$6K Kittens Are A Scam, Not From World's Tallest Cat, Owner Says

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI — A scammer is purporting to sell kittens belonging to the world's tallest cat, which died in a house fire in Michigan last fall. That's according to the cat's owner, Will Powers.

Will and Lauren Powers lost their Farmington Hills home and their world record-holding cats, Cygnus and Arcturus, when their house caught fire Nov. 11. Cygnus was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest tail. Arcturus was the tallest cat. A third cat, Sirius, was also killed in the blaze.

On Saturday, Will Powers took to Facebook to warn the public of a costly scam: Someone claiming to have bred his "beloved" cat, Arcturus, was using his pictures to sell kittens for $6,000.

"If anyone sees her or this other scammer she works with please report them asap and warn others," wrote Will Powers.

Arcturus was actually bred by Stacee Dallas of Starfell Savannahs in Traverse City, Michigan, he wrote — "not whoever this scammer is."

Will Powers told Patch in a Facebook message the scammer was pretending to be the woman who actually bred the cats. The scammer was able to get away with it for only about a day until someone recognized Arcturus, who remains "internationally recognizable" even months after his death. Someone alerted the owners on Saturday morning.

"This isn't the first nor will it be the last scammer," Powers said. "We to this day have people contact us with ransom notes about the cats claiming they have them."

He said scammers will often post altered photos of the cats, likely due to the sizable reward offered for their safe return.

Patch has reached out to Facebook user Lisa Menchel — who has pictures of the cat on her page — and will update if we hear back.

Photo credit: Edward Pevos / Ann Arbor News via AP