There is a story going around on the Internet about a charming but apparently grossly overweight rescue cat whose name is Mitzi. Many news media websites present a photograph of Mitzi as grossly overweight which is a reason why, they hint, that she has been returned to an animal rescue centre, Woodside Animal Welfare Trust in Plymouth, Devon, no less than four times. I feel very sorry for this cat because it is very upsetting for a cat to be adopted and then returned to a rescue centre four times.
The photograph above explains why I think this image has been photo shopped to make her look much larger than she actually was at that time. She is described as being 16 pounds in weight at the time the photograph was taken. However, I know quite a lot about world-record fat cats (see Clauz for example). Cats of this shape weigh 25 pounds or more. In fact I would argue that she would weigh in the order of 30 odd pounds in this photograph if she really did look like that. And Sprinkles, below, is similar in shape to Mitzi but was twice her weight (click on the link to read about Sprinkles if you wish).
Allowing your cat to get this obese should be a criminal matter
You can see by my description on the photograph that the edges of her body are blurred compared to the surrounding areas which are relatively sharp. It’s impossible for that to happen unless the image has been edited. This is because a lens will create a sharp image along that plane i.e. that distance from the lens. And there is no possibility of any lens aberration as the cat is in the middle of the image more or less.
I’m not saying that the animal rescue centre doctored the image. What I am suggesting is that the newspapers did it to make the story more interesting. In subsequent photographs, indicating that there were taken, other similar time, she looks more like a 16 pound cat. You can see one of these images below. There is a distinct difference. Yes, she was very fat and is losing weight but in the image below she is nowhere near as grossly fat as the image at the top of the page.
As far as I’m aware, Mitzi is still looking for a home. People can contact Woodside on is 01752 347503.
She is described as being a bit grumpy and a bit fed up. And at the moment she weighs 12 pounds. This is not grossly overweight. She is quite possibly grumpy because of the circumstances under which she has been living recently. I am convinced that some tender loving care and living in a really nice home will soften her heart to become a charming, friendly and loving companion.
The person adopting Mitzi will have to ensure that she remains on a proper feline weight loss diet. The home needs to be child-free and ideally she needs to be the only companion animal at the home.
You are bang on the money with this photo’ analysis Michael.
Enlarged, every applied click of Clone Stamp can be seen. It is a shockingly poor job.
16lbs isn’t so terrible, she may be a small cat, so at 12lbs, she does look a bit hefty.
14lb cats are not uncommon, some cats have huge frames and can be very healthy/active
I don’t think many adopters realise how challenging it can be to give the best care for cat who has needs like poor Mitzi
Of course she is grumpy being flipped back to the rescue so many times. I think many rescues are so desperate to home cats, that they aren’t always able give enough examination/assessment of adopters. The huge number of cats needing homes must drive this issue.
It is not the fault of the rescue they are at least sticking by Mitzi. It is the fault of society that values cats so poorly, that spay and neuter are not seen as the default, a society that allows cats to breed incessantly without intervention, leading to a huge deficit in the number of good homes available.
Mitzi is probably hungry all the time if being fed carb filled/high fibre/low fat/low calorie junk, prescription food.
Overweight cats need a species appropriate diet that leave them properly sated & nourished. Weight loss easier to achieve if the feline gut is fed what it evolved to digest.
She will need the opportunity & motivation to move more too. I hope she isn’t confined to a cage. That won’t help her mind or her body, but free roaming space is often an unachievable luxury in hard pressed rescues.
Almost needless to say, she, like most overweight mammals, will be very poorly nourished, which will affect her mood and activity levels too.
Such a shame that a sweet little soul, should suffer due to the lack of knowledgeable homes, the desperation of rescues to rehome and the lumpen idiocy of internet plonkers with access to Photoshop seeking dumb notoriety via the depressingly popular trope of “fat shaming”
I’d take her in a heartbeat if I didn’t have two cats. I’d turn it around for her. She deserves that.
Good luck to Mitzi!