Morbidly obese cat is equivalent to 600 lb. human

Yes, Meow has passed away. I live in Santa Fe and have been following this story. I think he would be alive right now if they weren't flying him all over the country for interviews. I think the added stress took poor Meow over the edge. :sad:

Poor bub

He must have been really sad and not very clean.

Yep, saw it on the news. He died. His owner should be shot.

Well, considering the owner was a 87 year old woman who surrendered Meow to the shelter here because she couldn't take care of him anymore...I don't think shooting her is the answer. She obviously didn't know how to take care of a cat. She was feeding him a main diet of hotdogs. :frown:

Oh how horrible!! Poor sweet boy (

Omg crap like this makes me cry. Why don't people learn more about animals before adopting them as pets? I mean as soon as my vet told me one of my female cats was a little heavy, (like 2-3lbs) I started giving them all a more strict feeding schedule 1/2 cup of food twice a day and a few times a week they get a little wet food as a treat. She's not lost any weight, but hasn't gained any either. I have to give my oldest male more canned food because one of his back molars was removed and he needs to gain a bit of weight. Take care of your pets, they deserve it just as much as any other living creature!

I really loathe anyone who PURPOSEFULLY overfeeds a cat or any other animal just because they want a fat pet too. Pets are for companionship and to give love, not some toy for your entertainment!

Edited to add: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJAJfp2WhI

Just something to think about when buying food for your kitties, for those of you who do own cats. The LEAST you can do is buy your cats a brand of food that lists MEAT as the first ingredient, not a grain / vegetable / filler and give them some canned wet food or tuna on a frequent basis.

Yep, saw it on the news. He died. His owner should be shot.

Well, considering the owner was a 87 year old woman who surrendered Meow to the shelter here because she couldn't take care of him anymore...I don't think shooting her is the answer. She obviously didn't know how to take care of a cat. She was feeding him a main diet of hotdogs. :frown:

I had an elderly relative who fed her dog only chicken and rice. The dog not only wasn't getting proper nutrition and got overweight, he'd never tasted any other food so when her son and his wife took the dog after she had to be put in a nursing home, it took them forever to get him to actually eat dog food and get his weight down. The damage had been done though because he'll still refuse food and he has health problems from the years of eating that.

Some people, especially the elderly, want to baby and spoil their pets and think it's alright to feed them people food but the reality is it can hurt them, but the people don't know what they're doing is wrong.

I had a cat that was overweight because my dad fed him people food, and in excess. Even after he left my dad's care you had to watch him because he was so used to that food he would steal it off your plate or fight you for it. Luckily we got him to slim down enough and he lived to a ripe old age.

needs some muscle building tae bo

Poor kitty. I used to be a vet tech. Obese cats develop some pretty painful conditions and suffer quite a bit. I'm not judging people, but I really don't understand how a cat gets that big. They self-regulate their eating generally. I could understand with a dog because they just wolf down food whenever it is in front of them, but I guess dogs are generally more active.

My dog NEVER overeats, and I free-feed her. She's svelte and healthy. It's my cat who will eat and eat till she explodes. I call her "my little goldfish". I no longer free-feed her for that reason.

Nice how Guinness had to stop keeping records to discourage overfeeding. duh!

Our pets are all at a healthy weight range, except for our older one. And it's not because he's over fed, it's simply a lack of exercise. We do the most we can with him, but his back legs are too old for him to move around for long periods, he's not "overweight" he's just a bit chunkers.

Pet owners need some education on how to care for pets, if you don't know - do some research, or get a pet that's less maintenance.

My dog eats her poop sometimes. I'm convinced that it's helped her stay at a healthy weight.

My dogs eat cat poop. I've never seen a dog that eats its own poop.
They hit my cats litter box like it's a candy store.

My dog eats her poop sometimes. I'm convinced that it's helped her stay at a healthy weight.

My dog eats OTHER dog's poop. It's so gross.

Ours is a toy poodle. She tried to snack on my dad's golden retriever's poop the other day, until I intervened. She thought she had died and gone to poop snack heaven.

My cat would be another "Meow" if I let her. She was a shelter kitty, and had been outside for weeks and weeks before brought to the shelter. I was new to cats, so my cat-lover friends told me to "free feed" her. I had one of those vacation feed things that releases food as needed. Well, within a month or so, she was overweight! She apparently had the "as long as food is available, I should stock up" mentality. I stopped free-feeding her, got the info from the vet on how much she needs. She meows like crazy whenever her bowl is empty, but she's a healthy weight now.

Too bad Meow's owner didn't do the same.

I had a cat like this. She almost starved outside so when there was plentiful food she ate and ate. After about 4 years she figured out the food wasn't going to go away and she started only eating when she was hungry.

Just something to think about when buying food for your kitties, for those of you who do own cats. The LEAST you can do is buy your cats a brand of food that lists MEAT as the first ingredient, not a grain / vegetable / filler and give them some canned wet food or tuna on a frequent basis.

Skip the Tuna. The way food is processed for human consumption, what is added in, is horrible for animals. You're better off feeding either organic tuna, or there are brand of pet foods that are 95% meat, and certain "cat" tunas, that skip all the "human" processing.
Plus, if you have a cat with urinary issues, fish is a BAD idea. long explanation why, just be really careful with Tuna.

And this story just kills me. I care about my animals overall nutrition as much if not more than my own, I cannot imagine letting any animal get that obese, especially when I control their food! I mean, I'm pretty sure Meow wasn't holding her at gun point demanding another hot dog.

Even worse, is that Meow is probably all that old lady had left, so even if she loved her kitty, she probably had no one else to help her with him.