Why do Maine Coons invariably win the world record as the longest domestic cats?

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Why do Maine Coons invariably win the world record as the longest domestic cats? The answer is in the breed standard. I'll refer to the CFA breed standard. Here it is in relation to the body: 

"BODY SHAPE: muscular, broad-chested. Size medium to large. Females generally are smaller than males. The body should be long with all parts in proportion...."

Yep, the Maine Coon (MC) body should be long if a cat breeder wants one of her cats to win cat shows.  It is not often that a breed standard demands that a cat should be long.

The desired length is supported by a further requirement concerning the body:

"Size medium to large..."

Notice that MCs don't have to be huge! Some are. But they should be large and at least medium-sized. 

In general, they are the largest domestic cat breed because of the breed standard.

Barivel
Barivel. Image: Guinness World Records.

This requirement is added to the length requirement to give us the world's longest domestic cat accolade on a regular basis ending up with MCs.

People reporting on this Guinness World Records lack precision because they do not refer to the domestic cat but cats in general when recording this record.

Guinness are more precise and say: "Longest domestic cat living". It is important as there are many wild cat species which are much longer as we all realise.

I have written about Barivel, the current esteemed holder of this record in an earlier article. He lives in Italy and measures 120 cm (3 ft 11.2 in) long. Not sure from where to where the measurements are made.

It must be the tip of the nose to the beginning of the tail. It can't include the tail.
Location: Italy

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