The largest cat - in the world, breed, domestic, photo, on Earth, wild, top

How much does the biggest cat weigh?

It is known that the size of a predator depends on the size of its prey. Domestic cats, no matter what breed they belong to, hunt rodents, reptiles, and birds weighing up to 1 kg. The second important factor is the size of the ancestors. Domestic “tigers” have a Libyan wild cat (Felis silvestris lybica) weighing 4–7 kg. Therefore, the average weight of a pet rarely exceeds 3.5–4.5 kg.

An animal living in an apartment is more likely to gain excess weight than an animal living on the street due to the difference in physical activity. But the non-household pet will become longer or higher at the withers than its fellow tribesmen. To increase in size, you will need tall and massive ancestors. These are the breeds we will talk about.

The top 10 largest cats include:

Siberian cat;
ragamuffin;
Turkish van;
British Shorthair;
chartreuse;
Norwegian forest;
ragdoll;
khausi (chausi);
savannah;
Maine Coon.

Siberian cat

The exceptionally beautiful Siberian cat is already 1000 years old. Russian felinologists (this is the name given to specialists who study the anatomy, physiology and habits of domestic cats) believe that the first “Siberians” were brought to Russia by merchants from Central Asia. Over time, harsh climatic conditions forced cats to acquire long hair. Just like the Chartreuse, the Siberian cat grows up to 5 years. An adult male weighs 4–6 kg. The height of the male is 40 cm, the female is 30 cm.

The Russian breed standard was recognized by the World Cat Federation in 1991. Since the 2000s, the Siberian cat has been considered the national breed of Russia.

Eurasian lynx

Of all the cats that inhabit European forests, the largest is the common lynx. The body weight of a male is about 29 kg, females are 4-6 kg lighter. The body length does not exceed 130 cm. Mammals live in Russia, Central Asia, Central and Northern Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, the extermination of predators led to the threat of their extinction. Today, lynx fishing is prohibited everywhere.

The animal with tasseled ears and a short tail seems cute and harmless. But under the spotted thick coat hides a skillful and cunning hunter, capable of smelling prey at a distance of 2 km. Its victims include hares, foxes, birds, rodents and small ungulates: roe deer and musk deer. Lynx never attacks people. Even an adult caught by a person is easily tamed and becomes a pet.

British Shorthair

The theory of the origin of the British Shorthair states that the ancient Romans brought cats with them from Egypt, which, having crossed with local ones, laid the foundation for the British Shorthair. All this happened in the 1st century AD. e.

The most recognizable are the “British” ones with blue-gray fur. But there are others: cream, black, white, silver, tortoiseshell. Animal height – 30–45 cm. Weight – 5–9 kg.

Jaguar

The range of jaguars is Central and South America. The Olmec Indians inhabited these lands in the 2nd century BC. e., they believed that people and huge spotted cats had common ancestors. Today, the graceful animal, once revered by man, is in danger of extinction and is listed in the Red Book.

Chartreuse

The ancestors of the Chartreuse are unknown. But felinologists associate the appearance of the breed with the Crusaders and the Order of the Carthusians. Chartreuses accompanied ships to Africa, saving ship supplies from rodents.

The cat has 2 features. First of all, there is a pronounced hunter’s instinct. Therefore, the animal is not recommended to live together with rodents and birds. Another feature is long-term growth. The pet grows up to 5 years. The height of an adult Chartreux is 30 cm, weight is 7–9 kg for a male and 4–5 kg for a female.

Pixie bob

Another representative of the giants among cats is the pixie-bob, which has short fur and looks like a lynx, from which it is almost indistinguishable.

Pixie bobs are like little lynxes: they have tufted ears and a similar coloration. In addition, these animals have very short tails. A male can weigh up to eight kilograms, and a female can weigh up to five. A pixie-bob cat can be purchased for 25 – 70 thousand rubles.

Norwegian forest

The breed was obtained by natural crossing of domestic and wild forest cats (weight – 3–8 kg, body length – up to 80 cm). The furry Viking pet is the only breed that can climb down from a tree, moving head down.

It is believed that the seals in the ancient images of the chariot of the goddess Freya are the ancestors of the Norwegian forest cat. The height of the animal at the withers is 40 cm. Weight is 6–11 kg.

Cheetah

The cheetah is known as the fastest land animal in the world. Its speed is admired in Africa and Iran, where it catches its prey with a short sprint. His light build coupled with his long legs is what makes him so fast. Its pale yellow body covered with black spots can reach one and a half meters in length.

Ragdoll

This is a breed obtained through selection in the 20th century. Breeder: Ann Baker from California, USA. The breed was registered in 2000. Known for her flexible character.

The name comes from the habit of relaxing. The pet purring in your arms sags, resembling a rag doll. It is believed that the observed flexibility of the cat is associated with a genetic disorder. Height at withers – 30–40 cm. Weight – 7–12 kg.

Puma

This representative of the cat family is a champion in the number of names. Residents of different countries know the puma as a Mexican lion, panther, mountain screamer, red tiger, cougar... In total, there are 83 definitions of an animal whose beauty and grace are combined with ruthlessness and composure.

The puma's habitat is the forests and mountainous regions of America. The silhouette of the predator resembles a small lioness. The height of the golden beauty is 60–85 cm, weight is about 90 kg. A distinctive character trait of the puma is patience. Waiting for prey, it sits in ambush for a long time, without giving away its presence. Once caught in a trap, the mammal calmly tries to get out of the grip. In case of failure, he falls into melancholy and motionlessly awaits death.

Housey (chausie)

The third place in the top is occupied by the hydrid of the jungle cat and the domestic cat – chausie. The length of the wild ancestor is 60–90 cm, weight is 8–12 kg. Special features: short tail and tufted ears. Chausie weight is 14–16 kg. Height at withers – 40 cm.

The breed owes its popularity to tourists visiting Egypt. Travelers noticed the soft sandy color, regal manners and hunting skills of the furry resident of this eastern country. The stories of tourists interested the breeders. As a result, in 1960 the first American-bred Chausies appeared.

Savannah

The breed was obtained by crossing a Bengal cat with an African Serval. The serval weighs 8–18 kg, reaches 65 cm at the withers. The length of the body with tail is 90–135 cm. Savannah was registered in 2001. The height of the miniature relative of the cheetah at the withers reaches 60 cm. Weight is 15–18 kg.

In 2007, a new breed of Asher was introduced to the public. Upon careful analysis, it turned out that the cat belonged to the Savannah breed. Although some sources still believe that the Asher is a separate breed.

Maine Coon

The largest cat in the world is the Maine Coon. Native New Englander originally from Maine. A famous mousecatcher and ship's cat until the very beginning of the 20th century. Little is known about the origin of the giants. Some Felinogoli believe that the cat came to North America along with the Vikings in the pre-Columbian era. Others say that the cats of the French Queen Marie Antoinette were brought to America to save the fluffies from an angry people.

Considering the long biography of a member of the ship's crew, this cat should have genes from many breeds. There is even an assumption that the Maine Coon is a hybrid of a long-haired cat and a raccoon, which is impossible from a biological point of view.

The Maine Coon, the largest cat in the world, looks like this: a massive animal with smooth shaggy fur and a proportional body. Broad chested, muscular. Strong paws of medium length are covered with dense hair. A square muzzle with long tufted ears and stern eyes.

The brownish-striped color is so common that not everyone knows about other options: white, black, blue, silver, red. The largest purr weighs on average 8–12 kg. The height of the male at the withers is 33 cm. The largest seals live to the age of 13–17 years.

A kitten of any breed is expensive if it comes from record-breaking parents. In the case of Maine Coons, it is also taken into account that a large pet requires 4 times more food than a domestic purr weighing 5 kg. Therefore, the average price of the largest cat in the world is 100–150 thousand rubles. If the kitten’s parents are world exhibition record holders, then the cost reaches 700–1500 euros. But the average feed consumption per muzzle will cost the owners 15–20 thousand rubles per month.

Interesting records

Sometimes among the record holders there were very funny cats. For example, the heaviest cat was the representative of the title “The plumpest domestic cat” with the funny name SpongeBob. He weighed about 15 kg, but now he had to go on a diet.

He was the last cat to take first place in this category, because they decided to exclude the category itself, so that lovers of fame, their owners, would not torture their poor animals. After all, there have been cases when the owners of a cat achieved its victory by sacrificing the life of their pet. This is exactly what happened to the cat Khiimiya from Austria, who was able to gain weight of 21 kilograms. Unfortunately, it was obesity that killed him.

You need to take care of your pets, do not forget about their health, give them love and care, then you will become the owner of the happiest cat in the world.

The biggest cat in history

For decades, Himmy from Australia was considered the largest cat in the world. In 1986, at the time of his death, Himmi weighed 21.3 kg.

Guinness World Records soon eliminated the weight category, focusing on length and height. The record holder for length was a Maine Coon from Italy - Barivel. On May 22, 2022, the length of the record holder was 120 cm. However, Maine Coons grow up to 4 years old. In 2022, Barivel will turn 5 years old, which means the record holder has had time to grow up. Himmi was inferior in length to Barivelu and reached only 96 cm.

In the photo: Barivel is a record-breaking cat for size.

Large wild cats

Wild cats are found all over the planet. Each species is unique in its own way.

Largest wild cats:

cougars;
leopards;
jaguars;
lions;
tigers.

The puma is known by the names: mountain lion, cougar. Found from Alaska to Canada in North America to Chile in South America. Puma length is up to 2.4 m. Weight is 59–68 kg.

The leopard is a strong and inconspicuous spotted cat that lives in Asia and Africa. It grows up to 1.9 m in length and reaches a weight of 75 kg. Leopards are sometimes attacked by other large cats, including lions and tigers. To avoid problems, leopards hunt at different times than lions.

Jaguars are America's largest cats. Most jaguars live in the Amazon rainforest. Predators grow up to 2.7 m. They weigh up to 158 kg.

Lions are the second largest dangerous feline species in the world. And this is the most social cat living in a group (pride). The length of the male including the tail is 3 m. Weight is 250 kg.

The tiger was considered the largest cat in the world. The animal grows up to 3 m, like a lion, but the tiger is heavier and weighs 300 kg. About the same as three cougars combined.

The liger is the largest representative of the felines. This is a hybrid of a male lion and a tigress. The predatory liger grows larger than its parents. Weight - 400 kg and length - 4 m. The animal has a lion's yellow-fawn color with dark brown tiger stripes. There are white ligers. There are only black ones, since there are no black parent animals.

Hercules - the largest liger in the world
The first ligers appeared in the 19th century in India. In 2022, the largest liger included in the Guinness Book of Records was Hercules, weighing 418.2 kg. A hybrid of a tiger and a lioness is called a tigon. But this cat is smaller. The average lifespan of hybrids is 10–15 years.

Irbis

The snow leopard is not the largest cat, but it is the rarest. It is distinguished from other leopards by its lighter skin, which is often light gray rather than yellow. The snow leopard lives mainly in the Himalayan mountains, but only a few have been able to see this animal. This is partly because there are now just over 4,000 individuals left, making it listed as an endangered species. Its weight can reach 75 kilograms.

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