How to verify a Maine Coon health certificate yourself

Short answer: check that the document names the individual cat, comes from a named laboratory or cardiologist, carries a date, and can be traced back to its issuer. A PDF forwarded in a message proves only that someone has a PDF. Everything below is something you can do yourself, for free, before sending money.

Step 1 — Does it name the cat?

Not the cattery. The individual animal, ideally with a microchip number or registration number. A result that names only a cattery cannot be attached to the kitten you are buying, which makes it evidence about nothing in particular.

This is the single most common gap, and it is the reason microchip identity matters even though a chip is not required to list a kitten for sale.

Step 2 — Who issued it?

Look for a named laboratory (for DNA work) or a named, board-certified cardiologist (for an echo). Both are independently checkable: laboratories publish their test pages and pricing, and you can look up a veterinary cardiologist by name.

A document with no issuer is not a test result. It is a claim in a nice font.

Step 3 — Is it dated, and is the date still meaningful?

A DNA result is permanent — genotype does not change. An echo result is a snapshot and needs to be recent, because HCM is progressive. See how often breeding cats should be rescreened.

Step 4 — Go back to the source

This is the step that defeats a forwarded document. Rather than accepting the file you were sent, confirm it independently:

• For registration, contact the registry directly or use its own lookup — not the copy you were emailed. Scammers steal and edit real catteries’ paperwork, which is why we treat a forwarded registration form as unproven.
• For health results, ask which laboratory ran the test and confirm the result matches what the breeder told you.
• For published screening, some programmes publish results openly — the PawPeds health programmes are searchable.

Step 5 — Read what the result actually says

A result can be genuine and still not mean what a seller implies. “Clear” on a DNA test covers one mutation; it does not cover the heart. That distinction is the whole of why DNA-clear is not a clear heart.

What this is not

Running these checks confirms a document. It is not a guarantee about the animal’s future health, and no test is. What it does is move you from trusting a stranger’s word to trusting a record you verified — which is the entire difference between hoping and knowing. It is also, precisely, what our verification badge does and doesn’t promise.