Every cat owner remembers that first night: a kitten small enough to nap in a cereal bowl, crying at a volume that seemed physically impossible for its size. You promised to protect this fragile little creature forever. A year later, the fragile little creature sleeps in the middle of the bed, and you sleep on the edge.
The speed isn’t your imagination. Kittens do most of their growing in the first six months, roughly doubling their weight every few weeks. Most are fully grown by their first birthday, at around 10 pounds. Then there are the overachievers. Maine Coons can keep growing for three to five years, and a full-grown male typically weighs 18 to 22 pounds, which is about what a one-year-old child weighs and considerably more than anyone signed up to carry up the stairs.
The owners below kept the receipts: photos of the same cat before and after it discovered its full potential. Scroll through, and if your own palm-sized kitten has turned into a small child with whiskers, share the evidence in the comments.
#1
“Little Maui”
Image source: krisbuenger
#2
“Nugget —> 20ct Spicy Chicken McNugget Sharebox.”
Image source: savkennedy15
#3
“We found Gouda in the middle of a busy road with a horrible upper respiratory infection and her eyes crusted shut when she was about 4 weeks old. She’s now 1 year old and 13 pounds of love. I didn’t want a cat, but now I can’t imagine being without her.”
Image source: 64ranch
#4
Image source: hbandmutt
#5
“On the left, my daughter is holding both cats when we got them. Pay special attention to Marble, the grey tabby on the right. In the next picture, my daughter is holding Marble, aka Mr. Chunkybutt, three years later. He’s been that size since the end of his first year.”
Image source: movieman1979
#6
“My orange boy Ben was a scrawny little kitten. His adopted sister is a week older than him and she made him look small. Now, he’s more than twice her size.”
Image source: lynnzimm
#7
“My tiny babies became big neighborhood watchers.”
Image source: lindaskyler_hope
#8
Image source: missberry1956
#9
“He grew into the thumbs.”
Image source: carrielikethebook
#10
“Still palm sized, with more fluff.”
Image source: alices_wunderland_
#11
“From ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ to ‘I break boxes with my hefty self.'”
Image source: mooglove
#12
“The runt of her litter: Yuka. She went from a tiny little thing to a 23-lb monster. (She’s on a diet and has now gotten down to 14 lbs. Clap for her!)”
Image source: v1chick_
#13
“One year apart.”
Image source: maharanity
#14
Image source: sharshellyshell
#15
“No comment.”
Image source: blathjewellery
#16
“Yes. My Poop-Master 2000 turned into a Maine Coon.”
Image source: lisavampyr
#17
“Artemis. She was so cute and sweet, and now she becomes a monster at 4:40 a.m. and tries to destroy everything I own.”
Image source: musicalheather
#18
Image source: madlucas0013
#19
“Lucky. He used to be Lucky Ducky, and now he’s Goose. He’s one year and two months old and weighs the same as his petite sister and undersized brother combined.”
Image source: nb_sb_pk_cats
#20
“My 18lb bowling ball Dexter.”
Image source: ultravioleterin
#21
“Loki”
Image source: michaelbutz75
#22
“My little princess.”
Image source: mahwoosee
#23
“This is Harvey. He could fit into my hoodie pocket when we brought him home… he now can’t even fit in a normal-sized cat tree.”
Image source: kayemdee2785
#24
Image source: kristin_larose
#25
“This is baby Gus next to big, floofy Gus. 50% floof, 50% sass.”
Image source: nicole_shaffer23
#26
“She was so small when I found her that we used a dish towel as a blanket, lol. Now she’s grown and full of sass, attitude, and straight-up cuteness. Peep her looking at her siblings like they don’t have any sense.”
Image source: wholeandheard
#27
“Smokey the Maine Coon as a baby: aww. Smokey the Maine Coon as a 10-kg (22-lb) derpy cat, bigger than his dog bed: awww.”
Image source: thebealsabroad
#28
“He was found alone in the road and we snuck him in with a mama I was fostering at the time. And now we have this majestic beast.”
Image source: akparks111
#29
“Lil and a Lil Murderous.”
Image source: buildingsandbridges
#30
Image source: filliery
#31
“Found these brothers last year (and their mom) living in a tiny hole under a portable at the school where I worked. Now they’re almost the size of our 5-year-old cat (the black-and-white one).”
Image source: lexadaisacal
#32
“Tiny turd to tubby terror!”
Image source: meow.here.this
#33
Image source: mas.almasz
#34
“3 pounds in 2017, 16 pounds now. RBF forever intact.”
Image source: tarotcards_and_blackcats
#35
“This was two months apart.”
Image source: jason107305
#36
Image source: thesecretweddingstudio
#37
“We rescued him at 3.5 weeks, and he was less than a pound. Now he’s 6 years old and 20 lbs of attitude.”
Image source: meloliblisa
#38
“Literally he went from a 436 gram pocket bat to a 15lb fluff plume. Meet Poe.”
Image source: msnoneyo
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