Colonel Meow, The Cat, Awarded The Guinness World Record For Longest Fur

Colonel Meow, a Himalayan-Persian cross-breed cat with fur that is nine inches (23 centimeter) long, has been awarded the Guinness World Record for longest fur.

The two-year-old feline, who was rescued by a Seattle-based organization, now lives with Los Angeles residents Anne Marie Avey and Eric Rosario, and they came upon him at a Petco adoption event. “It was an impulse purchase,” Avey told the Los Angeles Times, adding that, “He was actually left on the side of the road and then taken to a kill shelter.”

“We already knew that he was the best cat in the world, but to be recognised in the Guinness World Records book takes it to the next level,” Avey told the Guinness World Records.

Maintaining Colonel Meow’s fur is a daunting task, and according to the Guinness World Records website, it takes two -- both Avey and Rosario -- to get the job done.

“Literally everything in the house has hair on it, including us! I feel like I’m always vacuuming!” Avey told Guinness World Records, adding that they brush Colonel Meow’s fur thrice a week and do not use hair products on the cat’s fur.

The furry feline became an Internet sensation last year and has his own Facebook page, a website and a YouTube channel, which has been viewed more than two million times.

Soon after Colonel Meow’s owners were notified that the feline holds the record for the longest fur, a message on Colonel Meow’s Facebook page, written in the first person by one of the owners read: “Yes, minions, it is true. Your great and humble leader is now officially a WORLD RECORD HOLDER. Today it's the longest fur. Tomorrow it's largest kingdom.”

Colonel Meow will be featured in the 2014 edition of the Guinness World Records book, which will be out on Sept. 12, and "Longest fur on a cat" is a new category for 2014.

“Colonel Meow is being groomed for stardom, and I know the furry feline will be a big hit with readers,” Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, wrote on the website. “He’s an incredible creature, and he’ll undoubtedly inspire people all around to the world to whip out their rulers and start measuring their own cat’s fur.”