'Longest cat' makes rounds on social media after joining Instagram
He already has over 270,000 shares on his picture
Omar, the longest cat, with his owner. PHOTO COURTESY: INSTAGRAM @OMAR_MAINECOON
A shockingly big cat is making the rounds on social media after his Instagram account attracted the users’ eyes who have shared his picture for 270,000 times thus far.
Omar was a small kitten, similar to other cats of his age when he was taken as a pet by the owner Stephy Hirsty in 2013. He has overgrown and is all set to break the previous record of the longest cat as he has stretched to a striking 120cm. The current record is held by another cat of 118cm.
The owner of the Maine Coon cat who lives in Melbourne, Australia was contacted by the Guinness World Records for his measurements to set the new record.
Hirst started Omar’s page two weeks ago after which his photos were widely shared on the social media websites.
"He hasn't really been coping with all the attention," Hirst said in a recent interview. "He had a little bit of a meltdown this morning."
The longest cat wakes up at five in the morning, roams around in the house and eats dry cat food. She then takes kangaroo raw meat in meals.
"We buy human-grade kangaroo meat at the supermarket," her owner says. "It's the only meat we could find that he actually wants to eat."
He weighs 13kg and it is hard to pull her up. His owner uses the dog crate to take her to the vet.
"He does take up a bit too much room on the bed so he gets locked out of the bedroom at night," she further says.
Hirst shares how her friends keep on asking to see the cat in reality because they think his pictures are doctored.
"All of our friends want to come over and see our cat," Hirst says. "They say 'is that Photoshopped?' or 'that can't be real' and then they see him in the flesh," she adds.
It can take 12 other weeks after the measurements are sent to the Guinness Records which might give Omar the title of the world’s longest cat.
But Hirst believes Omar would be happier without this fame.
"He's just looking forward to napping on the trampoline, chowing down on some more kangaroo and trying to keep us awake at night," she said.
"I think he'll be glad to go back to being a normal housecat," she added.
The article originally appeared on BBC
Omar was a small kitten, similar to other cats of his age when he was taken as a pet by the owner Stephy Hirsty in 2013. He has overgrown and is all set to break the previous record of the longest cat as he has stretched to a striking 120cm. The current record is held by another cat of 118cm.
The owner of the Maine Coon cat who lives in Melbourne, Australia was contacted by the Guinness World Records for his measurements to set the new record.
Hirst started Omar’s page two weeks ago after which his photos were widely shared on the social media websites.
"He hasn't really been coping with all the attention," Hirst said in a recent interview. "He had a little bit of a meltdown this morning."
The longest cat wakes up at five in the morning, roams around in the house and eats dry cat food. She then takes kangaroo raw meat in meals.
"We buy human-grade kangaroo meat at the supermarket," her owner says. "It's the only meat we could find that he actually wants to eat."
He weighs 13kg and it is hard to pull her up. His owner uses the dog crate to take her to the vet.
"He does take up a bit too much room on the bed so he gets locked out of the bedroom at night," she further says.
Hirst shares how her friends keep on asking to see the cat in reality because they think his pictures are doctored.
"All of our friends want to come over and see our cat," Hirst says. "They say 'is that Photoshopped?' or 'that can't be real' and then they see him in the flesh," she adds.
It can take 12 other weeks after the measurements are sent to the Guinness Records which might give Omar the title of the world’s longest cat.
But Hirst believes Omar would be happier without this fame.
"He's just looking forward to napping on the trampoline, chowing down on some more kangaroo and trying to keep us awake at night," she said.
"I think he'll be glad to go back to being a normal housecat," she added.
The article originally appeared on BBC