Portly puss shocks Geelong animal shelter
A perilously plump pet cat with a bizarre appetite for possums has tipped the scales at a whopping 15kg.
Nine-year-old Toby weighed more than three times the size of an average feline when he was brought into Geelong's Animal Welfare Society last week.
The portly puss is classified morbidly obese and it is no surprise with a diet that staff say consisted of possums.
The organisation's CEO, Belinda Russo, said she was shocked by the size of the domestic short-haired grey.
"I've never seen a cat so fat," she told 7News reporter Jacqueline Felgate. "Fifteen kilograms is morbidly obese and something we have never seen before.
"He's been overfed and maybe perhaps a little over loved."
The chubby kitty has been put on a 'lean cuisine diet' and has shed 3kg in just a week.
The animal shelter is looking for a new home for Toby.
But staff want him to lose even more of his bulge before putting him up for adoption.
"We've got him on a lean cuisine diet. We're feeding him small amounts of food daily," Ms Russo said.
But potential owners have been warned that Toby likes his food and may need special care.
"He's a cat that will need special treatment with how you feed him," Ms Russo said.
"He's a beautiful cat so we're really hoping someone will come forward and take him on."
More information is available on the GAWS website
