Meow (cat)

Meow

Meow in March 2012
Other appellation(s) Meow the fat cat
Species Felis domesticus
Sex Male
Born c. 2010
Died May 5, 2012 (aged 1–2)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Years active 2011 – 2012
Known for Heaviest cat

Meow (c. 2010 – May 5, 2012), also known as Meow the fat cat, was a male domestic cat who attracted international attention due to the effort to slim him down.[1][2][3] He was the heaviest cat at his time of death, weighing 39.6 pounds (18.0 kilograms).[4] He died of lung failure on May 5, 2012.[5]

Biography

Meow was moved to the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society two weeks before he died[1] because his 87-year-old owner could no longer take care of him.[5] The animal shelter gave Meow a strict high-protein diet intended to make the cat lose weight.[5] The shelter also planned to publicize Meow and the diet plans for him to lose weight on their Facebook page.[6] Meow's publicity was expected to arouse interest on having the cat adopted. The weight loss plan began showing results with Meow losing two pounds (0.9 kilograms) during his stay in the animal shelter. The shelter planned to make Meow lose weight, at least ten pounds (4.5 kilograms), so that he would be able to be adopted.[6] However, Meow began to have breathing problems by May 2, 2012. After undergoing a battery of tests, which included X-ray and cardiac ultrasound, he was put on oxygen therapy.[3] On May 4, Meow was brought to a veterinary hospital to undergo emergency treatment. Four veterinarians attempted to save Meow's life, but the cat died during the afternoon of May 5.[5] Some critics condemned the shelter for attempting to profit from Meow's condition.[7]

Domestic cats are similar in size to the other members of the genus Felis, typically weighing between 8.8 pounds (4.0 kg) and 11 pounds (5.0 kg).[8] However, Meow weighed 39.6 pounds (18.0 kilograms), making him the heaviest cat in the world at the time, but not the heaviest on record.[4] Himmy, a cat from Australia, weighed 46.8 pounds (21.3 kilograms)[9] at his death during his tenth year, in 1986.[10] Guinness World Records stopped recording heaviest pets to discourage deliberate overfeeding.[4] Meow, being the heaviest cat of his time, also appeared on television shows in the United States. One was Anderson Live, which was hosted by American television personality Anderson Cooper.[11] Meow was featured in an episode of Anderson Live on April 30, 2012, with Cooper carrying the fat cat.[12] His record as the heaviest cat was held by a New York City cat named SpongeBob after SpongeBob SquarePants.[13] SpongeBob weighed 33 pounds (15 kilograms) as of June 1, 2012.[14][15] He died a few months later.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zimmerman, Neetzan (7 May 2012). "Internet Famous Fat Cat Meow Put to Sleep". Gawker. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Fat Cat ‘Meow’ Dies". ABC News. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Meow the fat cat dies due to obesity". Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "'Meow,' 39-Pound Fat Cat, Must Lose Weight Before Adoption From Santa Fe Shelter". International Business Times. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lynch, Rene (7 May 2012). "Fat cat's fate: Meow, the 39-pound feline, dies of lung failure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Associated Press (23 April 2012). "New Mexico fat cat weighs in at nearly 40 pounds". WPVI-TV. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  7. ↑ http://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-blog/the-short-happy-life-of-meow-the-obese-cat/
  8. ↑ Mattern, Michelle Y.; McLennan, Deborah A. (2000). "Phylogeny and Speciation of Felids". Cladistics 16 (2): 232–253. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2000.tb00354.x.
  9. ↑ "Cat World Records: Heaviest cat". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "World Records: The Largest Domestic Cat". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Stelter, Brian (30 September 2010). "CNN's Anderson Cooper in Daytime Talk Show Deal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Co-Host Monday with Kristen Johnston / 'Private Practice' Star Kate Walsh". Anderson Live. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "Is this the world's fattest cat? Sponge Bob tips the scales at a massive 33 POUNDS... and he's on a diet!". Daily Mail. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  14. ↑ Crick, Andy (23 September 2012). "Supersize Me-ow World’s fattest cat weighs 2st 5lb". The Sun. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  15. ↑ http://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-blog/the-short-happy-life-of-meow-the-obese-cat/