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Meet Fenrir the Savannah cat! 😺
Sometimes people see him and think he’s a small panther or puma, but Fenrir is actually the world’s tallest living domestic cat, at a height of 47.83 cm (18.83 in).
Fenrir, who was named after one of Saturn’s moons, belongs to Dr Will Powers from Michigan, USA.
What is a Savannah cat?
A Savannah cat is a cross between a house cat and a Serval, which is a medium-sized, wild African cat with large ears.
Fenrir’s grandfather was a Serval named Kongo, a tall wild cat whose height passed down to his children and grandchildren.
Fenrir is around one inch taller than the average Savannah cat, which is usually between 14-17 inches tall.
Amazingly, Fenrir may still be growing! 🙀
Aged two years and 10 months old, he may even be on track to grow taller than his brother, the tallest domestic cat ever, who was named Arcturus and measured 48.4 cm (19.05 in) in height.
Arcturus sadly passed away in 2017. The happy news is that, two years later, his parents, Dream and Myst, had another kitten – Fenrir.
Fenrir has now grown to a huge height just like his brother, keeping the record in the fur-mily. 😺
"I kept a growth chart of both cats, and Fen was neck and neck with Arc all throughout his kittenhood," said Dr Powers.
"I also feed Fenrir the same special diet I developed for Arcturus, so with similar genetics and the same environment, it’s not shocking that he grew as massive as he did."
Dr Powers enjoys taking Fenrir outside and seeing people’s reactions.
"Sometimes people see him and think he’s a small panther, a puma, or an ocelot," he said. 🐆
People can be scared and back away in fear, but once Dr Powers explains that Fenrir is very friendly, they are excited to approach. 😃
Dr Powers is the president of a cat shelter, so having a record-breaking pet like Fenrir helps to bring awareness to the many shelter cats who are in need of loving homes.
As his name suggests, Dr Powers is a real doctor, and Fenrir works at his office on Tuesdays as a therapy cat, providing comfort to patients.
"He will see patients with me, following me room to room until he starts to tire out, then he’ll usually stay in one room and curl up on a chair somewhere and snooze until lunchtime," said Dr Powers. 😴
At home, Fenrir loves to run around and play. Dr Powers describes his as a "big lovable goofus." 😻
"Sometimes, when chasing him, if he feels he’s about to be caught, he will suddenly jump into a box or container to hide as if I couldn’t see him, but the container is usually way too small for him."
Besides Fenrir and Arcturus, Dr Powers has also bred two other record-breaking cats:
"For someone so obsessed with their cats to have not one, not two, but four Guinness World Records title holding animals in one lifetime is a bit surreal isn’t it," he said.
He hopes that his famous felines will improve the world’s understanding of hybrid cats.
"I look forward to all the good that Fenrir and Altair can do with their records." – Dr Will Powers
Can you get a purr-fect score in the Cats quiz?
Fenrir appears in the new Guinness World Records 2023 book, available now!