If you ask Wendy Kays, the owner of Powell-based breeder Bosley’s Angels Maine Coons, the cats are really “dogs in cats bodies.” 

“They're much more dog-like than cat-like and I raise them for their disposition,” Kays said. “Most people love their size, I love their disposition.” 

Maine coons look different from a typical cat. The breed has long broad ears topped with tufts of fur, a broad snout, bushy tails and large paws. Their most defining characteristic may be their average weight of between 15-20 pounds although Kays said they can grow to be larger. She has had some of her offspring grow to be as large as 35 pounds and others are well on their way. 

“​​The Maine coon is the original native American longhaired cat and was recognized as a specific breed in Maine where they were held in high regard for their mousing talents,” reads a history of the cat on the Bosley’s Angels Maine Coons site. “Through nature's own breeding program this breed has developed into a sturdy cat ideally suited to the harsh winters and various seasons of the region.”

Kays explained that Maine coons like to be near you but at the same time they don’t exhibit some clingy behaviors that can also be associated with a cat.

“They're really intelligent cats. I mean, I've had lots of buyers that have taught them all kinds of things they love to learn to play fetch…but I've had a lot of people harness training them,” Kays said. “I’ve got one in Colorado that goes out on the boat with his family.”

Kays has been breeding Maine coons since 2007 but had been familiar with the breed before that. When Kays was working for a veterinary clinic in Missoula an abandoned Maine coon was brought into the facility. The cat’s infection from its collar had begun to stink so badly that it had to be cut off outside of the clinic. At only 17 pounds he was a “sack of bones” at least for a Maine coon.

“The cat had a rabies tag on his collar and they traced it back to the veterinary clinic that gave him the rabies shot and determined that he was a purebred and Animal Control allowed me to adopt him,” Kays said. “And then I lost him several years later, but I had just absolutely fallen in love with the breed.”

At this time Kays was a farm manager in Tennesse for a woman named Ginny, who became a close friend and encouraged her to purchase another Maine coon. 

“So we drove all the way to Indiana, nine and a half hours each way I believe, to get me a male kitten that the intention was to bring home and neuter and we came home with nine breeding cats.”

At the time of the interview Kays had four kittens and three mothers expected to give birth at any minute. She has a total of 20 cats all either of European lineage or directly from Europe. These cats have colors and facial features that Kays said makes them stand out. 

When Kays moved to Powell in 2016 she attempted to retire from breeding for the second time. She sold off most of her Maine coons except for one male kitten who she intended to neuter but Ginny followed several months later with a female.

“It was almost like going through withdrawals, not having the kittens, not having the interaction,” Kays said.