Morbidly obese cat one of the fattest Christchurch SPCA worker has seen

Thursday, 8 October 2020

Blue the cat tipped the scales at more than 12kg when he arrived at the Christchurch SPCA. His goal weight before he can be adopted is closer to 5kg.

An overweight Christchurch cat has begun a journey to shed some kilograms after tipping the scales at almost triple the weight of a healthy feline.

Blue, a 5-year-old domestic shorthair, was handed in to the SPCA's Christchurch centre in June because his elderly owner was unable to look after him.

On arrival, he tipped the scales at 12.6 kilograms – the average domestic shorthair cat weighs about 4.5kg.

Feline team leader Sal Aitken, who has taken on Blue at her home with the goal of getting him down to 5kg, said the plump kitty was the largest she had seen at the centre.

Blue has lost about 2kg so far and is dealing well with his weight-loss regime, which consists of feeding him metabolic cat biscuits and encouraging him to be more active.

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“When a cat like that comes in you are kind of shocked to see it because a cat should not be that size. A cat should not ever get to that weight, it is definitely a welfare concern.”

Blue is among several overweight domestic cats emerging across the country in recent months.

Blue had lost about 2kg so far and appeared to be dealing well with his weight-loss regime, which consisted of feeding him metabolic cat biscuits and encouraging him to be more active.

A weight-loss target of about 200 grams a week has been set to bring Blue down to a safe weight before being put up for adoption.

He was quite timid and relatively immobile when he first arrived at the centre. His movement was so restricted, Aitken had to remove the legs off one her beds so he could climb on to it.

SPCA Christchurch Centre feline team leader Sal Aitken has taken on the task of helping Blue get to a healthy weight.

She has noticed a massive transition in Blue’s personality since he has lost some weight.

“He has kind of had this transition from an introverted, shy cat and now he has blossomed into this really big, vocal [and] funny cat.”

“He will jump over your bed, he will wake you up at stupid hours of the night … he is just the most energetic young man now.”

When Blue was surrendered to the SPCA's Christchurch centre in June, he tipped the scales at 12.6 kilograms – the average domestic shorthair cat weighs about 4.5kg.

Blue is among several overweight domestic cats emerging across the country in recent months.

In July, overweight Wellington cat Mog Mog also began a weight-loss programme after tipping the scales at 10kg.

Last month, North Canterbury possum hunter Jesse Feary spotted what appeared to be two large cats in the Ashley Forest area.

Feary said one of the cats, which he shot, weighed in at 11kg, with a 45-centimetre tail and 14-millimetre fangs. Stretched out it was 1.05 metres long.

He estimated an adult he saw the previous weekend would be about twice the size.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the fattest cat on record was Himmy – a tabby from Australia, who weighed 21.3kg when he died of respiratory failure at age 10 in March 1986.

Overweight cats are at serious risk of diseases affecting their heart, eyes, liver and skin.

Aitken said given Blue was so overweight, he was “lucky” to not have any underlying health conditions.

Cat owners should focus on feeding their cats only cat food, monitor how much they were consuming, avoid giving them food scraps and take them to a vet for a yearly health check, she said.

Another way to reduce cat over-eating is to use a puzzle feeder or hollow toys stuffed with food. This requires the cat to work for their food through normal hunting and foraging behaviours, and increases the time it takes to consume it.

This Friday is World Pet Obesity Day, which aims to raise awareness of the prevalence of obesity within animals. More information can be found online.