Guinness World Records recently documented a slew of extraordinary felines, including Fizz Girl, the World's Shortest Cat, and Mymains Stewart Gilligan (Stewie), who at 48.5 inches long, is the longest domestic kitty in the world!
Stewie lives in Nevada, where he enjoys attending cat shows and working as a trained therapy cat. His owner, Robin Hendrickson, recently answered some of my questions about the mammoth Maine Coon, who at just over 4-feet-tall, is larger than a small child!
Robin and Stewie
Hi Robin! Please tell us a little about Stewie. How old is he, and how did he come into your life?
Stewie is a 6-year-old Maine Coon cat that we acquired along with his littermate brother. He came from The Mymains Cattery, a reputable cattery in Hermiston, Oregon.
Where did his name come from?
Stewie got his name from Family Guy. We are fans and he was always underfoot and it seemed like he was trying to kill me... you know, I was his Lois...
When did you first realize he was different from other cats?
About the 50 thousandth time I heard, "wow, he is long" or "huge." He has always had a great personality, which is very amenable to the therapy cat work he does.
How does Stewie's size affect your household? For example, my cats love to knock things over with their tails, but I imagine Stewie can cause some serious damage!
Stewie really is a good boy. He generally stays out of trouble, with the exception of stealing the mail from time to time...
What was the process of being certified for a Guinness World Record?
We went through a process of measuring in front of the media and witnesses. We then gathered notarized statements and media footage and submitted them to Guinness for review. Easy, but time consuming.
In addition to be a world record holder, Stewie is also a therapy cat. Can you tell us a little about that?
Stewie visits local hospitals and rest homes and brightens the patients day. I hope to get him into the schools to work with special needs kids. Most of all though, I hope to someday raise the money to take him to visit the children at St. Jude Children's Hospital.
How does he feel about his new found fame? Has being a world record holder gone to his head?
He knows he got extra tuna for some reason...
What's up next for Stewie?
Stewie is going to just relax and enjoy his therapy work for a while.
Special thanks to Robin for taking the time to answer my questions! If you'd like to learn more about Stewie, you can visit his website and Facebook fan page for more information!
SQUEE!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and sweet natured cat! Thanks for sharing his story.
ReplyDeleteI love therapy cats, especially when they're big and fluffy like Stewie. They do such admirable work!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and hardworking with so much love and joy to bring. Wat a pawsome mancat!
ReplyDelete~Slash & Bronzy
He's a show cat AND a therapy cat!? That's awesome - so is my Jacoby! There aren't many cats who are BOTH show cats and therapy cats!
ReplyDeleteThis cat is big enough to ride any ride at the state fair!
ReplyDelete