‘My cat is so enormous everyone thinks he’s a dog – and he’s still growing’

Yulia Minina had no idea when she bought tiny kitten Kefir that he’d grow as big as he has – and when people meet him for the first time, they’re baffled by his grand presence

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Russian woman shows off her large cat called Kefir

It’s always nice to have a pet in the house – and very often people love the company a feline friend can offer, without taking up too much space.

But while one woman in Russia adores her gorgeous kitten, he takes up a little more room than the average puss.

Yulia Minina, who lives in the small town of Stary Oskol, bought gorgeous cat Kefir almost two years ago as a tiny kitten.

The Maine Coon, who is named after the dairy drink because of his stunning silky white coat, is often mistaken for a dog because he’s so enormous, Yulia claims.

He weighs 12.5kg (two stone) and is likely to become even heavier – as Maine Coons tend to grow until they’re three of four years old.

Yulia said: “I could not even think that an ordinary baby can become so big.

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“He not only grew up big in appearance, he is also very smart and always behaves calmly.

“The look is generally like that of a person, and Kefir has a formidable appearance, but he is a very affectionate and modest child.

“When friends and acquaintances come to the house – all the attention is on him and he willingly allows himself to be stroked.”

However, when strangers who have never seen Kefir before come to the house, they’re confused by the regal creature greeting them at the door.

”But when strangers come to the house, everyone first confuses him with a dog,” Yulia said.

“He has one more habit: at night he likes to climb on me and sleep. When he was a kitten, it didn’t cause me any inconvenience.

”But now he has become big and heavy, and, of course, it is difficult to sleep like that.”

At one year and 10 months old, it seems Kefir will be disturbing Yulia’s sleep for years to come.

Photos of Yulia carrying her big baby show how enormous he is, almost dwarfing his owner with his huge frame and bottle brush tail.

Some people aren’t sure if Kefir is truly as big as he seems in photos, but Yulia insists: “I don’t use Photoshop.”