MELBOURNE, May 18 — We know exactly what you’re thinking — because we thought the same thing too.
That’s a big-ass cat. Is that even real?
Yes, Omar is real. So real in fact that the Maine Coon from Melbourne, Australia, is in the running to be the world’s longest domestic cat.
Measuring 120cm and weighing 14kg, he is three times the size of a normal feline.
Omar found viral fame after his owner Stephy Hirst started an Instagram account for her pet two weeks ago.
His popularity exploded after his photo was featured on the Cats of Instagram account, which has eight million followers, and was shared more than 270,000 times.
And we’re not the only ones to have a double-take.
“All of our friends want to come over and see our cat,” Hirst was quoted as saying to the BBC.
“They say ‘is that Photoshopped?’ or ‘that can’t be real’ and then they see him in the flesh.”
Hirst said she has been contacted by Guinness World Records, who said Omar could be the longest cat in the world.
The current record-holder is an 118cm Maine Coon from Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Guinness World Records has yet to confirm if Omar takes the title.
Hirst told The Herald Sun that Omar was the same size as all the other kittens in his litter when he was taken home in 2013.
“(Omar) was tiny when we got him but then he just started growing and was 10kg at one year old,” she was quoted as saying.
So what does a supersized feline eat to maintain his supersized physique?
A couple of scoops of dry cat food for breakfast and raw kangaroo meat for dinner, apparently.
“We buy human-grade kangaroo meat at the supermarket,” Hirst was quoted by the BBC as saying. “It’s the only meat we could find that he actually wants to eat.”
Maine Coons are one of the largest breeds of domesticated felines in the world. They derive their name from the US state, where it is the official state cat.
