A cat has gone viral on Reddit for its unusually buff physique – but it's not down to its diet and lifestyle habits.
According to the person who posted the image, the pet suffers from myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy that has caused the feline to become absolutely ripped.
The rare condition causes the protein myostatin to under-produce, making the animal get stacked even though it might not be intending to.
People were shocked to see the cat sitting by the window looking like he should be lifting weights in the gym, LadBible reports.
One user wrote: "I bet he purrs like an engine."
Another said: "Cat gonna cuddle you into submission."
A third added: "This the cat she tells you not to worry about."
Most bodies are made up of conflicting signals that tell us to either grow muscle or prevent muscle from growing, this helps to keep most of our bodies relatively 'normal.'
However, if there are deficiencies in the myostatin protein, then an individual is able to pile on the bulk and look like they've been working out non-stop.
Cattle, sheep, whippets, and humans have all shown evidence of lacking Myostatin but now, it appears the deficiency can also happen in cats, as evidenced by the feline on Reddit.
Couple exchanged horror text messages abusing boy, 6, before killing him during lockdown
The condition only comes with a rare genetic mutation as Popular Science explains: "Each of us has two copies of the gene encoding myostatin. Inheriting one mutated copy makes you heterozygous for the gene, and animals with that pattern are unusually muscular and strong without being so obviously abnormal that people write case reports about it.
"It's only when you're homozygous, meaning you have two mutated copies, that you become something of an anomaly."
To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Source: Read Full Article
