It's not often a pet cat has a similar stature to a young boy sitting, but 3-year-old Santiago Falla almost met his match at the Pet and Animal Expo in Auckland at the weekend.
Barou, a 5-year-old male Maine coon cat, was barely half a head shorter than Santiago when the two sat side by side.
The encounter was just one of dozens of similar meetings at the North Shore Events Centre when pet lovers and the furry, fluffy and scaly members of the animal world came together under one roof.
The annual Pet Expo event - now into its third year - drew together families, businesses and animals as diverse as chinchillas, farm animals and terrapins. Event co-organiser Brian Peters said about 17,000 people had attended the event throughout the weekend and the expo had almost outgrown its venue.
Male Maine coon cats, which come from the US state of Maine, can grow up to 10kg.
