Biggest Domestic Cat Breed

There is a lot of debate about the world’s biggest domestic cat. There is no one breed that can take this coveted title. This is because a genetic disorder known as gigantism can affect any cat and make it larger than the average household cat. The biggest domestic is usually the cat that suffers from this disorder. Many hybrid cats which have been born in captivity have shown to have traits of gigantism. Gigantism could manifest itself in many different forms and could affect several types of domestic cats—especially those that have been interbred with larger or wilder cats. Gigantism could cause the entire animal to be proportionately larger than the average cat, or there could also be parts of the cat which are larger than the average cat.

The absence of sex hormones is also something that can affect the growth of cats. If a cat is neutered before puberty, the legs tend to grow longer and thicker. However, the cat does not become abnormally large. These effects on the cat’s legs are very minor and do not cause many health problems. Since the neutering of the cat cuts off the sex hormones in the body, the end of the growth phase becomes slightly longer, allowing the bones to grow more. Though the cats may end up being longer limbed because of the neutering, they do not become bulkier. Recently, there have been many attempts to produce giant and larger sized cats through selective breeding. Maine Coon and Ragdoll, for instance, have been bred together to produce a large offspring. However, the breeders later realized that crossing large cats would not always result in offspring of a larger size.

Though there are several genetic mutations that keep occurring in the species as a whole, most of these mutations are observed in the animals of the wild. Since interbreeding large cats to create polygenes that would help the cat grow larger than average has not worked, it is believed that the mutation cannot be forced, but have to be accidental or natural. With dogs, it has been seen that leaving them in the wild tends to make them more feral, increasing their size and giving them a wolf-like appearance. The muzzle becomes pointed and the body increases proportionately. Similar things happen when cats are left in the wild. However, the machinations of the evolution of cats and dogs are not something that can be equated.