09/08/06 - News section
Is tiny Heed the world's smallest cat?

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Could this be the world's smallest cat? The Guinness Book of Records is
waiting until this little Munchkin kitten is fully grown to decide if
he is a record breaker.
But Heed is well on track. At 14 weeks old he is just 3 1/4 inches
tall, and weighs just over 2lbs. Current record holder, Mr Peebles from
Illinois, stands at 6.1 inches tall, and weighs 3.1 lbs. At eight weeks
old, Heed could hide behind a tin can and he is still shorter than a
roll of toilet paper.
His owner, Tiffani Kjeldergaard, 40, of Potrero, San Diego, explained:
"Munchkins are a breed that have the same mutant gene as little people.

But they usually weigh 3-5 lbs and stand at around 6 inches. "Heed was
one of a litter of seven and was the only one with this gene. His
mother is a Munchkin and his father is a normal sized cat. "We called
him Heed because he was born with a big head and a tiny body and it
reminded us of a line in a Mike Myers film called So I Married an Axe
Murderer where he shouts in a Scottish accent, 'Look at the size of his
heed!'"
Tiffani and her husband Stefan, a computer programmer, planned to have
the whole litter adopted, but delayed the rehoming when the kittens all
had a tummy bug.
"Then I noticed that Heed was not growing" said Tiffani. "When the
others recovered we decided to hold onto him, in case he was still
sick. We thought we might lose him." But Heed was soon in good health.
"He eats all day long," Tiffani said. "He even has a pot belly."
Tiffani, who breeds cats, birds and horses, and also has a pet llama,
contacted the Guinness Book of Records.
"They have sent me the documentation, so fingers crossed.
"Heed is a great little cat. He loves to rub noses with me when he's
nervous, but I take him out everywhere with me and he loves it. He'll
definitely be staying with us. This guy is kind of cool."

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