How Does This Michigan Man Keep Breaking Records With His…Cats?

A Michigan doctor is making headlines across the globe. No, not for incredible advances in medicine-- for his cats.

If you Google search Dr. William John Powers sure his family medical practice in Farmington Hills shows up as the top result, but his cats aren't far behind! So, what's so special about Dr. Powers' cats anyway?

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Dr. William John Powers' claim to fame is being a Guinness World Record holder 4 times over, thanks to his cats. I know there are more absurd records that one could hold like longest fingernails or largest collection of rubber ducks, for example. But this one is still pretty out there!

Most recently Dr. Powers' cat Altair, a silver Maine Coone, claimed the world record for longest tail on a domestic cat living. Neat, right?

Weighing in at 20 pounds, the 5 year old cat's tail comes in at 16.07 inches. Believe it or not, that's not the longest the world has seen! In fact, that record belongs to one of Powers' previous cats and Altair's half-brother, Cygnus who had a tail 17.58 inches long.

But Wait, There's More!

In addition to longest tail several cats in Powers' possession hold the record for tallest domestic cat.

Arcturus, who sadly passed away in a tragic house fire alongside Cygnus, stood at 19.05 inches tall and to this day still holds the record for tallest domestic cat ever. Now, Arcturus' brother Fenrir holds the record for tallest living domestic cat at 17.58 inches tall.

Are you keeping score? That's four world records for Powers including:

• Cygnus: longest tail on a domestic cat ever
• Altair: longest tail on a domestic cat, living
• Arcturus: tallest domestic cat ever
• Fenrir: tallest living domestic cat

Why Does He Do It?

One can't help but wonder why Dr. Powers keeps adopting all these record breaking cats! Is there a record for number of world records claimed by one cat owner? Of his accolades Dr. Powers says,

They make appearances at charity fundraisers to help out people or cat shelters by raising funds for those charities...Because I have that [world record] certificate, my cats work as therapy animals at the clinic (telling someone they have HIV is a lot easier for them to hear when they're petting a 35 lb 19-inch-tall cat)

Ok, well maybe it isn't so weird after all!