We recently received the
sad news that the world's longest cat, 48.5in long Stewie, had
passed on. Today his owner, Robin Hendrickson, tells of her
fascination with the Maine Coon breed, and Stewie's incredible
life:
I attended my first TICA cat show in late 2000, and one breed in
particular caught my eye - the Maine Coon. It was long haired and
BIG. The gorgeous coat, heavy boning and personality reeled me
right in! I had always wanted a BIG cat - so I knew I MUST have one
of these gentle giants some day. It was also here I met Gloria
Mahan, Geri Herrick and Robin Pratt, whom I am ever grateful to,
for leading me down the path that would one day lead to owning
Stewie.
For the next few years I entered my standard house cat in the
local Household Pet Cat Shows sponsored by the Silver Cats Club. He
did well, and was even a TICA regional winner in 2006.
But, I still longed for that big cat. I still wanted a Maine
Coon.
In 2005, my partner Erik and I decided that this would be the year
to get one. After some research we found a breeder, Val Horton, who
had two kittens, silver in color, both boys. It was love at first
sight: Dallas with his fluffy full coat, and Dylan with almost no
fur, and no whiskers either! He had shed out his "baby" fur early
and his Mom had bitten off all of his whiskers - But he was still
so cute! We KNEW we had to have them both.
The boys, Dylan and Dallas as they were then known, arrived home
to Reno on May 1st. They fit right in - Dylan was always under my
feet and being fans of Family Guy, we named him Stewie. Dallas was
always stomping his little kitten feet, so he became Odin (after
the Norse god).
Val told us the boys came from lines that carried big cats which
was exactly what we wanted. But we never knew just how big they
would get!
I started taking them both to cat shows: Odin didn't really like
it, but Stewie was in his element! He loved all the people that
came "just to see him", he was a real personality.
As we attended more shows, I kept hearing from other owners how
much bigger Stewie had gotten. Then when Val taught me how to carry
them to the ring to show off their size, I really noticed how long
Stewie was getting to be - even though he was just a year
old.
In 2007, when Stewie was just 2 and a half years old, I was
curious. I searched online, and saw the longest cat at the time was
a red Maine Coon named Leo, who was 48 inches long. When I got out
the tape measure and checked Stewie, he was very close to that
world record 48 inch mark.
I read up on what was required to submit a claim to Guinness World
Records for Stewie, and once we received our guidelines, we were on
our way. Unfortunately, he came up just short the first time he was
measured - but that day we discovered Stewie had something of a
special gift:
A little boy with autism came to the show with his parents to meet
Stewie, and cheer him on in his attempt. I introduced him to
Stewie, who nuzzled the boys face and licked his cheek, and was
ever so friendly. The boy looked up to thank me, and his parents
were overjoyed. This was hugely rewarding for us, and I knew then
that even if he never got the record, Stewie was destined for
greater things.
Two years later, we were successful in securing the longest cat
record. On August 28, 2010, Stewie was measured at the Nevada
Humane Society. With the help of Michele Lani, Savannah Hann and
Susi Woosley, Stewie was measured at 48.5 inches from the tip of
his nose to the tip of his tail. We sent off our evidence packet,
and received confirmation from Guinness World Records on October
12th that Stewie was indeed the longest cat
in the world!
We were immediately thrust into the limelight, it took all of 7
hours for Stewie and I to be known around the world! I knew I
wanted to use Stewie's new-found fame for good, and remembering his
amazing temperament with the boy from the cat show, I knew he would
make a wonderful therapy cat.
Stewie breezed through the certification process and training, and
began work in July 2011. Patients that never spoke, talked to him.
Others that were bed-bound were just thrilled to see him. One
patient recited to a volunteer about his visits every week for six
months until she passed away. Stewie helped me too, bringing me out
of my shell as we did so much good work together.
The first patients that he visited led us to try for Stewie's
second record. On February 13, 2011, Stewie's tail measured in at
16.34 inches, the longest of any domestic cat. He was only the
second cat in history to hold two Guinness World Records titles
simultaneously.
Whether visiting classrooms, hospital wards, or Senior Centers,
Stewie was a star! We helped with Humane Society adoption events,
and posed for so many pictures. Life to us was a dream.
Then at Christmas 2011, our world came crashing down. We had been
treating Stewie for what we thought was a viral infection, then
woke up Christmas morning to find his eye distended nearly out of
his head. I rushed him to the emergency vet, and we were told there
was a growth behind his eye. The days that followed were a
blur.
Stewie underwent a CT scan, only to get inconclusive results. We
didn't know where to turn, or what exactly this growth was, just
that we were going to lose our beloved boy soon.
After posting the news on Stewie's Facebook page, I was contacted
by the local media. I was hoping for a miracle, and one came in the
form of the founder of Eye Care for Animals, who helped us get a
definitive diagnosis free of charge when he heard of Stewie's
plight. When we learned it was cancer, it was almost too much to
bear.
There wasn't a suitable specialist vet in Reno, but I was
fortunate to find Veterinary Centers of America in Sacramento, who
had everything we needed to fight this: Radiation, chemotherapy and
Dr. Crowe. On January 23, 2012, Stewie made the trek to Sacramento
for evaluation, and treatment began immediately.
Over the next year, Stewie underwent 11 doses of radiation and
countless doses of chemotherapy, and was declared cancer-free on
July 26, 2012.
However, this remission was short lived: At his 3 month re-check,
we found that the cancer had returned. We proceeded with more
chemo, but the cancer was much more aggressive this time and wasn't
responding to the drugs. The last option available to us, "rescue
protocol" failed too. We were devastated, but our wonderful boy
didn't let it get him down, he was still our Stewie, proud and
regal as ever.
To help Stewie enjoy his remaining time with us, I chose to take
him to the TNCC show in Portland in January 2013. Stewie had always
loved people and the attention they gave him so much, and trips out
of the house delighted him, he loved to travel. This trip was my
gift to him, as I knew his time was short.
It turned out to be a wonderful last outing for him. He walked the
show hall with his tail and head held high, his fans following,
greeting everyone he could and thoroughly enjoying the whole
experience. All the while we knew that once we returned home, we
would celebrate his birthday and then celebrate his wonderful life
when the time came.
On February 4th, 2013 at 7:37 pm, SGCA Mymains Stewart Gilligan
crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, and passed away.
I will always love and miss my "Big Bubba"...
- Robin Hendrickson
As a tribute, here, once again is Stewie's Record Holder Profile video which we filmed back in 2011.
My Story is a regular feature on guinnessworldrecords.com, where record holders reveal their experiences.
Do you hold, or have you held a Guinness World Records title? Do you want to tell the world about your it? Contact us on our Facebook page or via Twitter, and you could be the next to have your story published!
