Fat cat finds a home in Oregon

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The calls came in from all over the United States. One cat lover called from Massachusetts, and another from Nevada.

They were all seeking to own a 31-pound cat that turned up at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington’s shelter last Saturday. The enormous tabby became a big celebrity after he was featured on CNN.

Sure, he’s obese, admits Kate Goudschaal, director of community programs for the Humane Society. But besides that, what’s not to love?

“He’s really sweet,” she said. “He really is just a love of a cat and definitely loves people.”

As it turned out, it was Katee Belcher, of Gresham, Ore., who nabbed the kitty. She and her fiancé saw the cat on Wednesday’s evening news and fell in love.

“He’s just absolutely precious,” she gushed Thursday afternoon. “There was no talk about it. We immediately called the shelter.”

As one person on an impressively long waiting list, Belcher was chosen because of her experience toning obese cats. Her current cat used to be pretty plump, she said.

Belcher promised shelter officials that the fat cat, which she hasn’t named yet, would be placed on a strict dry-food diet and get walked every day.

“Absolutely no table scraps,” she promised. “And I can take him on a kitty leash with a harness in the yard.”

Before finding a home, the cat created a stir at the Humane Society. He was brought to the shelter by a passer-by who spotted him waddling down Southeast 13th Street.

After arriving at the shelter, staffers realized there was a problem: He couldn’t fit in a kennel.

So he checked into the private office of the operations director, who was away on vacation.

With this setup, he got lots of exercise and love from staffers walking in and out of the office, Goudschaal said.

“Everybody wanted to see him,” she said.

He was also placed on a strict diet of mainly dry cat food, Goudschaal said. She thinks he became fat from being fed wet cat food, which contains many more calories than dry food.

The diet quickly paid off. Since arriving at the shelter, the cat went from 34 pounds to a little-thinner 31.

Goudschaal hopes his new owner will continue the weight-loss plan.

“We were looking for someone with a lot of love,” she said. “Love as in extra exercise, not extra food.”