It's as big as a human one. I wonder if they've noticed whether any other of their animals (or kids) disappeared?
Posted on 05/10/2012 9:13:02 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
The extra pounds that propelled Meow the shelter cat to national celebrity have killed him.
The 5-year-old, 39-pound cat died Saturday of respiratory complications related to his girth, Santa Fe Animal Shelter executive director Mary Martin said Monday.
The huge but personable feline became the subject of nationwide fame last month after appearing with Anderson Cooper and on the “Today” show — where Meow met actor Hugh Grant — as part of a media blitz to warn pet owners of the dangers of pet obesity.
Meow traveled between Santa Fe and the East Coast for his TV appearances by airplane in a carrier that was stowed in an area for animals near the luggage.
When asked Monday, shelter officials denied that the jetting around and the pressures of meeting his fans might have contributed to Meow’s demise — a theory put forth by many on the Internet after news of the fat cat’s death hit news sites around the world.
“We were wondering about that,” Martin acknowledged. “But he wasn’t showing that. Cats don’t like stress. But he liked people. I think he was more stressed not being around people. He was purring all the time.”
And shelter officials said Meow did well in New York while hitting the talk-show circuit.
The cat had found refuge in Santa Fe after his elderly Roswell owner could no longer care for him.
Santa Fe veterinarian Jennifer Steketee thought Meow’s health had been improving because he had lost two to three pounds. The average cat weighs between 8 and 12 pounds.
Meow had been transferred into a foster home after a phys- ical examination, blood work and a weight-loss plan were completed at the shelter.
“He’d been doing really well,” Martin said. “He’d been climbing the stairs,” an activity he had never attempted before. He loved his brush and would push his head against it to ask for grooming, she added.
The shelter had put him on a diet of fresh protein ––chicken and turkey, with some Wellness kibble, she said.
“The Roswell shelter told us he had been on a hot dog diet,” Martin continued. “Then (the former owner’s) daughter said that was not true. So we don’t really know” what he had been eating.
But on Thursday Meow’s foster family noticed he wasn’t eating well and was wheezing.
“He ate a snack here and there, but he wasn’t eating very much,” Martin said.
Steketee took him to an emergency veterinary hospital, where doctors gave him oxygen and asthma medicine.
His vital signs “weren’t great, but they weren’t horrible,” Martin said. “We kept him on oxygen to make him comfortable.”
Staff members took him to another clinic for a cardiac ultrasound, which showed nothing wrong. He spent the night there.
Meow seemed stable Friday morning, so Steketee took him to her home to watch him. “I wouldn’t let him out of my sight,” she said.
His condition had deteriorated by Saturday, so Steketee took him back to the clinic. His heart stopped early Saturday afternoon.
“I think the consequences of his obesity for 4½ years just caught up with him,” Steketee said. “He just took a turn for the worse despite everything we did to turn it around. He was bright and alert and cheerful until those respiratory symptoms started. It challenged every part of his body to fight against this extra weight. His lungs had to push against this huge layer of fat.”
The story of the brown-andwhite kitty with the bright green eyes touched a chord with thousands. Although shelter staffers originally thought he was 2 years old, his former owner’s daughter said he was actually 5, Martin said.
“The fact is he died here at 5 years of age,” Steketee said. “Most cats actually live to 15-20. It’s a preventable problem.”
The shelter staf f were astounded by the avalanche of attention over Meow’s story.
“When we put this out, we thought maybe local folks would pick it up,” Martin continued. “This (obesity) is an epidemic. We’ve gotten comments (on Facebook) like ‘Meow has inspired me as a human being to lose weight.’”
If you can't be trusted to take care of a kitteh, then how in the hell are you going to take care of kids; and they're druggies?
When we took Cali Gal, and her kittens Cali was wasted, thin, looked like close to death. We’d been feeding her kibble, and water through a fence for months, but the jerk up there would toss the food, and water when he discovered it.
Are you saying this dirtbag would toss the food and water you meant for the kitteh away, seriously? Much as I think CPS goes way overboard, this might actually be a case where they might help.
Although there will people who deny this, there seems to be a causal relationship between torturing/abusing animals and being a serial killer. Very scary, if the law never catches up to them in their present state, remember their names in case we get a 'Ted Bundie' like case in the area.
It's as big as a human one. I wonder if they've noticed whether any other of their animals (or kids) disappeared?
Long story, but the short of it, and sorry it’s the incomplete short of it as I don’t know what happened after.
He went to jail a few months after we absconded with the kitties. The “wife”, and the two girls went off to live in a trailer according to neighbors somewhere, and the county cleared the land of all of their stuff. The property was developed in 2005, and is now vacant due the new “owners” walked away from their loan in 2007 when all was going topsy turvy. Still vacant today although ownership has changed hands again.
I haven’t a clue what became of the guy if, or when he got out of jail, nor do I much care. Sad for the little girls who are now adults, and probably as messed up as their mother, and him. Very sad, but the kitties are all healthy, and happy here at the ranch. We could at least do something for them.
Smart enough to get a servant for life, in any case. ;^)
I hear their local Burger King’s stock of cheezburgers keeps mysteriously disappearing in the middle of night.
I hope this intrigues enough people on this ping list to get the book and read it. You'll see cats in a whole new perspective.
Though a very different subject, I found it captivated my interest to the point that I read it in one session, much like Conscience of a Conservative.
I can’t comprehend how people can be so deliberately cruel to defenseless creatures. I’m glad that you rescued them and that they have a good home.
No I don’t and I don’t see these friends very often, so it might be awhile before I get an answer.
No biggie. I just thought it would be interesting info to know.
MSG and OBESITY:
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Obesity.html
http://truthinlabeling.org/Obesity_Data.html
“A toy company should make a Meow Cat stuffed toy cat that looks just like him.”
A REALLY stuffed toy, stuffed and stuffed and stuffed and stuffed . . . .
The majority of the majority of the price would probably be the stuffing! LOL!
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