# Now THAT's one huge pussy cat, and it's real , not a Photoshop! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173 "2004-05-20T13:30:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/1 "2004-05-20T13:30:25Z")
[MROOOOWRRRR!](http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/bigcat2.asp) ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/2 "2004-05-20T13:39:01Z")
Dear God - a domestic lion! But he and his sister are quite beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/3 "2004-05-20T13:46:21Z")
You will be pleased to know that the site is locked by my Saudi censors. I feel so protected. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/4 "2004-05-20T14:04:55Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > You will be pleased to know that the site is locked by my Saudi censors. > > I feel so protected. Let’s see what we can do for you > [@](#): > > Origins: Some people were tempted to dismiss this photograph as a hoax created through digital manipulation due to its similarity to another “big cat” picture from a few years back, but we were not quite so skeptical. As we noted on another page about cats with an unusual style of haircut, felines generally have coats of fur that create the illusion of girth and make them appear to be much larger than they really are. > > The photograph reproduced above looked to us as if it could quite plausibly be a genuine picture of one of the larger breeds of domestic cats (such as the Maine Coon) — the cat’s being stretched out full-length in the woman’s arms leaves it looking much longer than it would seem if it were posed in a normal stance, and its luxurious, fluffed-out coat of hair creates an added impression of extra thickness. This photograph seemed to our eyes to depict nothing more than a typical hefty-sized cat photographed in a way that emphasized it size, and that proved to be the case. > > The feline pictured is 2-year-old Maine Coon named Riley, photographed in the arms of his owner, Martha. According to Martha, Riley has lost a bit of weight recently, but he weighed about 24 lbs. at the time the picture displayed above was taken. Here are some additional photos of Riley with Martha, and a picture of Riley with his sister, Callie: [Picture 1](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cpeek001/cat1.bmp) [Picture 2](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cpeek001/cat2.bmp) [Picture 3](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cpeek001/cat3.bmp) [Picture 4](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cpeek001/cat4.bmp) ---
**Author:** ![counsel\_wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/65b543/32.png) [@counsel\_wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/counsel_wolf)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/5 "2004-05-20T14:05:18Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [MROOOOWRRRR!](http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/bigcat2.asp) That’s a maine coon alright, wonderful creatures. I feel duty bound however to point out that it doesn’t go “MROOOOWRRRR”, they’re exceptionally quietly voiced cats. In fact they hardly sound like cats at all (I’m hard pushed to describe the sound they do make though). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/6 "2004-05-20T14:05:28Z")
Hey! That cat looks like our cat Clarence – except it’s got both eyes. We’re convinced that our cats Midnight and Clarence are part Maine Coon, like the cat posted. And they’re both BIG cats, likee this one. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/7 "2004-05-20T14:07:34Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > You will be pleased to know that the site is locked by my Saudi censors. > > I feel so protected. [Insert Big Hairy Pussy Censorship joke here] ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/8 "2004-05-20T15:11:04Z")
A friend of mine once had a cat about that size. It’s name, inevitably, was Horse. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/9 "2004-05-20T15:31:46Z")
I have large feral cats of unkown breed, but what we do know is that they weigh about thirty pounds each. Their vet confirms at their annual check-ups that they’re not obese, and that they don’t need to go on a diet, but they tend to freak out anybody who comes to visit. I love big cats because they make people’s eyeballs bug out. 🙂 Kind of like the cat in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/10 "2004-05-20T15:37:58Z")
It helps the effect that the cat’s owner, Martha, appears to be a small woman. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/11 "2004-05-20T17:35:13Z")
Martha does appear petite, which I’m sure helps make the cat look huge. And he sure does! Plus all that fur. In Pictures 3 and 4, he looks totally normal-sized. Doesn’t she look happy holding her kitty? I love pictures like that. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-thats-one-huge-pussy-cat-and-its-real-not-a-photoshop/246173/12 "2004-05-20T22:01:26Z")
Meet [Leo](http://www.verismocat.com/htmscripts/leo-guinness.htm), another Maine Coon and the Guinness World Record holder for “longest domestic cat”…all 48", 35 lbs. of him.