Animal lover says everyone thinks her giant cat is LEFT and he’s still growing

The family house cat is so huge that people often mistake it for a lion and it’s still growing.

Maine Coon Murphy weighs 11 kg (24.3 lb) and has a whopping 104 cm (41 in) from nose to tail, a whisker short of the world record.

Since Murphy is only 12 months old, he still has room to grow at his home in Worcester.

His owner Sarita Bruin, 46, says she spends a fortune feeding him while he eats £60 worth of dry food every month.

She even had to buy a very large litter tray to accommodate Murphy’s huge body.

Sarita says people often mistake him for a dog and even a lion, and often tag him in reports of big cat sightings in Worcestershire.

The mom-of-three said: “Murphy is now one year old and we got him last November.

“He was about 13 or 14 weeks old and at this stage he was the same size as our regular cat, which is still quite small.

“Like we have a cat and a mouse the size of him. She seems so small compared to him.

“Maine Coons grow up to about three years old, so who knows how big Murphy will grow, he is already the size of an average dog.

“I don’t know what I expected from him, I knew he was going to be big, but I didn’t expect him to be that big. Now the other cats seem tiny compared to him.

“People sometimes mistake him for a dog, they also make remarks about a wild cat on the loose.

“Others say, ‘Damn, is that a lion?’ He looks a lot like a cat.”

Last Christmas, Murphy chewed through dozens of holiday lights and iPhone cables that cost £300 to replace.

Sarita, product manager for medical devices, said: “We call him Thor because he is very handsome, but rather dim.

“He eats well. In a month he spends 3 kg of biscuits for 20 pounds sterling. I’m glad he prefers dry biscuits, as they would be too expensive for meat.

“If it was wet food, it would be a fortune.

“We haven’t put up the Christmas decorations yet this year.

“Last year he chewed on 12 sets of lamps, we had to buy armored cables around the house while he chewed them.

“We spent a fortune on them.

“I even had to buy a dog carrier for him when I take him to the vet because he doesn’t fit in a cat carrier.

“He is like a cat and a dog. They are very much like dogs, he greets you and brings you his toys to play with. He speaks and communicates.

“Just like Huskies are very vocal, so are Maine Coons. He says.

“He’s still basically a kitten, he bombs the house and spends this crazy half hour.

“The dogs are a little scared of him, they don’t mind him. The little cat doesn’t mind him, they play.”

Sarita said that she will be watching his growth very closely in the coming years to see if he can break the record.

She added: “I’m sure we could get a few extra inches from him, but I’ll keep a close eye on him just in case.

“He’s fed up with being held up.”

Murphy has yet to catch up to break the world record for Stewie the cat from Nevada, USA, which is a whopping 123 cm (48.4 inches).