Very sad news out of the pet world today: A spokesperson for the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society has announced on the shelter's Facebook page that Meow, the nearly 40 lb. cat who made headlines over the past few weeks for his battle with feline obesity, has passed away. The cat, who captured the hearts of animal lovers from around the world - including Anderson Cooper and The Today Show's Matt Lauer - had been making progress in his foster home, and was already down to 35.7 lbs. on a high protein and low carb diet. His last scheduled appearance was to be a live weigh-in on May 3rd, that was ultimately put on hold as his health began to decline.
Despite the outpouring of media attention given to Meow's unusual story, the XL kitty's origins still remain unclear. While many outlets have reported that the 2-year-old cat was relinquished by an 87-year-old owner who fed him a hot dog diet, Catster contends that he was closer to five years in age, and was better taken care of than we'd been lead to believe.
Whatever the case, the plus sized pussycat made an impact on his countless number of fans who came to know his story, and were rooting for him to shed the weight and find his forever home. While it's unfortunate that Meow did not get the happy ending he deserved, hopefully his death will not be in vain and can teach others about the dangers of having a unhealthily oversized pet.
The full statement from shelter Executive Director Mary Martin reads:
Dear Friends,
I am devastated to share with you that the respiratory distress that Meow was experiencing last week (the reason we did not do his weigh-in) took his life at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. The Shelter staff - along with all those who met Meow during his short time with us – mourn his passing. As many of you are aware, Meow began wheezing last Thursday in his foster home, Dr. Jen began trying to sort out the problem, at first considering the possibility of asthma associated with his weight. She started treatment immediately to ease his breathing and, when Meow didn’t improve, she sought additional help for him from our emergency specialty hospital and an additional private veterinary hospital. Although four different veterinarians worked with Meow, we were unable to stop the progression of what turned out to be pulmonary failure. Meow had been doing so well in his foster home; walking up stairs and seeking affection - that it is so very hard to believe he is gone. We will forever be grateful for the attention Meow’s size brought to pet obesity and to animal shelters across the country. We are especially grateful to all of you who fell in love with this charming cat - as we did – and were so very interested in his progress and success.
With gratitude, Mary Martin
14 comments:
So sad about Meow. I hope that his story will bring to light the dangers of obesity in pets.
I´m so very sorry!!!!!
So sorry about Meow's passing. He was a sweet kitty. I also worry about my kitty. She is a Maine Coon, 5 years old and weighs 15.50 lbs. I feed her one small can of Science Diet per day, but on the outside of the can it says to feed a 10 lb. cat 2 cans a day. It doesn't make sense she only eats one can and weighs 15.50 lbs. I hope she doesn't have the same fate awaiting her as poor Meow.
This is so sad. :( Poor kitty.
If you are worried about your cat's weight talk to your vet. My cat mar is 19 pounds and is not overweight - just big and he has Maine Coon in him. I think MC cats tend to be bigger.
I'm so bummed. Maybe it was brought on by the stress of moving from his previous home.
It's very sad about Meow. It sounded like he was doing good, but the damage was already done to his poor body. RIP Meow.
That is sad. Too bad he wasn't found earlier.
I was so hoping that he had a chance for a normal life. My cat is 20 lbs but he is not fat...he is very long and agile...just a big, big cat. And he never stops running around so I'm not worried about his weight. Vet says he is perfect, as I already knew that!!!
Worst news ever :(
We learned about Meow's passing yesterday on Yahoo News. How very sad that this baby is gone. Godspeed, handsome boy!
My cat Sanchez weighed 35 lbs. He was born 9-11-01, was light tan but looked like Meow. He was found on one of the work trucks by my son. We didn't think he would live. He was a day old. We bottle fed him and he grew to be my cat. No one will ever know how much I loved him. He never ate anything but his cat food. Per his Vet we tried to get him to drop some weight. He would drop a few pounds but put it back on. He was my buddy. I had to put him to sleep 11-19-11. He lived a good 10 years. He developed a blood clot that traveled down and stopped his legs from working. He had fluid fill his lungs. They thought he was going to have a massive heart attack. With a lot of thought and plenty of tears I ended his pain that night. I was told less than 3% make it through the procedure it would take to try to save him and they only live 3 mos. If they could have told me he would live a good 2 or 3 years more, I would have sold my soul to the devil that night to save him. I held him and he watched me and he was gone that night, A part of me died with him. Things will never be the same without him. I was told his father was huge and he looked like a Bobcat. The Vet told me that Sanchez had a very big bone structure. He said he would never weigh like a normal cat. He also told me the Sanchez had an enlarged heart. He is missed everyday!!
So sorry to hear MEOW has left us. He was a beautiful cat.
rest in peace sweet baby
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