The Smallest Cat in the World
Meet the smallest cats in the world!
There are cats that are so tiny that it's hard to believe. They are not much bigger than the palm of your hand. We are sharing official records here, which have been carefully verified and are listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Our data is from November 2023.
The record is measured based on shoulder height, not length. Therefore the length of the legs is also crucial.
There is a relatively new breed of cat that is characterized by its particularly short legs: the Munchkin cat. It looks almost like a Dachshund or a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. The record holders, Lillieput and Fizz Girl, belong to this breed.
The Smallest Cat in the World
Lillieput is the smallest living cat in the world. She measures just 5.25 inches (13.34 cm) from the shoulder and took the top spot from little Fizz Girl in October 2014. Lillieput’s record has been unbroken since 2014.
| Year | Name | Shoulder height |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Lilieput | 13,34 cm |
| 2011-2014 | Fizz Girl | 15 cm |
| 1996 | Tinker Toy | 7 cm |
The Smallest Cat That Ever Lived
Lilieput and Fizz Girl are almost twice as big as the smallest cat that ever lived. This title still belongs to the male Himalayan Tinker Toy. He was just 2.7 inches (7 cm) tall (from the shoulder) and 7.4 inches (19 cm) long. He was born in 1990 and died at age six. Himalayan cats are Persians crossed with Siamese cats. That’s why they have such a cute “mask”. Will Tinker Toy’s record ever be broken?
The Lightest Cat
Little Bitsy was the smallest cat in the world before Lilieput and Fizz Girl. She was 6.49 inches (16.5 cm) tall, so considerably bigger than the other two. But you couldn’t even use kilograms to weigh her. She was just 23 ounces (680 grams) in weight. But Bitsy didn’t make it into the Guinness Book of World Records and it’s not clear why.
The Munchkin Cat Breed
This breed is criticized by vets, as it’s not certain that the cats won’t suffer from spine and hip problems from running and jumping - just like Dachshunds.
Fight for the Title in the Guinness Book of World Records
You have to do quite a bit of work to get an official entry. You have to fill out a form with 28 pages. And that’s not all. You’d also need a vet, several witnesses, videos and images of the measuring.
- Find out more:
- Cat Breeds
- The Smallest Animals