A WORCESTER family's pet cat is so huge its pictures regularly gets posted in big cat sightings groups on Facebook.
Murphy the Maine Coon weighs a whopping 11kg (24.3lbs) and measures 104cm (41ins) from nose to tail, at just 12 months old.
Sareeta Brewin, Murphy's owner, 46, says people often mistake him for a dog and a lion, and friends often tag her in posts of big cat sightings across Worcestershire.
OTHER NEWS:
- Anglers rescue lost 15-year-old blind and deaf dog from river Wye in Hereford
- 'Disgusting' behaviour as poo thrown over parked cars in Herefordshire
- Met Office issues Herefordshire severe alert as temperatures plummet
The mum-of-three said: “Murphy is one now and we got him last November.
“He was about 13 or 14 weeks old and at that stage, he was the same size as our regular cat who’s only little.
“It's like we’ve got a cat and a mouse with the size of him. She looks so small compared to him.
“Maine Coons grow until they’re about three years old so who knows how big Murphy is going to get, he's already the size of your average dog.
“People do sometimes mistake him for a dog, they also make remarks about the wild cat on the loose. Others say ‘is that a lion?’ He is very feline looking.”
Sareeta said she spends a fortune feeding him, with Murphy making his way through £60 worth of dry food every month.
She has even had to buy an extra-large litter tray to accommodate Murphy’s massive bulk.
Want to stay up to date with all the latest news for your local area? It's easy, just sign up for our weekly email newsletter here and all the important stories that matter to you will be delivered straight to your inbox.
Last Christmas, Murphy chewed his way through dozens of festive lights and the family’s iPhone cables which cost a total of £300 to replace.
Sareeta said: “We haven’t put up our Christmas decorations up this year yet.
“He chewed his way through 12 sets of lights last year, we had to buy reinforced cables around the house as he chews them. We spent an absolute fortune on them."
Sareeta also said he is "very vocal" and "talks and communicates" with her.
OTHER NEWS:
- Festive taxi strike threatened in Herefordshire over new rules
- Hereford pub cuts opening hours as it doesn't have enough customers
- Herefordshire shop at the heart of its community unveils expansion plan
“He's like a cat and a dog. They've very much like dogs, he greets you and brings you his toys to play with. He talks and communicates.
“How Huskey's are very vocal, Maine Coons are too. He talks. He is still essentially a kitten, he bombs around the house and has that mad half-hour."
Sareeta said she will be keeping an extra close eye on his length in the coming years to see if he can break the record.
Murphy still has some catching up to do to beat world record-breaking cat Stewie from Nevada, USA, who measures a whopping 123cm (48.4ins) long.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here