This cat’s as big as a dog — and sweet as a baby.
A Maine Coon cat from Stary Oskol in eastern Russia is thought to be the world’s largest kitten at just under 2 years old — with perhaps years more before he stops growing.
Owner Yulia Minina bought the alabaster tomcat named Kefir — after the creamy cultured milk drink — two years and many pounds ago.
“But when strangers come to the house, everyone first confuses him with a dog,” she added.
In fact, Kefir weighs more than the average toddler.
The Maine Coon breed, as its name suggests, hails from the state of Maine from regarded as one of the oldest homegrown breeds in North America.
Until the Savannah cat was introduced in the 1980s, the muscular, broad-chested Maine Coon was considered the largest domesticated breed in the world — with an average weight of up to 18 pounds for males, and 12 pounds for females, reaching lengths over three feet, including the tail.
But Kefir has already eclipsed the average Maine Coon.
Since gaining 28 pounds with still two more years to size up (Maine Coons are known to grow for up to four years) — Minina can’t do all the things with Kefir she used to.
“At night he likes to climb on me and sleep. When he was a kitten, it didn’t cause me any inconvenience,” she explained. ”But now he has become big and heavy, and, of course, it is difficult to sleep like that.”
Minina added that the images of her cradling the overgrown cat are evidence of his extraordinary stature as she promised, “I don’t use Photoshop.”
https://nypost.com/2022/01/18/maine-coon-kitten-outweighs-toddler-people-confuse-him-with-a-dog/
A Maine Coon cat from Stary Oskol in eastern Russia is thought to be the world’s largest kitten at just under 2 years old — with perhaps years more before he stops growing.
Owner Yulia Minina bought the alabaster tomcat named Kefir — after the creamy cultured milk drink — two years and many pounds ago.
“But when strangers come to the house, everyone first confuses him with a dog,” she added.
In fact, Kefir weighs more than the average toddler.
The Maine Coon breed, as its name suggests, hails from the state of Maine from regarded as one of the oldest homegrown breeds in North America.
Until the Savannah cat was introduced in the 1980s, the muscular, broad-chested Maine Coon was considered the largest domesticated breed in the world — with an average weight of up to 18 pounds for males, and 12 pounds for females, reaching lengths over three feet, including the tail.
But Kefir has already eclipsed the average Maine Coon.
Since gaining 28 pounds with still two more years to size up (Maine Coons are known to grow for up to four years) — Minina can’t do all the things with Kefir she used to.
“At night he likes to climb on me and sleep. When he was a kitten, it didn’t cause me any inconvenience,” she explained. ”But now he has become big and heavy, and, of course, it is difficult to sleep like that.”
Minina added that the images of her cradling the overgrown cat are evidence of his extraordinary stature as she promised, “I don’t use Photoshop.”
https://nypost.com/2022/01/18/maine-coon-kitten-outweighs-toddler-people-confuse-him-with-a-dog/
