Michigan cat's 16-inch tail earns Guinness World Record

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- A Michigan cat's 16.07-inch tail is officially the longest in the world, taking the record from his own half-brother.

William John Powers of Farmington Hills owned Cygnus, a Maine coon whose tail remains the Guinness World Record holder for the longest tail on a domestic cat ever at 17.58 inches long.

Cygnus, along with Powers' other cats, died in a house fire in 2017.

Powers said he was later introduced to Altair, Cygnus' half-brother, and quickly decided to adopt him.

"When I was ready to have cats again, the woman who bred Altair let me know that a litter had been born and there was a silver male kitten who was the half-brother of Cygnus," Powers told Guinness World Records.

Powers said it was clear early on that Altair was following in his brother's footsteps.

"It was pretty obvious that just like Cygnus, from the time he was a kitten, he had an absurdly long tail, and it just continued to get longer as he aged," Powers said.

Altair is now the record-holder for the longest tail on a domestic cat living, after his tail was measured at 16.07 inches.

Altair isn't the only living record-holder in the family -- Powers' Savannah cat, Fenrir, is the tallest living domestic cat at 18.83 inches tall.