( 4UMF NEWS ) Nation’s Fattest Cat Dies:
A cat that drew national attention for weighing in at 39 pounds has died from apparent complications of his obesity, the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society reports.
Meow was reputed to be the nation’s most overweight cat, the society says. The orange–and-white tabby died Saturday after he developed respiratory complications.
“We are devastated,” said Mary Martin, the Santa Fe shelter’s executive director. “We were in a race against time to get the weight off Meow … and we lost.”
Meow found refuge at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter after his elderly owner could no longer care for him. He was transferred from a southeastern New Mexico shelter that called the Santa Fe shelter for help.
Meow had lost 2 pounds and was doing well when he began having breathing problems Wednesday, shelter Director Mary Martin told the Associated Press.
Meow underwent a battery of tests, including X-rays and a cardiac ultrasound, and was put on oxygen.
Despite the shelter’s best efforts, Meow died on Saturday.
“It was a shock and a horror for all of us,” Martin told AP. “We all fell in love with him.”
