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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFamous 39-Lb. Cat Dies Of Pulmonary Failure
The animal world lost a (furry) gem on Saturday when Meow, a 39-lb, two-year-old rescue cat, died of pulmonary failure.
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His death was first announced on the Humane Societys 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 Meows 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
(44,397 posts)hedgehog
(36,286 posts)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
(4,291 posts)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
(21,786 posts)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
(37,428 posts)...the cat couldn't even safely lose all that excess weight.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)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 cats 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
(56,177 posts)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
(50,566 posts)That adorable kitty ... Whoever did that to him abused him!
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)IMHO this was completely avoidable.
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)That kitty weighed as much as my 5 year old. What the heck were they feeding it?
Selatius
(20,441 posts)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
(23,973 posts)He was such a handsome boy.
Poor kitty.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)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
(33,688 posts)Poor guy. RIP, Meow.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)why did it have to be this one?