New York City’s biggest cat is Samson, a purebred Maine Coon that is approximately four feet long and weighs just less than 28 pounds.
According to Samson’s owner, Jonathan Zurbel, the big-boned feline can eat up to six cans of wet food a day and use four pounds of cat litter per week. Zurbel is adamant, however, that Samson is not fat; it’s just a big cat. A brief house call by a veterinarian on Monday showed that Samson is perfectly healthy.
“He’s just got the genes in him. He’s a pure Maine Coon which is the largest house cat and largest breed,” Zurbel told CTV News Channel. “He’s just a grand specimen. He’s not fat, he’s just a big sturdy cat.”
According to Zurbel, Samson likes to go outside in a stroller where it happily sits watching the birds fly by. Crowds of people often approach them wondering what Samson is, exactly.
“They think he’s a bobcat, a dog or a bear. They always say, ‘Is that a cat?’” Zurbel said. “Everyone wants to meet him and take pictures with him so he definitely draws a lot of attention.”
Samson has also found fame as “Catstradamus” on Instagram, where it’s amassed more than 14,000 followers. Samson can be seen relaxing around the house, sitting in the stroller and sleeping next to a bag of cat treats.
According to Zurbel, his brother bought the cat for his girlfriend from a New Jersey breeder. When he and his girlfriend broke up, Zurbel inherited Samson and has had the cat since.
Maine Coon’s are native to the United States and feature a distinct three-layer long coat, according to the Cat Fancier’s Association. They’re often described as sturdy and with intimidating size, sometimes referred to as “gentle giants.”
