What is the biggest cat in the world? The records for length, height and weight
According to Guinness World Records, the longest domestic cat ever recorded was Stewie, a Maine Coon from the United States who measured 123 cm (48.4 in) from nose to tail tip in 2010. Since 2018 the record for the longest living cat has been held by Barivel, another Maine Coon, from Italy, at 120 cm (47.2 in), and the tallest is Fenrir, a Savannah from the United States, at 47.83 cm (18.83 in) to the shoulder.
Biggest in what sense?
Talking about the biggest cat in the world means being precise. Guinness World Records, the usual reference in these cases, measures domestic cats in two categories: length, from nose to tail tip with the cat stretched out, and height, from the floor to the withers, the highest point of the shoulders. It also distinguishes between the all-time record, for any cat that has ever lived, and the living cat record, which changes hands when the holder dies or is beaten. And there is one category that no longer exists: heaviest cat, which was scrapped for a very good reason, as we will see below.
The longest ever: Stewie
The longest domestic cat recorded by Guinness was Mymains Stewart Gilligan, known as Stewie, a Maine Coon who lived in Reno, Nevada (United States). On 28 August 2010 he measured 123 cm (48.4 in) from nose to tail tip. Stewie, who was also a therapy cat and visited care homes, died in 2013, so his mark remains the all-time record, though no longer the living one. Before him, other Maine Coons had already held the title: it is the breed that almost always dominates this category, thanks to its long body, long bushy tail and sheer size.
The longest living cat: Barivel
After Stewie’s death, the record for the longest living cat passed through several Maine Coons. In 2015 it went to Ludo, from the United Kingdom, at 118.33 cm (46.6 in). Then, on 22 May 2018, Guinness verified Barivel, a brown tabby Maine Coon who lives in Vigevano, near Milan (Italy), at 120 cm (47.2 in) from nose to tail. In an article from August 2025, Guinness was still citing Barivel as the most recent holder of the title. These records are best read with caution: Guinness updates its entries when it receives new applications, and the latest public check may not reflect whether the cat is still alive or whether another contender has come forward.
The tallest: Fenrir and his brother Arcturus
The height record belongs to Savannah cats, a hybrid of the domestic cat and the serval, a very long-legged African wild cat. According to the Guinness entry, the tallest living domestic cat is Fenrir Antares Powers, a second-generation Savannah who lives in Farmington Hills, Michigan (United States), and who measured 47.83 cm (18.83 in) to the shoulder on 29 January 2021. His older brother, Arcturus Aldebaran Powers, holds the all-time record, at 48.4 cm (19.05 in), measured in 2016. They lived with Cygnus, a Maine Coon who held the record for the longest tail, at 44.66 cm (17.58 in). Arcturus and Cygnus died in a fire at the family home, leaving Fenrir as heir to the record.
The heaviest: a record closed on purpose
The heaviest cat on Guinness’s books was Himmy, a cat from Queensland (Australia) who weighed 21.3 kg (47 lb) when he died in March 1986, aged ten. That record can no longer be broken, and that is good news: in 1998 Guinness decided to scrap the heaviest cat category so as not to encourage anyone to overfeed their pet in the hope of getting into the book. A 21 kg (46 lb) cat is not a big cat: it is a cat with extreme obesity, at huge risk of diabetes and joint, liver and breathing problems. No cat should come anywhere near that weight.
The biggest breeds
Records aside, the biggest domestic cat breeds are the Maine Coon, whose males usually weigh 7 to 10 kg (15 to 22 lb) and can be more than a metre (3 ft 3 in) long including the tail; the Ragdoll, the Norwegian Forest Cat and the Siberian, all large and semi-longhaired; and the British Shorthair, sturdy and heavy. Among the wild-looking breeds, the Savannah and the Chausie can exceed 10 kg (22 lb) depending on the generation. These breeds grow slowly and don’t reach their final adult size until they are three or four years old. They share a predisposition to certain diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hip dysplasia, which owners should be aware of.
And if we count wild cats?
If the question includes all felines, the answer is different. The largest wild cat is the tiger, specifically the Siberian or Amur tiger, whose males can be more than three metres (10 ft) long including the tail and weigh over 300 kg (660 lb). Guinness also records the liger, the hybrid of a male lion and a tigress, which exists only in captivity: a liger named Hercules, at a park in South Carolina, weighed more than 400 kg (880 lb). Ligers do not occur in the wild and breeding them is highly controversial because of the health problems they suffer. None of these animals has anything to do with a domestic cat, even if they are distant relatives. On the Iberian Peninsula, the largest wild cat is the Iberian lynx, which weighs roughly 9 to 13 kg (20 to 29 lb), and the one most like a house cat is the European wildcat.
A big cat is not a fat cat
If your cat is big, the important question is not whether it could break a record, but whether it is a healthy weight. A 9 kg (20 lb) Maine Coon can be in perfect shape, while a 6.5 kg (14 lb) moggy can be obese. What matters is body condition: you should be able to feel the ribs when you run your hand over them with gentle pressure, under a thin layer of fat, and from above you should be able to make out something of a waist. In large breeds, it is also worth keeping an eye on the heart and joints from a young age. Michipedia’s ideal weight calculator and each breed profile will help you work out what is normal for your cat.
According to Guinness, the longest cat ever was Stewie, a Maine Coon from the United States (123 cm / 48.4 in, 2010); the longest living cat is Barivel, a Maine Coon from Italy (120 cm / 47.2 in, 2018); the tallest living cat is Fenrir, a Savannah from the United States (47.83 cm / 18.83 in, 2021). The weight record, held by Himmy (21.3 kg / 47 lb, 1986), was closed in 1998 to avoid encouraging obesity.
Educational content from Michipedia, translated from the Spanish original. It does not replace the advice of a vet or a feline behaviour specialist. Every cat is an individual.