This 40-pound cat was 'unadoptable'—until a woman fell in love with him online
When it comes to stray animals in the kennel, a sad reality is that most of them never get the chance to find a home, but an extremely chonky stray cat instantly captured the heart of a woman who is determined to make him healthy again.
Meet Patches, a cat that boasts an enormous weight of 40.3 pounds, making him the largest feline resident of Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) in Virginia.
The fluffy furbaby first became viral when the animal care center put him up for adoption on their Facebook page, showing off his "gloriously gluttoness body."
"Did you wake up today and say, 'let’s adopt the largest cat anyone has ever seen?' If so, we have the cat for you. Meet Patches; all 40.3 pounds of him! He’s been regulated to a very special diet, is on an exercise plan and is very sweet." the animal care center captioned their post.
Despite Patches having already been "neutered, tested, chipped, and ready to go," he was reported to have been barely listed as adoptable because of his obesity. Which is why the animal shelter had been looking for someone with commitment to help Patches get to a safe and heathy weight.
But good news: RACC announced in a seperate post that a woman named Kay Ford is up for the job as she has now welcomed the chubby mouse chaser into her home and had introduced him to her other pets: a 13-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Bella and his two-year-old "twin brother" named Wellesley who has the same colors as him.
His new family had even made him his very own Facebook page, called Patches' Journey. There, they shared that Patches will be getting on a veterinary-supervised weight loss plan and that Ford is committed to making him lose 20 pounds during his health journey.
His family also detailed that Patches can still walk despite his weight and is not a voracious eater, sharing that he is still adjusting so his appetite could improve over time.
Many netizens expressed their elation at Patches for having found a loving family to care for him and hoped that he would have a healthier body soon.
"So much sweetness, but he will really thrive when he gets to a healthy weight! That’s gonna take real commitment and a lot of love! Thank you RACC for finding the perfect home to love and help him and prevent him from having medical problems related to carrying that extra floof!" one user commented.
Another one wrote, "I do hope he loses weight. He must be uncomfortable. He is gorgeous! Thank you for adopting him! Praying for the adopter and Patches to get through this."