The Skinny About The Fat Cat

[This article was first published as The Skinny About The Fat Cat on Technorati.]

Meow weighing in at the shelter

 

By now many of you have either chuckled over or been mortified by the news stories about Meow, the 2-year-old fat cat at the Santa Fe animal shelter who weighed in at nearly 40 pounds.

And while he doesn't hold the record as the fattest cat on the planet--that dubious distinction goes to Himmy, a tabby from down under, who checked in at almost 47 pounds--Meow is still way over the seven to 12 pound average weight for a cat.

So now he's with a foster family on a special diet, and he's supposed to shed 10 pounds before he can be put up for permanent adoption. His first weigh-in was quite public being duly recorded and photographed. And, as if that wasn't enough, the shelter people said they would post Meow's progress on their Facebook page. So Meow sort of has his own "Frying In His Own Fat" Weight Loss Challenge with public accountability for his weight loss.

10 pounds.

 I still have about 7 1/2 pounds to go, but in solidarity with Meow, maybe I'll make that 10. I think it will be quite a challenge since this week netted zero weight loss, but no weight gain either. Just don't expect me to record my exact weight or photograph the weigh-in process. No siree, Missy.

Howie before going into hiding to avoid weigh-in

However, I did take a gander at my own shelter cat, Howard. He's always been a tad "rubenesque" shall we say (translation: plump) and could stand to lose a few pounds.

I think I'll make Howie join us in this weight loss endeavor and document his progress as well. His weigh-in may have to wait just a bit until I can locate him. I think he caught wind of this latest challenge and promptly hid.