SANTA FE, N.M. — A cat that got national attention for tipping the scales at 39 pounds has died from apparent complications of his morbid obesity, an animal shelter said Monday.
The orange and white tabby named Meow, who was between 2 and 5 years old, was taken to the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society last month after his 87-year-old owner could no longer take care of him.
The shelter put Meow on a diet and posted all his weigh-ins on a Facebook page that got national attention.
Meow had lost 2 pounds and was doing well when he began having breathing problems Wednesday, shelter Director Mary Martin said Monday.
Meow underwent a battery of tests, including X-rays and a cardiac ultrasound, and was put on oxygen.
Despite the shelter’s best efforts, Meow died on Saturday.
“It was a shock and a horror for all of us,” Martin told The Associated Press through tears. “We all fell in love with him.”
She said people across the country contacted the shelter after Meow’s story made national news, with many telling her he inspired them to put their pets and themselves on a diet.
It’s not clear how Meow gained so much weight, but Martin said it was likely a simple combination of a high-calorie diet and inactivity.
Adult cats typically weigh between seven and 12 pounds.
And there was an owner/care giver that should be charged with cruelty.
Seriously, an 87 year old woman…?
I totally agree with you Larrysg
Hey, there are people who do the same thing to their kids…
Go in Walmart sometime and count all the fat people. Chances are, their kids are fat too.
It wasn’t this way when I was a kid. I can excuse an elderly lady equating food with love. I got no quarter with young parents who should know better.
x
i adopted 2 cat’ from save our strays 2 months ago one male that weighs almost 15 pounds and 1 female that is 10 and a half pounds they r 4 years old brother and sister pure black the previous family had moved out and left them in an apartment to fend for themselves (the people should of been fined and jailed poor excuse for a human. but not all owner’s are at fault for a cat being fat,if they are fixed then it seem’s they will gain more weight.
All of our cats are fixed. None are “obese”. Don’t let this excuse from keeping you from fixing your cat. There are way too many strays as it is now!