UK's Oldest Maine Coon Club Just Got Hacked—Here's What Breeders Need to Know
The Maine Coon Cat Club UK—one of the oldest and most respected breed clubs in Britain—just lost something they've been building since the mid-1980s. In August, their long-standing Facebook page was hacked, and according to their website, it seems unlikely they'll regain control of the page.
Let that sink in for a second. Decades of community building, thousands of followers, years of posts about shows and litters and breed education—gone. Just like that.
The club has now set up a new Facebook page called Maine Coon Cat Club UK Original, and they're asking members to share it as they rebuild their community from scratch. But here's the thing: this isn't just an inconvenience. For a breed club that connects breeders with buyers, hosts annual shows, and publishes newsletters, losing your main social media presence is a legitimacy crisis.
**Why This Matters for Breeders**
If you're a breeder, your online presence is everything. It's how buyers find you. It's how you prove you're real, that you've been around, that other people trust you. When scammers are out here spinning up fake cattery websites overnight and stealing photos from legitimate breeders, your established social media accounts are one of the few things that actually prove you exist.
And Facebook pages? They're notoriously hard to recover once they're compromised. The Maine Coon Cat Club UK is still trying, but they're not optimistic. That's terrifying if you think about how many breeders rely on Facebook as their primary platform.
Here's what probably happened: someone got access through a phishing link, a compromised admin account, or maybe even a former member who still had permissions. Once they're in, they can lock out the real admins, change the page name, post whatever they want, or just delete everything. And Facebook's support for hacked pages? Let's just say it's not known for being fast or helpful.
**What Breeders Should Do Right Now**
First, audit your Facebook page permissions. Go into your page settings and check every single person who has admin or editor access. If someone left your cattery, if you added a friend to help you post once two years ago, if there's anyone on that list you don't 100% trust—remove them. Right now.
Second, turn on two-factor authentication for every account that touches your business. Facebook, Instagram, your email, your cattery website hosting. Every single one. Yes, it's annoying to pull out your phone every time you log in. You know what's more annoying? Losing your entire online presence.
Third, don't use the same password across platforms. If someone gets into your email, they shouldn't automatically get into your Facebook, your website admin panel, and your breeder registry accounts. Use a password manager if you have to.
Fourth—and this is the big one—diversify. If your entire business lives on Facebook and Facebook alone, you're one hack away from going dark. Have a real website with your own domain name. Be on Instagram. Keep your TICA or CFA breeder listings updated. Get listed on directories like GoodCattery where your verification isn't tied to a single social media account that can disappear overnight.
**The Bigger Picture**
The Maine Coon Cat Club UK will be fine. The club is well established with many members—breeders, owners, judges, and people who just love the breed. They've been around since 1985, they have a website, they're hosting their annual show on October 3rd, 2026, and their reputation isn't built on a Facebook page alone.
But smaller breeders? Individual catteries that are just getting started? If your Facebook page is your main point of contact with buyers and it gets hacked, you might not recover. Buyers will see a compromised page posting weird links or trying to scam people, and they'll assume that's you. Your reputation takes the hit even though you're the victim.
This is exactly why verification matters. It's why we built GoodCattery the way we did—breeders submit documentation, we verify their registry standing, and that verification lives on our platform, not on a social media account that can vanish. When a buyer finds you through GoodCattery, they're not just trusting a Facebook page that could be fake or hacked. They're seeing that someone actually checked.
**Takeaway**
The Maine Coon Cat Club UK hack is a wake-up call. If it can happen to one of the most established breed clubs in the UK, it can happen to anyone. Lock down your accounts, turn on two-factor authentication, and make sure your online presence doesn't live or die with a single platform.
Because in 2026, your digital security isn't just about protecting your data. It's about protecting your reputation, your business, and the trust you've built with buyers over years. Don't wait until you're the one scrambling to rebuild from scratch.