It seems that New Brunswick is becoming Canada’s capital for super-sized cats.
Almost two years ago, a fat Fredericton feline ironically dubbed “Tiny” captured international attention when his local SPCA documented his weight-loss efforts on his own Facebook page.
Now, there's Michelin. And he makes Tiny look relatively slim by comparison.
Michelin -- yes, as in spare tire Michelin -- weighed a hefty 15.4 kilograms when he surrendered to the Moncton SPCA last Thursday. That’s 33.9 lbs. Tiny weighed a mere 13.7 kg, or 30 lbs, when he was abandoned at the Fredericton SPCA last year.
Karen Nelson, the executive director of the Moncton SPCA, says Michelin was dropped off by his owners a week ago and was immediately put on a special diet. And so far, the weight loss is going well, she said.
“He’s lost two pounds his first week,” Nelson told CTV’s Canada AM from Moncton Thursday.
“He came in at 34 lbs and now he’s down to 32, so that’s very good for the first week.”
As Nelson spoke, Michelin sat on her lap, howling quietly, not looking at all pleased with the CTV Moncton studio. He then began to have fits and spasms as he appeared to cough up a hairball, which prompted Nelson to give up her chair to the portly feline.
“He’s kind of cranky right now,” Nelson explained. “But I would think that carrying all that extra weight would make anyone cranky.”
The plan for Michelin is to help him lose about half his body weight and get him down to the 12 to 15 pounds that’s normal for an adult cat.
“His weight-loss plan now is mostly diet,” she said, “because he’s not very active and really, doesn’t want to be active.”
As for how Michelin got so portly, Nelson says that’s “a bit of a mystery.” It’s likely his owners simply fed him too much and didn’t give him enough opportunities to move around, she said.
“I think Michelin got to this size by liking his food bowl a little too much and not getting enough exercise – the same thing that happens with us, right?” Nelson said with a laugh.
Despite his weight, Michelin is actually relatively healthy, she said, aside from being covered with hair mats -- the result of not being able to bend over to wash himself.
“He’s got short little legs and his belly, well, it’s pretty big,” Nelson said, holding Michelin up by the front legs to show the camera.
As Michelin whittles away the weight, he’s being assessed every day by Dr. Lethan Dwan, the Moncton SPCA’s veterinarian. Dwan says the concern for Michelin is wanting to help him drop the pounds, but needing to do it slowly, since a quick weight loss could be just as hard on Michelin’s health as being so fat in the first place.
“A lot of extra stress on the liver can flood the liver with fats, potentially, shut the liver down, which then causes major issues,” Dwan told CTV Atlantic Wednesday. “So one per cent a week is what we aim for as far as a slim-down.”
It’s expected it will take a full year of diet and exercise to get Michelin back to a healthy weight. But judging by Tiny’s experience, it can be done: Michelin’s plump predecessor was able to slim down to a sleek 7.5 kilograms after a year of work and was adopted by a new family earlier this year.
The best way to prevent obesity in indoor cats is to get them lots of exercise, Dr. Dwan says. That’s doesn’t have to mean running on a treadmill; it can be as simple as engaging them in play.
“Just giving them different environments and different levels of stimulation,” he says, “and something more than just looking forward to the food bowl all day.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's David Bell
