43 lb cat is a potato trying to become fries

Axel, aka Biggie Smalls is as you might expect a social media star because he is enormous. Sad really but I have to admit he does look amazing. Amazingly enormous. Health problems come to mind (diabetes, hypertension etc.) and how to lose weight gently to avoid hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). Fast weight loss can cause this serious disease. I trust the owners of this cat are aware of that and that the weight loss drug for humans is going to be marketed for use by pets but the problem with Ozempic (Wegovy) is that is can cause blindness under certain conditions. Very serious. I have written about this drug - click here.

"Just a potato trying to become fries. Starting weight 43lbs."

Heavyweight lifting competition. Screenshot.

Here is a video from TikTok of this star. He is on a weight-loss diet. Slowly please. He'll get there. He lives in Ottawa I understand and is a rescue cat. He likes his food! And it is difficult for the caregivers to diet him. He probably got into the habit of eating for pleasure. Cats can do that in my view. It is the product of boredom. Good luck on his diet.

@axel.biggiesmalls Morning brush and rubs with that wide stance 😂 living his best life. #chonkycat #chonk #orangecatbehavior #fatcatsoftiktok #weightlossprogress ♬ original sound - ✨Walter the Catt✨

Some thoughts on excess weight in cats.

World's fattest living cat 2023 - 'Patches'

He is a rescue cat. He was slightly overfed! He is living today as at 5th May 2023 and losing weight as the woman who adopted him from the shelter has him on a diet. Surprised? The all-time world record fattest cat weighed a little more at 46.8 pounds. His name was Himmy. He lived in Australia and he died in 1986. Patches maxed out at 40.3 pounds.

Image by MikeB from one supplied by the Express.

He weighed the same as a 5-year-old boy. He was rescued by Richmond Animal Care and Control in Richmond, Virginia, USA.

Kay Ford adopted him. He is one of the heaviest domestic cats ever recorded. Ms Peters of the shelter said: 

“He was surrendered by his owner who was unable to take care of him anymore. When I first saw him, I said some swear words, he was the biggest cat I had ever seen.”

Veterinarians declared that he was 'completely healthy'!!

He is a picky eater 😎. It seems that his previous owner managed to spoil him nonetheless.

Kay Ford is retired and the perfect caregiver provided she can diet him consistently but slowly to avoid fatty liver disease. Dieting too fast can cause this disease. He has lost a little bit of weight already but is still enormously obese.

He is not a Guinness World Record holder. I mean that he is not listed in their book. He is considerably heavier that the domestic cat that they thought was the world's heaviest. I expect they'll amend the book. Although Patches' weight is a fading record. He'll be normal one way and feel a lot better.

Chonky, square, grey tabby is eye-catching

This chonky fella has become a hit with guests at the Best Western Silver Fox Inn, in Waterville Valley New Hampshire, USA. Well, at least that was the case in 2016. That's five years ago but Logan was eight years old at the time weighing 31 pounds which is about three times the weight of a normal domestic cat. That makes him 13 today and if he maintained that weight I would suspect that he is ill with conditions such as diabetes and arthritis but perhaps I am being too negative.

Logan a grey tabby cat weighing 31 pounds. Photo: Jim Cole (AP).

His appearance is certainly eye-catching so it is no surprise that he has become a feature in the area. One Facebook video was viewed 29 million times or more. He was adopted by Susan and Tor Brunvand from Meredith, New Hampshire from a shelter. At that time he was a normal-sized cat. Sadly, they allowed him to become obese. It is fun to see a chonky cat like this but on a more serious note it is very unhealthy. Apparently he had a habit of eating the food of other cats in the household.

ASSOCIATED: 3 life stages of the domestic cat in terms of body weight and nutrient requirements

Perhaps I've been a bit unkind because I read that his weight may be due to 'slow metabolism'. They took him to a vet for advice. I suspect, though, that he put on weight because he ate too much. The fact that he was normal weight when adopted supports that assessment. 

Sometimes you just don't realise how much you and your cat eats. People have a habit of normalising the things that they do and the weight that they gain. That is why it can be difficult to recognise weight gain. I recently wrote a page about that which you can read if you want to by clicking on this link.

Although he's very popular there were (still are?) people who were criticising Susan and Tor because it does indicate an irresponsible attitude to cat caregiving. Although we shouldn't be too critical. One person threatened to report them for animal abuse. And another, Janet Lynn, a guest to the hotel from Manchester, New Hampshire asked: "I just wonder why a person would have a pet and let it get that heavy?"

The Brunvands seem to have laughed this off because they think they can't do anything about his weight. Susan says that he is happy and that "He doesn't think he's fat".

The likely reason why Logan is as fat as he is, is because he eats too much and doesn't exercise enough. It is not rocket science. A consistent dietary change over a long period of time would be beneficial. In the meantime the guests of the hotel can continue to be amused. However, I am sure that in the back of their minds they are also concerned for his health.