Meet Samson, the biggest cat in NYC
Holy cat!
At 4 feet long and 28 pounds strong, Samson, a Maine Coon cat, just might be the largest cat in New York City.
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Image: Jonathan Zurbel/SPLURT TECH
His owner, Jonathan Zurbel (a.k.a. Splurt), 42, is a social media strategist, music producer and DJ. He runs a popular Instagram account for Samson that has over 77,000 followers.
Samson and Zurbel came into each other's lives accidentally. "He fell from heaven into my arms. Not really, but my brother got him for his ex-girlfriend and when they broke up I took care of him for a few weeks and we became inseparable," he told Mashable in an email.
“He is by far the biggest cat I’ve heard of, especially in New York City,” Dr. Lisa Lippman, a Manhattan veterinarian, told the New York Post. Most cats she sees weigh closer to 10 pounds.
Despite being so much larger than the average cat, Samson is in fine physical health.
"I must stress he is VERY healthy and his size is just because he is a perfect specimen and his parents were champion show cats," Zurbel said. "So his weight is not because he eats too much, HE IS NOT FAT!"
Image: JONATHAN ZURBEL/SPLURT TECH
According to Zurbel, Maine Coons typically weigh 15 to 18 pounds, with the maximum weight being 25 pounds.
Zurbel knew Samson would be large, but not to this extent. "We had an idea he was gonna be big, I kinda thought he would stop growing at 19 pounds," he wrote to Mashable.
"[He was] also taking up half my queen size bed, so when I went for his last check up, we couldn't believe his weight, and according to the vets he's the heaviest cat on record in the local area."
Image: JONATHAN ZURBEL/SPLURT TECH
Zurbel has been pleased by the reaction to Samson on social media. "[Followers] cannot believe it, but they also adore him," he wrote. "And thats what I want, I want people to see a beautiful animal who is kind, tender, funny, sweet and a great companion and not just focus on his size."
"So I'm happy so many people adore him. He is so beautiful and majestic."
Zurbel told Mashable that somewhere down the line, he would like to use Samson to raise awareness around cat issues such as adoption and shelters.
Image: JONATHAN ZURBEL/SPLURT TECH
In addition to being joyfully large, Samson apparently inspires a treasure trove of trivia. We'll leave you with some of Zurbel's favorite factoids about his sweet pet:
Image: JONATHAN ZURBEL/SPLURT TECH
