Stewie the Maine Coon: Show cat, therapy cat and World Record holder

I know this is a blog about Abyssinians, but I saw the story of Stewie (Mymains Stewart Gilligan) the Maine Coon. He’s the Guinness World’s Record-holding Longest Cat in the World, measuring 48.5″ – just over 4 feet! – from nose to tail-tip. Most cats are about 18″ long; Jacoby is a pretty long and tall cat, but he’s only about 32″ long*, a piker compared to Stewie! On Stewie’s blog, there are photos of him and his human, Robin Hendrickson…look at the one where he’s not stretched out, but just sitting there with her standing behind him with her arms around him. WOW.

But what actually caught my attention isn’t that Stewie is the world’s official Longcat, but he’s also a show cat (he was actually just at a TICA show at Cal Expo in Sacramento, CA, where I used to go to cat shows when I was a teen) and a therapy cat! There aren’t many cats who are both show cats and therapy cats.

(Image via MSNBC)

I really like this one thing that Robin told Catsparella: “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,” because that’s exactly what I want to do with Jake some day.

Jake probably won’t ever hold a world’s record (unless it’s for heaviest Abyssinian!), but it’s fascinating to know that there’s another cat out there who does both cat shows and therapy work.

*I say about 32″…I have an awesome string measure…but Jake’s really squirmy, and even with my husband’s help, I’m still not sure. So I took my best out of three.

Aby-a-Day – October 11: Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

Jacoby is a master at looking silly and dignified at the same time.

Like when he went into a rosebush in full bloom.

Pink roses.

And he got a petal on his head.

It stayed on for quite a while, too.

“What?”

Other People’s Abys – Calendar Cats

Well…it’s official: the 2012 Page-a-Day Cat Calendars are out in bookshops…and none of my photos made it in. Again. Not to be all sour grapes or anything, but I thought I entered some pretty great photos. I mean, Jacoby wearing his mistletoe hat? And on the carousel in Boston Common? *Sigh*

Today’s calendar page features a New York Aby named Wee Wee along with a reference to the UK purr study. He looks like he’s purring in this photo, doesn’t he?

Cat vs Human strikes again: This is soooooo me, my husband and Jacoby!

I love CatvVs Human. Almost everytime I read it, I say, “This is so true! How does she get into my life like that!?”

Well…this one is especially my life. Jacoby and I headbutt each other several times a day; all I need to do is put my head down in Jake’s general direction, and he reaches over and bonks skulls with me.

This is exactly what happens chez us, except my husband has more hair. I think he’s actually a little envious of the Coco-and-Jake club (membership: 2)…

Oh! And if you like these, you really need to check out the new Cat vs. Human book. I had my copy pre-ordered, and it’s nice to have an analog copy of these scenes from my life comics handy in case someone is sleeping on your laptop.