Top 15 Amazingly Fat Cats.

(Photo from Ashefire.net’s Fat Pets gallery) Why do we love fat cats? Duh! Because they’re so cuddly, cute and fat, of course! Many fat cats have become Internet phenomenon - the web has seen several viral emails on this subject (including a famous fake one that purportedly show a monstrously large mutant cat found in an abandoned nuclear research facility, see below). The fattest cat on record is Himmy, a tabby belonging to Thomas Vyse of Redlynch, Queensland, Australia. Himmy weighed 46 lb., 15.25 oz, and died in 1986 at 10 years of age. Fearing people will simply overfeed their cats to top the record, a fully justifiable reason, Guiness Book of Records stopped accepting applications for this record. The average weights for adult male and female cats are 6.2 lb and 5.4 lb, respectively (with neutered cats ranging from 7 to 11 lb). So, why do these fat cats weigh so much? Sarah Hartwell explains it all here: Feline Medical Curiosities: Dwarf Cats, Giant Cats, Fat Cats.

OK, so what are you waiting for? Check out Neatorama’s top 15 list of "fat-tastic" fat cats:

15. Snowball the Giant Nuclear Mutant Cat. Snowball gained Internet notoriety in 2001 when emails circulated around the world, saying that the 87-pound cat is a mutant cat found in abandoned nuclear research facility run by the Atomic Energy of Canada: Rodger Degagne, a former employee with AECL in Chalk River, may be embarking on a new career as Feline Breeder. Relaxing in his spacious home on the shores of the Ottawa River, Mr. Degagne recalls how 15 years ago he befriended two stray young cats on the old AECL research facility at Chalk River. The kittens had appeared in late summer and apparently had gotten under a security fence around the old labs abandoned since the late 50’s. With the help of his tuna sandwich, Mr. Degagne was able to coax the kitties close enough so that he could pick them up. A self-described animal lover, he did not want to place the kittens in the local Humane Society. In this largely rural area, cats of all stripes and ages largely go unwanted and are humanely disposed of after a few days. … "We knew that Snowball wasn’t your average cat when the neighbor’s German Shepherd ran yelping away from his first encounter with her. She just isn’t afraid of any animals. After we found a half eaten raccoon out by the garage, we decided that maybe Snowball should be kept fenced in. We soon discovered that while we can keep Snowball in the yard, we couldn’t keep raccoons from Snowball. At least it kept the food bills down!" Rodger laughed. "Like all female cats she is very territorial, but with us she is just a big ole kitten" he said. The story turned out to be a hoax, perpetrated by Cordell Hauglie, who just wanted to make his daughter laugh by super-sizing their cat Jumper with Photoshop! Since Snowball is a fake, he comes in at No. 15 of Neatorama’s Fat Cat List. Link | See also: Tourist Guy with a Cat: a Hoax Within a Hoax.

14. Mischief, Britain’s Slimmer Pet of the Year. Yes, fat cats are so fat that they’re not healthy. So, to acknowledge the importance of losing weight, coming at number 14 is Mischief, a cat from Stevenage, UK: "Mischief couldn’t fit through the cat flap or even wash himself," Sharon Harding said of her six-year-old cat. Mischief slimmed down to 14 lbs after losing about 11 lbs in 9 months. He won Britain’s Slimmer Pet of the Year award, and can now "move around a lot more than he used to". Link Update 1/12/07: There’s a cat named Goliath who was caught stealing food when he got trapped in a doggie door! At 20.2 lb, Goliath would’ve been on this list here: Link

13. Riley, a 24-Lb. Maine Coon. This fuzzy cat is a 2-year-old Maine Coon named Riley. According to his owner Martha, who is photographed holding him here, Riley weighed about 24 lbs (via Snopes).

12. Tiddles of Paddington Station. One of the most famous fat cats was Tiddles, a 32-lb. cat who lived in the ladies’ bathroom at Paddington Station, London. Tiddles was adopted in 1970 as a stray 6 week old kitten by lavatory attendant June Watson. He lived dined on chicken livers, lambs’ tongues, kidneys, rabbit or steak brought in by his admirers and had his own personal fridge. Tiddles continued to grow in girth and received fan-mail from around the world as well as appearing in news reports. His weight was due to overeating, but vets’ attempts to put him on a diet failed (largely thwarted by titbits from admirers). Tiddles easily became ‘London Fat Cat Champion’ in 1982 at 30 lb (13.6 kg). He was put to sleep in 1983 after vets found fluid round his lungs. Tiddles had essentially eaten himself to death - killed by kindness - and photos show a grotesquely overweight and sad-looking cat, immobilised by his own girth Link (turn off your speaker, the web page has an annoying wailing siren - apparently, it’s a feature.) 5/5/06 Update: Original Link (Thanks Sarah!)

11. Xu Jirong’s Chinese Fat Cat. Xu Jirong in Qingdao, China has a 9-year-old super fat cat pet that weighs in at 15 kg (33 lb.) and its waist measures around 77 cm (30 in). Xu’s cat likes meat, but doesn’t like to eat fish. The secret of its tubness? One steamed bread and half a bowl of chicken heart and some pork every day. Link

10. Leo, the World’s Longest Cat. Verismo Leonetti Reserve Red, or simply "Leo" is Frieda Ireland’s pet cat. According to Guiness World Record, Leo is the world’s longest cat - he weighed 35 lb and measured 48 inches tall from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail and Guinness compares Verismo Leonetti Reserve Red to the same size as an 8 year old child and his paw just fits into a size 2 child’s shoe. But if he were a human to Guinness’s scale, Leo would stretch over 8 feet tall and weigh 220 pounds. Freida says “We have to keep our eye on him when we’re cooking, because he can stand up and put his paws on the kitchen counter.” Link | Guiness World Record

9. Sassy aka "Munchkin". The web named it "Munchkin the Monster Cat", but his real name is Sassy. Sassy burst into Internet famedom via viral email. Although some thought he was a clever Photoshop fakery, it turned out that Sassy was real: Sassy was born in Virginia, and moved to Canada in 1991 with me. He was a kitten then and after we had him fixed he started getting fat. I never thought anything of it cause he slept so much. His visits to the Blair Animal Hospital did not find any problems with him and could not figure out why he was so fat. He was on diet food for about 8 years. In 1999 he was noted as being 15.9 kilos. in 2001 he was listed as 40 pounds and then lost 8 when he died. He did not eat an excess amount of food and did not eat table scraps. A bite or two of chicken or tuna was his favorite. I miss him very much and often find his picture posted on various web sites. (via Museum of Hoaxes)

8. The Dwallibee’s Kailee. The Dwallibees of Lino Lake, Minnesota, has a 5-year old cat "Kailee" who weighs 40 lbs or about the weight of a 4-year-old. The cat is named after former Minnesota Viking football player, Kailee Wong (who is, of course, a linebacker). And they say he’s in good health: he’s got low cholesterol (they test cat cholesterol?) and OK blood sugar. Thank goodness the obesity hasn’t manifested itself in kitty diabetes. He gets tested for that every six months. Link

7. A Bulgarian Fat Cat? A clip from (Bulgarian?) Guiness Rekord TV showed this surprisingly agile 40.8 lb cat. Sadly, I can’t find any more details on this fat cat.

6. Mikesch, a German Fat Cat. Hailing from Germany is Mikesch, a black-and-white house cat who weighed about 41 lbs. His owner, an elderly man who had to move to a nursing home, fed him more than 4 pounds of minced meat every day! Mikesch was taken away from his owner and was put on a strict diet by the Berlin animal shelter: "You can call it cruelty to animals," said shelter veterinarian Karin Bartell, as the cat stared straight ahead with a bored look. "It’s a problem for joints and the heart. The cat can’t clean itself because he is too fat. He walks three or four steps and is completely exhausted because the heart no longer works properly and the cat can’t breathe normally anymore." The latest story is that Mikesch missed his owner (or his minced meat) so much that he is now on a hunger strike! Sydney Morning Herald: Fat Cat Seized | MSNBC: Fat Cat Hunger Strike

5. Iggy, a Fat Cat from Missouri. Joyce Kirk of St. Joseph, Missouri, said that her cat Iggy weighed 46 lbs, has a 33-inch waistline, and is larger than most toddlers. As you may have guessed, Iggy’s favorite pastime is eating: "He goes through 30 pounds of food every week," Kirk said. "He’s a waddler. He’s not much for running, but he tries," Kirk said. Despite Iggy’s girth, Joyce insists he is otherwise healthy and likes a whole lot of loving. "The vet says he’s perfectly healthy in spite of his weight, and that he’s more active than a lot of skinny cats," Kirk said. Link

4. Katy, a Russian Fat Cat. Katy, a 5-year-old cat from the Russian town of Asbest in the Ural mountains, weighs about 50 lbs. Owner Tamara Yapugova said that the cat, who weighs slightly more than the average 6-year-old boy, actually doesn’t eat all that much: "She has a couple of fish in the morning and about 200 grams of meat in the evening. … We give her vitamins… and we don’t begrudge her milk mixed with sour cream. Dairy products are very good for her after all." Katy has completely lost interest in sex - her only interest is food: she can eat a whole hotdog in under a minute. (via BBC)

3. Gippsland Big Cat? In June 2005, deer hunter Kurt Engel shot and killed this large animal in the rugged terrain near the town of Sale, Victoria, Australia. Engel cut off its tail and dumped the body in a nearby river. People thought that he had captured the famed "Gippsland Big Cat", believed to be mascot pumas released by US soldiers during World War II. DNA testing, however, revealed that the creature was a very, very large feral cat (its body was estimated to be over 6 feet long - its tail alone measured 26 inches!). Link

2. Tubcat. Tubcat, photographed here with its owner, became an Internet sensation in 2002 with its website (THE WWW FAN WEB PAGE FOR TUBCAT THE FATTEST KITTY EVA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), spawning just-as-famous fan created arts like Flying Tubcat. How much does Tubcat weigh? Who cares? Tubcat is tubtastic!

(AP Photo/Donna McWilliam, found at Flickr)

1. Lee Raymond, Big Oil Fat Cat.

And the fattest cat of them all is … Lee Raymond of ExxonMobile! Lee Raymond, the retiring CEO and Chairman of the world’s largest oil company got a retirement package worth $400 million, one of the most generous retirement packages ever.

Exxon is giving Lee Raymond one of the most generous retirement packages in history, nearly $400 million, including pension, stock options and other perks, such as a $1 million consulting deal, two years of home security, personal security, a car and driver, and use of a corporate jet for professional purposes. (via ABC News)

That just so happened to work out to be $141,000 a day, nearly $6,000 an hour or $100 a minute.

In 2005, amidst rising gas prices at pumps across the world, Exxon made $36 billion, the biggest profit of any company in history. Meanwhile, Raymond, told Congress that gas prices were high because of global supply and demand, claiming that "We’re all in this together, everywhere in the world".

Lee Raymond’s gargantuan retirement package truly qualifies Raymond as Neatorama’s Fattest Fat Cat Ever!

Original here