10 Guinness World Record Holding Cats

Cats are super cool, and those that break world records get to be just a little bit cooler than the rest. These 10 cats get to go down in history as being some of the most special cats in the world, and that’s not a title that just anyone can earn. These cats are long, short, loud, small, hairy and so much more. It takes a lot of work and commitment to find cats that meet the criteria used to break records, and each of these – all from the United States with the exception of one – managed to do just that. Read on to see which cats are Guinness World Record holders and for what.

The Shortest Cat Around

As of 2013, a cat by the name of Lilieput is the shortest cat alive. She’s 5.25 inches tall and that makes her very little. She is, not surprisingly, a munchkin cat by nature – not just because she is, well, a munchkin. She was just over 9-years-old when she was given the title of shortest cat alive by the people at Guinness, so she’s probably still alive provided she was in good health when she was given the title.

Smallest Cat in the World

Tinker Toy is a Himalyan-Persian mix, and that’s what makes his title so surprising. These are both usually very large cats, but this one is on the record as being only 2.75 tall and 7.5 inches long. The cat lived in Illinois, born in 1990. It lived only 6 years, however, and that’s probably because it had a number of health problems associated with its very small size.

Longest Cat on Record

Stewie was 8-years-old in 2013 when he lost his battle with cancer, but he will go down in history as being the longest cat alive when he was alive. The Maine Coon measured in at a very impressive 48.5 inches when he was fully stretched out, which makes him just barely a foot shorter than yours truly. He was a huge cat, but Maine Coons typically are, so that’s not a surprise. The cat lived in Nevada with his family when he passed from a very aggressive form of cancer. It was a sad day for his family and the people that knew and loved him from his record-holding.

The Loudest Purr

It takes a lot of work and effort to measure the sound that a cat makes when it is purring, and that’s what someone did in the United Kingdom back in 2011. Smokey, a domestic house cat living in Northampton, was recorded using some very sophisticated equipment in the presence of some very important people. Smokey’s purr was measured at 86.3 decibels, which is apparently quite loud for a cat to purr. I have no idea what this means, but I feel that when my babies are napping on me and my cat is purring, it seems so much louder than that.

Most Expensive Cat

We all enjoy expensive things from time to time, but how about a cat that cost more than $26,000? And the record for this cat was set back in the late 1980s (1987 to be exact), so imagine what that cat would be worth today with inflation. The cat was the Neiman Marcus Christmas book cat from the previous year, and that’s part of the reason it cost so much money. It was a California Spangled Cat, and it looked a bit more like a wild animal than a house pet.

The Richest Cat in the World

Blackie was your every day house cat back in 1988, but that all changed the day his owner died and left him with millions. That’s right, Blackie’s owner Ben left him $12.5 million when he died. The money went to Blackie because of the 15 cats living in the house, he was the longest living. Interestingly enough, he also left money and belongings to his gardener and plumber, but not to his family.

Oldest Living Cat

As of October 2014, the oldest living cat in the world was a cat by the name of Tiffany Two (what a fun name!) who was more than 26 years and 200 days old at the time. Whether or not the cat is still alive is not something we know as this is the official record according to the good people of Guinness. The cat lived in San Diego with the same owner who has had the cat her entire feline life.

Longest Cat Fur

If you think that your cat sheds enough to last a lifetime, imagine being the person resigned to living with the hairiest cat around. Okay, so Sophie isn’t the hairiest cat in town, but she does have the longest fur. I cannot even imagine how much work it must be keeping a cat with 10.11 inch fur groomed on a regular basis. I also can’t imagine living with a cat with hair longer than my kids’ hair. This Oceanside cat probably lives in a household that goes through a ton of vacuums.

The Newest Cat on the Block

The Selkirk Rex is the newest ‘official’ cat in the world. It wasn’t recognized by the CFA (Cat Fancier’s Association) or the International Cat Association until 2013. However ,the cat has been around since the 80s, it just took that long to become recognized as a breed. It’s more commonly referred to as a poodle cat because of a genetic mutation that left it with a long, curly coat of hair that kind of does make it look like a distant cousin of the poodle.

The Longest Jump

Everything is bigger in Texas, right? It’s true for Alley, a cat from Austin that jumped approximately 6 feet back in 2013. This is the official longest distance ever recorded by a cat that’s jumped, and it went down in history as the longest jumping cat around by the people at the Guinness Book of World Records. This is one that any cat could win, though, so there’s always hope for your cat.

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