A family with a huge pet cat have revealed their 11kg kitten is often mistaken for a dog - and sometimes even a lion as it continues to get bigger and bigger.
Murphy is a Maine Coon cat with a remarkable head to tail height of 104cm tail at only 12 months old. But the enormous feline is expected to grow even bigger, the Daily Star reports.
Owner, Sareeta Brewin, 46, says that she gets tagged in a lot of big cat sightings posts across Worcestershire and claims that Murphy was a normal sized cat when they bought him.
But he has grown to around the size of an "average dog" and has a big appetite, getting through around £60 worth of dry food every month and is expected to grow until he is around three years old due to the nature of his breed.
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.
“I’ve even had to buy a dog carrier for him when I take him to the vets because he won’t fit in a cat carrier.
"People do sometimes mistake him for a dog, they also make remarks about the wild cat on the loose. Others say 'bloody hell, is that a lion?' He is very feline looking."
Murphy also possesses other typical canine characteristics such as chewing through cables, costing the family £300 in iPhone cable and festive light replacements.
Despite often getting mistaken for a dog, Sareeta said that real pooches are often 'freaked out' by him, but that their little cat likes playing with him.
The mum said she will be keeping an eye on his remarkable length in the coming years to see if he can break the largest cat in the world record, which is currently held by a 121cm long feline called Stewie from Nevada, USA.
Sareeta, who is optimistic that Murphy could outgrow his competitor, said: “I'm sure we could get a few extra inches out of him but I’ll be keeping a close eye on him just in case."
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