Michigan doctor with world-record cats rebounds after losing previous pets in fire
An Oakland County doctor was all smiles after his cats gained world-record status.
One cat was declared the world’s tallest living domestic cat; another feline was listed as having the world’s longest tail, according to Guinness World Records. The doctor also owns four other cats.
What wasn’t said in the news from Guinness was that this cat-loving physician endured a tough climb to reach this week’s triumph, capping a comeback for his professional career as well as for success in raising record-breaking cats. Just five years ago, Dr. William Powers and his then wife, Lauren Powers, suffered a devastating fire at their house in Farmington Hills. Not only was their home and its entire contents destroyed, they also lost three cats, two of them previous world record holders, according to news stories at the time.
The couple then filed a lawsuit, seeking “an amount exceeding $1 million” in damages from a California company that sold what they claimed was a defective electric massage chair, which “malfunctioned and caused a massive fire,” according to a 2019 complaint filed in federal court in Detroit. Among other losses claimed in the lawsuit were $300,000 in cryptocurrency, “which cannot be recovered”; their inability to work for months after the fire, causing a loss of “substantial wages and income”; a facial injury to Dr. Will Powers sustained in the fire, and “lasting emotion damage” as well as “deep depression” shared by the couple, whose marriage has since ended.
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The lawsuit paid particular attention to their cats, saying the loss of three felines due to the fire was “a source of immense grief” because the cats “were like children” to the Powerses. The couple’s lawsuit alleged that the massage chair was a defective product and that liability for the fire rested with its seller, American Crocodile International Group Inc., based in Fremont, California. The lawsuit ultimately was moved to federal court in southern California and dismissed in May 2021, as a result of what court documents stated was a “negotiated and confidential settlement."
After the fire, Dr. Will Powers left his practice of traditional medicine in Berkley, stopped working for a time, then began his career anew by opening what the online magazine Pink News called a “queer-inclusive clinic,” catering to LGBTQ patients, and offering such specialties as transgender hormone therapy. Powers, who is a doctor of osteopathic medicine, said his breed of cats is hypoallergenic, so his pets are especially welcomed by patients who are allergic to other cats. He said he sought the Guinness records "not for fame" but because he uses them to raise fund to assist stray cats in metro Detroit. Dr. Powers was president of the Ferndale Cat Shelter from 2016-2018, according to the group's website.
His cats "make my life well," he said. "They've made me get well. I guess they gave me a reason to climb out of that hole" after the devastating fire.
They're also a boon to his patients. Both record holders, along with other cats the couple owns, are popular sights at the Powers Family Medicine Clinic in Farmington Hills. According to USA Today, what the Powerses and their staff refer to as "therapy cats" are members of the highly social, oversized Savannah breed — a cross between domestic cats and large-eared wild African cats, according to the International Cat Association.
Patients rave about them with online comments like: “If you love cats, video games, and being cared for, go see Dr. Powers.”
Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cat-loving doc with Guinness-record cats fought back after house fire
