure white, and has either blue or odd eyes, will not be eligible for registration or importation. Recent research states that some dominant blue eye (DBE) genes are linked to health issues such as deafness and skull deformities, as well as not being a natural phenomenon from the origins of the breed. The health of our breed is paramount and we do not wish to introduce any gene which could impact on the wellbeing and future of the breed. There are no plans to accept DBE in Maine Coons in the future.
Both documents include the rationales for the changes at the end of the document.
30th March 2025 - New Titles for Kittens
The GCCF Kitten Titles are live from 5th April 2025, offering exhibitors the opportunity to earn official titles for their kittens. The new titles are Kitten Champion (KC) for pedigree kittens and Kitten Master Cat (KMC) for household pet kittens.To achieve a title, kittens must earn three KC or KMC certificates on three different show dates under three different judges. Entire and neutered kittens compete together in the same class, separated by males and females.Any judge that is already eligible to assess a kitten class, including Junior Judges, can award or withhold certificates as appropriate. GCCF is set up to track each kitten’s progress automatically.
11th March 2025 - GCCF Announcement about DNA Test Results:
To ensure the highest accuracy and precision in cats' records, GCCF have introduced a verification process for ALL Langford & Laboklin Health test results submitted to them. Every test will be confirmed with Langfords & Laboklin to verify authenticity. This may result in a slight delay to updating cat's profiles, however, we will honour the date you submitted the results to us. They appreciate your patience and understanding.
28th September 2024 - The 2024 Maine Coon Cat Club Show took place in September and was a huge success. You can find out more about our winners on Our Show page.
