adventures with kittens: more to love?

Brian and I were reading Nat Geo the other day (okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, we were taking a quiz on cats on Nat Geo the other day) when we came across a picture of a Maine Coon. I've always had a sneaking suspicion lil Penny was at least part Maine Coon, a feeling that was bolstered by this quiz, so we decided to do a some digging. And we found some... big news.

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That is a Maine Coon, y'all. And that is not a photoshopped picture (as far as I know).

Maine Coons apparently can grow to be ginormous cats. Here are some more of Penny's humongous brethren:

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I am seriously worried that we are going to end up with a cat the size of a greyhound. I mean, obviously she would still be the cutest cat in the entire universe, but she might get a bit cramped in our little apartment if she becomes as long as the width of the kitchen. Fingers crossed that she's not full bred and since she's a lady she'll stay a bit smaller. 

Some other, less distressing facts about Maine Coons that actually explain a lot of Penny's quirks – discovered on Wikipedia – include:

• the first cat to ever win a cat show was a Maine Coon (duh, Penny is gorgeous)
• Maine Coons are known to have above-average intelligence (duh, Penny is a genius)
• since they are native to the cold Northeast, Maine Coons have several adaptations to survive in snow, including long tufts of fur coming out from between their toes (Penny has this)
• Maine Coons love water (explains why Penny always tries to get in the shower with me)
• the Guinness Book World Record for "longest cat" is held by a Maine Coon that was 48.5 inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail
• Maine Coons are also known for their weird vocalizations like chirping, chattering, yowling and "talking" (Penny does this)
• a common feature of Maine Coons is to be polydactyl, or have more toes than normal (Penny doesn't suffer from this, she is perfect)

Maine Coons are also exceedingly fluffy, friendly and love to lie on their backs inviting people to rub their their mass of stomach fur. Like so:

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Except Penny does it better.

So don't worry, Pen. You'll always be my lil girl, even when/if you are a giant freak of nature cat.