Attention cat lovers! Do you like a larger-than-life feline? Let’s talk about the biggest house cats out there. They’re the size of a medium-sized dog and have sweet and loving personalities. Why settle for 10 or 15 pounds of cat when you can live with a kitty that weighs 20 pounds?!
For the sake of comparison, the smallest domestic cat breed is the Singapura, which weighs in between 4 and 6 pounds. The largest domestic cat breed is the Savannah cat, which tips the scales between 12 and 25 pounds. One fits in your hand, and the other is a bit heavy — practically a different species.
Large cat breeds are fun because they seem hardier. It’s difficult to determine if largeness is an advantage in troublemaking — a cat specialty — because smaller cat breeds can fit in smaller spaces to swat and knock things over and whatever else mischievous felines can’t resist becoming involved in.
Let’s take a look at these big house cat breeds and find out how large they are, what colors and coats they come in, how long they live, and what their personalities are like. There are plenty of large domesticated cats for cat lovers looking for a jumbo-sized kitty.
Big Cat Breeds
Let’s delve into the world of big cat breeds, where majestic size meets wild beauty!
1. Persian
| WEIGHT | 7-12 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 10-15 inches tall |
| COAT AND COLOR | Long fur in chinchilla silver, chinchilla gold, parti-color, shaded silver, shaded golden, seal point, blue point, chocolate point, lilac point, lilac, chocolate, tabby patterns, bi-color, calico, cream, blue, black, and white |
| LIFE SPAN | 12-17 years |
Elegant Persians hail from Persia, which is now Iran. They are calm, very affectionate, like to cuddle, have the longest cat hair, and love to eat. They are great pets for apartment dwellers. These cats have a round and flat face with a short muzzle.
They have been in existence since the 1600s. They, along with the Ragdoll and the Maine Coon are amongst the most popular cats of the large breeds.
Persian cats are gentle giants, and as mentioned, one of the most popular cat breeds around the world due to their silky fur and willingness to snuggle. Their plush coat gives them an even larger appearance.
The Himalayan-coated Persian cat has blue eyes. Persians and Himalayans used to be separate breeds, but Himalayans are now the color-pointed version of the Persian breed.
2. Bengal
| WEIGHT | 8-18 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 13-16 inches tall |
| COAT AND COLOR | Short fur with spots or rosettes in rust, chocolate brown, or black. Their coats are orange, sand, golden, rust, brown, and ivory. |
| LIFE SPAN | 12-16 years |
Bengals look like little leopards and are descended from the Asian Leopard Cat. The domestic Bengal cat is energetic, alert, very intelligent, and confident. Bengal cats need interaction with their owners and want to play fetch or chase. Bengals are friendly and loyal, and the Bengal loves water. They need mental and physical stimulus.
Don’t let the Bengal domestic cat get bored, or they may scratch furniture. The clever Bengal cat has been known to figure out how to turn light switches on and off. Idle hands, bored cats, etc. Don’t tempt fate by allowing your mini leopard to look for and create their own entertainment.
The Bengal cat makes a raspy dog-like sound rather than a meow. If you’d like to listen to it, here’s a video.
3. American Bobtail
| WEIGHT | 11-16 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 10 inches tall |
| COAT AND COLOR | Medium or long coat in black, brown, chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lilac, fawn, red and cream, with or without white. |
| LIFE SPAN | 13-15 years |
The American bobtail is funny, friendly, devoted, intelligent, affectionate, loves children, and has been used as a therapy cat. The American bobtail makes a great family pet. They were first bred in the US in the 1960s.
Their trademark bobtails are approximately 1-4 inches long and can be bumpy, a little curved, slightly kinked, or straight. American bobtails like other pets, playing fetch and going on walks.
They have long hind legs, which balance out their husky build. The American bobtail breed is known for its tufted ears, and their stubby tails differentiate them from the other breeds. Bobtails are rare.
The long hind legs and alert hunting gaze are features that they share with the bobcat, but they aren’t actually related. A bobbed tail is a genetic mutation.
4. Norwegian Forest Cat
| WEIGHT | 12-15 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 9-12 inches tall |
| COAT AND COLOR | Thick coat in white, black, blue, red, cream, silver, and gold and can have solid, bicolor, tortoiseshell, calico, and tabby patterns. |
| LIFE SPAN | 14-16 years |
The thick-furred Norwegian forest cat becomes attached to one person. Norwegian forest cats have big tails and a water-resistant double coat. They are social, sensitive, independent, inquisitive, love to climb, and have a muscular build.
The Norwegian forest cat likes to play games and explore. They have a high prey drive, so hunting games and interactive playing are perfect for them.
Wegies date back to Viking times and were considered magical in folklore. All cats remain magical to this day.
This sturdy feline is Norway’s national cat. Once in a while, a 22-pound Wegie comes along. That’s an impressive size! Their enormously bushy tails alone look like they could weigh 10 pounds.
They need a lot of outdoor space, so an enclosed catio is perfect for them. They can amuse themselves and don’t suffer from separation anxiety when left alone during the day if you’re at work.
5. Turkish Van
| WEIGHT | 10-20 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 10-14 inches |
| COAT AND COLOR | Long white coat and colored tail and head, can be bi-color — red, cream, black, blue, or tabby cat with large spots of white covering their bodies. |
| LIFE SPAN | 12-17 years |
The Turkish van is friendly, athletic, intelligent, playful, active, affectionate, very trainable, and good with children. The Turkish Van loves to swim (keep your toilets closed). There are Turkish vans in the US.
They have blue or amber eyes or both. They can be 3 feet long. Vans don’t love being alone because they want attention. They are dog-like, can be a bit dominant, and love being with their people.
They are easily recognizable because they have all-white bodies and dark-colored tails and heads. That’s actually the definition of van coloring. This beauty originated in the Middle East.
They are rather vocal. If they are standing near the kitchen, they are saying they’re hungry. If they are meowing when you wake up, it’s more of a “good morning/great to see you/missed you while we were asleep” greeting.
6. Maine Coon
| WEIGHT | 18-22 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 10-16 inches tall |
| COAT AND COLOR | Long double coat with 75 color combinations; the most popular include solid white, cream, red, blue, and black, and tabby pattern, bi-color, parti-color, tortoiseshell, shaded, and calico |
| LIFE SPAN | 12-15 years |
The Maine Coon is the most popular of the large cat breeds in the US. The Maine Coon cat is a gentle giant that is intelligent, highly affectionate, friendly, playful, goofy and enjoys playing fetch.
The Maine Coon is the official cat of Maine. They have 16-inch long tails (other breeds have 12-inch tails). Maine Coons love water. Some Main Coon cats have six toes. They are great family pets.
Maine Coons are dog-like, enjoy playing fetch, and they don’t meow much. The Maine Coon is the largest of the non-wild cat hybrids.
There was a rumor that Maine Coons were part raccoon because of the Maine Coon’s long, smooth coat and ginormous tail. They also have little tufts of fur on top of their big, pointy ears. No relation to the raccoon, though.
A Coon named Mymains Stewart Gilligan (aka Stewie) is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being 48.5 inches long — evidence of this breed being one of the largest domestic cats.
7. Siberian
| WEIGHT | 15 to 20 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 10-12 inches high |
| COAT AND COLOR | Coarse to soft; moderately long to longhaired triple coat with a full collar ruff in any color or pattern |
| LIFE SPAN | 10 to 18 years |
The Siberian domestic cat is another massive fluff ball in the cat world. They are affectionate, intelligent, friendly, and good with kids and other animals. Siberian cats have lived in Siberia for thousands of years.
They need the mental stimulation of interactive and regular toys. Siberians are calm and can be therapy cats. The big domestic cats make nice therapists and great pets.
This sturdy and playful house cat doesn’t mature until they are around 5, so they are kitten-like for a while. Siberian cats enjoy climbing and exploring. They have fun ascending and descending cat trees.
The Siberian cat has a gorgeous, long, thick coat, which is lower in the FelD1 protein than other cats. That means the Siberian cat is good for allergy sufferers. They do shed, though, so they need to be brushed.
8. Ragdoll
| WEIGHT | 15-20 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 9-11 inches tall |
| COAT AND COLOR | Long hair in cream, red, chocolate, black, gray, sable, tan, lavender, silver, red/orange, white, blue/gray, lilac, seal; patterns include van (white with color on tail/ear area), bicolor, colorpoint (color only on the face, feet, or tail), mitted (colorpoint with white mittens) |
| LIFE SPAN | 13-18 years |
The Ragdoll has an adorable appearance and a long-hair coat. They are social cats that are called the dogs of the cat world. Ragdolls are a highly affectionate breed; they are bold, sweet, snuggly, quiet, happy, good with children and dogs, enjoy spending time with their pet parents, and love attention.
They even follow their owners around all the time. They are famous for their big, beautiful blue eyes.
The Ragdoll, a gentle giant, was born in California in the 1960s. Ragdolls’ name comes from going limp while being petted.
They need to be inside because they are too nice to protect themselves from outdoor dangers.
9. Selkirk Rex
| WEIGHT | 10-16 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 9-11 inches |
| COAT AND COLOR | Curly, dense coat (long or short) in chocolate, lilac, white, black, red, bicolor combinations, and those with a pointed coat. |
| LIFE SPAN | 10-16 years |
The puffy Selkirk Rex was born in Montana in 1987 when a Persian cat breed was crossed with a rescue cat with a curly coat. A breeding program was created that initially included Persians, British Shorthairs, Persians, and Exotics until the unique Selkirk Rex look developed.
They are sweet, gentle, patient, affectionate, playful, goofy, and cuddly lap cats that love their owners and dog siblings.
They are so calm that they like stalking toys on the floor rather than jumping up at and swatting at wand toys. Selkirk Rexes like curling up in laps and sleeping in their people’s beds. So cozy!
I think the Selkirk Rex is my spirit cat breed because they have frizzy hair that looks a bit unkempt. Rex breeds have daily bad hair days. Some of them actually have straight hair, and their fur is very soft. You can run a comb through their hair weekly to keep their coat soft and clean.
10. Savannah
| WEIGHT | 12 to 25 pounds |
| HEIGHT | 14 to 17 inches tall |
| COAT AND COLOR | Short coat in black, chocolate, sable, lavender/silver; solid or tabby pattern |
| LIFE SPAN | 12 to 20 years |
The Savannah domesticated cat has an affectionate nature and is social, highly intelligent, easy to train, energetic, athletic, territorial, loyal, and, like other animals, has a high prey drive.
Savannahs’ cat prey drive could be traced back to their wild cat breed ancestor, the African Serval. The Serval was bred with a Siamese cat in the late 20th century. They are wild cat hybrids but are considered domesticated cats.
A few interesting tidbits about the Savannah cat: They are rare and not easy to find, like common breeds. Savannahs can jump eight feet high. These “velcro” cats talk a lot. They look like an even bigger cat, the leopard.
The Savannah cat and the Maine Coon cat are the largest domestic cat breeds. The Maine Coon was the largest until the Savannah was developed. The Savannah cat’s average weight is 7-16 pounds, but a few have been reported to weigh 30 pounds, and that’s why they are the biggest cat breed.
Interesting Cat Info
We have lots of great cat statistics and interesting kitty facts about felines of all sizes if you’d like to learn more about this beloved species. For example, the oldest domestic cat lived 38 years, the kitten’s gestation period is 63-67 days, and cats use head butting to rub facial scent glands on their owners and to display feelings of happiness and bonding.
Lots of great cat trivia!
There are about 60.2 to 62 million pet cats in the USA and 60-100 million feral cats here. 26% of all US households have at least one feline. The average cat ownership is 1.78 per household. Vermont has the most cats, with 45% of all homes.
We also have researched the domestication of cats. They were drawn to people because of food and visited farms between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago in what’s now West Asia.
It took a while before cats let people touch and hug them. Some cats are still like that (looking at you, my rescued Siamese cat who doesn’t want to be hugged but enjoys tripping me on the stairs).
Unveiling the most popular pet, the 2023-2024 APPA National Pet Owners Survey found that 65.1 million American households own at least one dog. Meanwhile, 46.5 million US families own cats.
Cats are so low maintenance. Everyone should have at least two unless they suffer from cat allergies. My brother-in-law recently practically had to be airlifted out of our house after sitting near my cat’s dander-ridden bed.
FAQs
What Is the Nicest Big Cat?
Many human owners consider the Ragdoll the nicest of the domestic big house cats because they enjoy cuddling and playing.
What Is the Most Friendly Big Cat?
The Maine coon cat breed is often called the friendliest of the felines.
What Is the Weakest Big Cat?
Google says the weakest big cat is the Cheetah.
Conclusion
A big domestic cat provides big fun and more love and hugs for their owners. Large cat breeds come with large personalities. The females are slightly smaller than the males. These jumbo-sized felines make nice pets and form strong bonds with their owners.
A couple of these felines were bred by crossing a wild cat with a domestic cat, explaining how they turned out to be huge. Some types of cats have been around for centuries.
Many of these huge kitties have gorgeous long coats of fur. Norwegians, Maine Coons, and Siberians originated in cold climates. Persians and Ragdolls have beautiful, long coats but didn’t need to grow double coats to survive.
If you choose to purchase a cat from a breeder, be sure to investigate and confirm that the breeder is reputable. We recommend obtaining veterinary records, visiting the area where the kittens are housed, and meeting the parents.
Breed rescue organizations, local shelters and rescue groups, and Petfinder often have big kitties that need homes if you’d like to experience the joy of adopting a homeless pet.
