Famous 39-Lb. Cat Dies Of Pulmonary Failure

[FarCenter]

The animal world lost a (furry) gem on Saturday when Meow, a 39-lb, two-year-old rescue cat, died of pulmonary failure.

...

His death was first announced on the Humane Society’s Facebook page, when Mary Martin, the executive director, stated that despite having four veterinarians at his side they “were unable to stop the progression of what turned out to be pulmonary failure.”

“We will forever be grateful for the attention Meow’s size brought to pet obesity and to animal shelters across the country.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/meow-the-famous-obese-cat-dies-of-pulmonary-failure-2012-5

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. RIP fat kitty

[hedgehog]

2. How did that cat gain all the weight? My cats have free access to food 24/7-

plus they can go out back and pick up a rodent pretty much any time they want!

I can't imagine anyone pinning that cat down and force feeding it, so how did it happen?

[HangOnKids]

4. My Guess Is He Was Fed Human Food

Like cheeseburgers and fries, and I am not kidding. The cat was only 2 for FUCK sake. Wow poor guy, he must have been miserable towards the end.

[Spider Jerusalem]

6. The article I saw said something about the cat being given up by an 87-year-old owner

my guess would be that at that age the owner may have been experiencing some mental fog and forgetfulness and just didn't really remember that she'd already fed the cat before and just kept feeding it, far more than necessary.

[Orsino]

13. And without careful monitoring...

...the cat couldn't even safely lose all that excess weight.

[FarCenter]

15. Cats cannot lose weight quickly

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1455

Fatty Liver (Hepatic Lipidosis)

Approximately 2 weeks of eating 1/2 - 3/4 the normal
amount of food is needed to develop a fatty liver.

The so-called fatty liver represents one of the most common causes of liver failure in cats and it stems from the cat’s basic design. Cats evolved as predators of small birds and rodents, eating multiple small meals throughout the day. Their physiology is geared towards a completely carnivorous diet and with the presupposition that cats would live lean and never have the opportunity to develop extensive fat stores.

Of course this all changed when cats become domestic. The modern housecat has every opportunity to become overweight and while this may not be of disastrous consequence on a day to day basis, should the cat get sick or lost and stop eating, a very big problem erupts. The fat stores mobilize. Normally, in starvation fat is moved from the body's storage depots to the liver for processing into lipoproteins but the feline liver was never intended to handle huge amounts of mobilized fat. The liver becomes infiltrated with fat and fails. Complicating matters are the high dietary protein requirement that is unique to cats; protein malnutrition develops fast when cats do not eat.

[joeybee12]

12. I have one cat who must be about 18, found her 2 years ago abandoned...

If she could, she'd eat 24x7...all my other cats have been smart, picky eaters, but she just loves to eat...she could get pretty fat if I let her...my guess is the woman just kept giving the cat food when it asked for it and at 87 wasn't really aware of what she was doing.

[Arugula Latte]

3. God dammit!

That adorable kitty ... Whoever did that to him abused him!

[kestrel91316]

5. I won't say what I think of the human(s) who overfed this cat for two years.

IMHO this was completely avoidable.

[laundry_queen]

7. Wow.

That kitty weighed as much as my 5 year old. What the heck were they feeding it?

[Selatius]

8. The only domestic cats I know that can grow to over 30lbs are first generation Savannah cats.

But those are cats bred between a domestic and an African Serval. Somebody abused Meow, sadly. Domestics should be nowhere near that weight level and for good reason.

[Ikonoklast]

9. Poor Meow.

He was such a handsome boy.

Poor kitty.

[hedgehog]

10. I still say that you can't force a cat to eat.

Something was wrong with this animal - or else something is wrong with the food all of us eat today! Ever hear of the the canary in the mineshaft? GMO corn, anyone?

[hifiguy]

11. Aww, that is so sad.

Poor guy. RIP, Meow.

[Nye Bevan]

14. Out of all of the fat cats who could have met their end,

why did it have to be this one?