Cats can vary a lot in shape and size, and their tails are no exception. The average tail is around eight to 12 inches (20–30cm) – but some cats are blessed with much longer appendages.
One cat has just found out that he has the world’s longest tail, so we think he deserves a handful of the best cat treats as a reward. Guinness World Records has crowned Mr Pugsley Addams, a gray Maine Coon from Mound, Minnesota, the cat with the world’s longest tail.
The two-year-old feline, named after the Addams Family character, has a tail that’s 18.5 inches, or just under 47cm, long, as measured by his vet.
Pugsley, who lives with the Cameron family, and their three other Maine Coon cats, has always had a long tail, and he isn’t even fully grown yet. Mom Amanda said, “The first time I took him to the vet, he walked in and said, ‘That is a REALLY long tail.’ And I looked at it, really looked at it, and I thought…‘Yeah…it kind of is, isn’t it?’”
After his tail was again the talk of the vets at his next visit six months later, Amanda told her children. They came up with the idea to see if there was a Guinness World Record Pugsley could be measured for.
“And what do you know – there was, and to our shock, Pugsley beat it!” Amanda said.
She described Pugsley as a mischievous cat who knows some commands but has a simple daily routine that consists of eating, begging, sleeping – and a game of fetch.
She added, “Everybody always wants to meet him, and falls in love with his calm demeanor. He is pretty level-headed, even in new situations that might be scary for some cats. He is super soft, and is always purring.
“He's just a great little guy to be around. When we go out and about, they call him a ‘local celebrity!’”
Maine Coons are the largest domestic cat breed and it usually takes them around four or five years for them to reach their full size. They often use their large, fluffy tails as seats or to help them keep warm.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the previous record holder was a Maine Coon, too. Altair, from Farmington Hills, Michigan, had a tail measuring 16.07in, as of October 2021, and he inherited the title from his late brother, Cygnus, who sadly died in a house fire. Until Pugsley’s tail was measured, Cygnus held the record for the longest tail ever.
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