Weighing the same as a 5-year-old boy, Patches, the 'world's fattest cat', finally goes on a diet. For comparison, the weight of an average 5-year-old boy 18.3 kg- but so is that of Patches!
The popular chunky feline was rescued by Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) in Virginia a few days ago. The cat's pictures made rounds on the internet after the animal shelter posted details and photos on Facebook and Patches soon became an internet star.
The bulky cat has now been introduced to a diet to match with the weight of other domestic cats, that do not weigh more than 4.5 kilograms.
According to experts, despite the fact that the sizes of cats may vary according to the breed and frame of the animal, Patches is far beyond the average for his kind.
An adoption post by RACC claimed that Patches was given a special diet alongside being placed on an exercise regime to help control his weight.
The post further added that the cat is neutered, tested and chipped.
The feline immediately dropped two pounds by sticking to the new diet, after being adopted by Kay Ford last month.
The director of RACC, Christy Peters said that no one was sure how the cat got so big. She added that the animal was surrendered to her by his owner who could no longer look after him.
However, she is glad that the new owner has a plan in place to help Patches lose weight.
Peters remarked, "The new owner is lovely and has a plan in place to help him lose weight slowly and safely."
What's surprising is that diagnostic tests performed on Patches discovered that he was in perfect health.
RACC and Peters explained the possibility that Patches might have been consuming human food for a while now.
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