Now it is impossible to find the name of the first person who managed to draw near and tame the first wild and proud cat. The selection gives at times surprising results. At the moment there are more than 250 breeds of this merry meowing family, and the total number of domestic cats has exceeded 600 million. Among them there are tiny creatures and real giants, capable of terrifying even the eternal enemy - the dog. But in this article we will try to tell you what the largest cat is called, and what its closest competitors have.
The largest wild cat
Before describing domesticated cats, we mention their largest wild relatives. Many believe that the primacy of the largest representative of the cat should be given to the "king" of the animal kingdom of the lion, but it has more serious competitors. The weight of the male Amur tiger reaches a serious size - 350 kg, and a lion with its 250 kg will have a very tight fight with such an opponent. But there is an even greater monster capable of outweighing even a handsome man from the Far East and rightly can be called the biggest cat in the world - it's a liger by the nickname Hercules. Tigress Ayla fell in love with the maned man of the lion Arthur and led a beautiful and formidable offspring. The liger does not have manes, but there are characteristic tiger stripes on the wool, but the muzzle is similar to his father Arthur. The weight of Hercules is impressive - 410 kg, which allowed him to write in the Guinness book.
What is the biggest domestic cat?
For some time the breed of asher was considered the largest breed. Its representatives reach a length up to a meter and all such an animal is very impressive - 14 kg. But then litigation began that revealed fraud. Asher after DNA tests was found earlier in Pennsylvania by a breed called Savannah, which turned out artificially in 1986 by crossing the African Serval and some non-domesticated pet. There was born an original creation, which has a magnificent leopard color.
The male Trabble, a representative of the savannah breed, is even included in the Guinness Book for its outstanding size - its height at the withers reaches 19 inches. At the same time, he does not weigh too much. The animal is quite mobile, apparently affected by African genes, and its weight does not exceed 9 kg.
Peace-loving giant Maine Coon
Huge, in comparison with other domestic cats, maine-coons in their weight almost not inferior savannah. These giants, reaching 1.2 meters in length, are worthy of becoming heroes of the article, where the breeds of the largest cat are described. It is interesting that they will better bypass the obstacle than they will drop it. It turns out large maine coons are extremely flexible. They do not like climbing along narrow slits, and they will not scratch your furniture with their impressive coats. Their intelligence is indicated by the fact that Maine Coons do not lend themselves to training. In 2010, a representative of this breed with the proud nickname of Stewie is included in the Guinness Book. Its length from the nose to the tip of the fluffy tail reached 1 meter 23 centimeters.
Great Britons
The normal weight for this breed is 5-8 kg, but individual specimens can reach a record 10-12 kg. Most often - it's eunuchs, which are less mobile. But, unfortunately, such overfed pets die earlier than animals with normal weight. Therefore, if you have got a British, it is better not to chase a record weight, but to provide him with a rational diet.
Natives of Siberia
We finish our short article, which is the largest cat, the description of the breed that once accompanied the nomadic Tatars, and then turned into the property of Russia. The ancestors of the Siberian cats came to this harsh land from Central Asia with Bukhara merchants, where they acclimatized, acquired dense and thick wool, and crossed themselves with wild forest fellows. The weight of these handsome men varies from 3.5 to 9 kg, depending on the sex. It is interesting that even males of this breed participate in caring for the offspring, living in this period together with a fluffy mother. Living in pairs, Siberian cats live a more full and active life.