Sun O'er Sea Maine Coons
Our mentee program is integral to Sun O'er Sea cattery. Without our team, we would cease to function and be unable to produce the quality we strive for. Our team is diverse but shares a love for Maine Coon Cats-- as a breed. One of the main struggles as a cattery ages is space; overcrowding is a risk that can be managed. This is how Sun O'er Sea prevents such issues. Read here about how the mentee model was born.
Every household maintains up to four Maine Coons who all contribute to the program in different ways. Some are line safes (meaning that they may never breed and are entrusted to guardian homes in case their parent does not produce better quality offspring). Others are youngsters, waiting to rotate into the main body of the cattery (our home). Others are outcrosses, acquired and maintained by Sun O'er Sea, though not bred here. Many are Sun O'er Sea cats-- the best of the best we can produce, preserving old American CFA show lines native to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and, of course, the upper Northeast.
Sun O'er Sea's Team & Mentees (2020-2024)
Sherry is our show and breeding mentee; she homes a few of our outcrosses (Red and Snow) and also now has Pip and Duke. She is one of the most trained and is prepared to handle the feline birthing process as well as kitten rearing. She has become an expert in stud housing.
She is currently showing Sun O'er Sea's A Rogue Duke (Duke) to championship in the Gulf region of CFA.
She has been a mentee since 2020 when our cattery needed to expand.
Sherry loves to raise the kittens and socialize. Her daughter Cora houses our big solid black queen, Bea. Her friend, Elaine, houses our line safe, Ariel.
My cousin Austin's first experience as a mentee in the cattery was with Morgana who unexpectedly gave birth on his lap in 2021. Of those kittens born while I was at work, he fell in love with Masika, Morgana and Hades' daughter. Seek-seek is his child and when she retires from the program, she will remain with Austin as a forever pet.
Currently, Masika has had two litters and is on rest in spring 2024. Austin, like Sherry, can handle it all: he takes the kids to vet appointments, births, and helps raise Masika's litters. He is one of the most self-sufficient mentees and he helps train his cats to therapy-level status.
Chances are, if you visit our cattery, you might meet a rodeo cowboy who also calls Sun O'er Sea home.
Shane's not the most photogenic, so I'll just put a photo of him from when he was riding broncs.
This cowboy is the manager of our cattery. He's as good with cats as he is horses and cattle. He handles as much as I do and oversees our program and socialization. He helps me with this endeavor from the ground up.
The team begins with me, Beth. I'm the founder of Sun O'er Sea. I am responsible and ensure the care and raising of every one of our babies. I handle it all-- the voice on the phone, the birthing of our kittens, and the assurance of a healthy future. I'm the one you send updates to, call at 3am, and visit.
I've had Sun O'er Sea for eight years now. It's been my heart and my soul. I love my cats and what I do.
We have some team members who missed photo-day.
Diana houses Hades (my stepdad's forever pet) and Calypso (her forever pet). Robert houses Morgana (his forever pet) and Hermione. Megan houses our line safe, Jack (her forever pet). Shane and I currently have Nyneve (our forever pet), Tony (our forever pet), and Charlie (he won't go far). We usually keep Morwenna (sister's forever pet), Nyneve, Tony, and Charlie as our primary household.