If you already are an established cattery and want to bring in some fresh blood, start with very carefully selecting the pedigreed breeding cats that you want to use with your new foundation cats. This is probably one of the most important steps for successful outcross breeding. Before going on a search for outcross, evaluate your own breeding stock in an objective manner. Kind of from the outside looking in. Try to chose the best and healthiest only – do this in a very critical manner. Don’t try to fix up cats that already have many health problems. Females should be proven queens and mothers of several healthy litters without deformities, a low stillbirth rate and a reasonable litter size. There are still quite a few healthy Maine Coons out there, even with a 26 generation heavily line bred pedigree!! If you have a choice, try to use only cats with healthy gums and teeth and a good immune system. Also, watch for gentle and loving temperament and of course a good type and size. You will need good quality traits to balance out the weaknesses in your foundation cats. Do us a favor, don’t start an outcross program with mediocre looking Maine Coons please. If you have a big cattery, a foundation/part foundation male would probably be more economical and get you further ahead quicker than a female. Remember, you are on a journey and looking for outcross will be something you will need to do on a regular basis in the future, if you seriously want to help our breed. To find breeders who work with outcrossed lines, you can visit the heritage site, but be aware of the fact that not all Catteries displayed on this site actually work with newer foundation lines. When it is time to buy new breeding stock from foundation breeders, be on the alert. We have heard horror stories about living conditions and breeding practices. There are just as many BYB among foundation breeders as there are among show line breeders. Get many references and ask many questions. Visit the facility if you can. Make sure they test their breeding stock for breed-specific genetic problems like HCM, PKD, HD, etc. Also, they should take disease control and hygiene very seriously. Reputable foundation breeders will not sell breeding stock until they feel confident about their new line. Early generation cats will often only be traded with friends in order to try out the lines together. Sometimes early generations will be sold to breeders after the breeder had several healthy litters with a cat and feels relatively secure to release the offspring. So, there is the possibility to purchase an F2 or F3 after a few years of work with these new cats.