Meet Cye, the world’s shortest cat

Cye is one short cat! Guinness World Records has officially crowned Cye, a three-year-old male munchkin cat, the shortest cat in the world. Hailing from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, little Cye stands at a petite 13.6 cm (or 5.35 inches) from floor to shoulders, a significant 2.2 cm shorter than the previous record holder, Fizz Girl.

25-year-old Sarah Langille, Cye’s owner, has been a hobby breeder of the tiny cats for five years, reports the Waterloo Region Record. The naturally occurring genetic mutations of munchkin cats cause very short legs in the felines. Despite Cye’s record setting short stature, Langille says that she did not set out to get the world’s shortest cat, and only breeds a few cats a year.

Langille was inspired to look into the record when a friend told her that Cye was the shortest cat he’d ever seen. From there, she contacted the people at Guinness World Records, who told her to provide a video of the cat, and a certification of Cye’s height taken three times by a veterinarian using a specially ordered instrument.

Because he has a normal size body, the Waterloo Region Record vividly described Cye as a “feline dachshund,” and when he sits up on his haunches, “a feline meerkat or prairie dog.” Langille told CBC News that, “He thinks he’s a person,” when Cye takes his upright posture.

The cat’s short legs, and a damaged eye he suffered as a newborn kitten, have not seemed to slow Cye down. He’s reportedly quite active and can leap up to 8 feet. Still, his owner has decided not to let the record holder outside because his short legs leave him vulnerable to attack.

Video and more info: Waterloo Region Record, CBC News