VIDEO: Meet the World’s Largest Cat

Samson might be the biggest cat this world has even seen. He’s 4 feet long and weights no less than 28 pounds! Despite his unique size, though, he’s still a typical, loving cat. Check him out in action and see just how fluffy and adorable he is!

Also, here is some information on the physiology and health of domestic cats, provided by Wikipedia.

Cats conserve heat by reducing the flow of blood to their skin and lose heat by evaporation through their mouths. Cats have minimal ability to sweat, with glands located primarily in their paw pads, and pant for heat relief only at very high temperatures (but may also pant when stressed). A cat’s body temperature does not vary throughout the day; this is part of cats’ general lack of circadian rhythms and may reflect their tendency to be active both during the day and at night. Cats’ feces are comparatively dry and their urine is highly concentrated, both of which are adaptations to allow cats to retain as much water as possible. Their kidneys are so efficient, they can survive on a diet consisting only of meat, with no additional water, and can even rehydrate by drinking seawater. While domestic cats are able to swim, they are generally reluctant to enter water as it quickly leads to exhaustion.

Cats are obligate carnivores: their physiology has evolved to efficiently process meat, and they have difficulty digesting plant matter. In contrast to omnivores such as rats, which only require about 4% protein in their diet, about 20% of a cat’s diet must be protein. Cats are unusually dependent on a constant supply of the amino acid arginine, and a diet lacking arginine causes marked weight loss and can be rapidly fatal. Another unusual feature is that the cat cannot produce taurine, with taurine deficiency causing macular degeneration, wherein the cat’s retina slowly degenerates, causing irreversible blindness.

The average lifespan of pet cats has risen in recent years. In the early 1980s, it was about seven years, rising to 9.4 years in 1995 and 12–15 years in 2014. However, cats have been reported as surviving into their 30s, with the oldest known cat, Creme Puff, dying at a verified age of 38.

Spaying or neutering increases life expectancy: one study found neutered male cats live twice as long as intact males, while spayed female cats live 62% longer than intact females. Having a cat neutered confers health benefits, because castrated males cannot develop testicular cancer, spayed females cannot develop uterine or ovarian cancer, and both have a reduced risk of mammary cancer.

Despite widespread concern about the welfare of free-roaming cats, the lifespans of neutered feral cats in managed colonies compare favorably with those of pet cats. Neutered cats in managed colonies can also live long lives.

Cats can suffer from a wide range of health problems, including infectious diseases, parasites, injuries, and chronic disease. Vaccinations are available for many of these diseases, and domestic cats are regularly given treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms and fleas.