Ulric, a ginger Norwegian Forest cat from Dorchester, Dorset, is the weightiest feline to join an animal slimming contest run by a pet charity.
The competition – Pet Fit Club – aims to find the fattest pets in the UK and help them get fit.
The fluffy moggy is just one of more than 20 pets, including dogs and rabbits, to take part in in a six-month regime of exercise and dieting.
Owner Jan Mitchell admits her portly pet is “lazy”, adding: “I’ve limited his nutritional intake so he just has dry pet food and water. But he tries to pinch his sister’s food when she is not looking. And trying to get a cat to exercise is no easy task. I have tried to walk him on a lead, but you just end up dragging him along.”
One senior vet from a leading UK pet charity said that obesity is among the “biggest welfare issues” affecting domestic animals in the UK today, and making them unhealthy and unhappy. The organisation has previously warned of a pet obesity “timebomb.”
Along with the other animals, Ulric will now be competing for the title of slimmer of the year. This competition was won in 2012 by a 45lb Cavalier King Charles spaniel by the name of Jack – so hefty that he didn’t even have the energy to bark. Jack was re-homed, and lost half his body weight in a rigorous dieting and exercise regime.
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