Harvey, Louisiana isn’t a huge town. But it seems that they have a huge cat on their hands with a taste for the limelight. He is appropriately dubbed Fat Fred. Because this is a tabby cat that is nearly three times the size of your average 8-10 lb feline friend.
He was recently adopted by veterinarian Marcia Riedel who works at the Furry Friends Animal Hospital in Harvey, LA not far from New Orleans. And it seems she realized quickly that her hefty tabby would much rather pass the time at her place of employment with his bevy of admirers than loaf around all day at home.
Riedel says:“I found that he prefers to roam around the clinic as the official greeter, rather than live at my house with its lack of constant exposure to admirers. Fat Fred believes that humans are meant to serve him food at all times.”
Fat Fred is definitely a staff favorite at the animal hospital where he chooses to pass the time. But it seems that he’s garnering attention from those who pass by their establishment for his dramatic cat antics.
One thing is certain, this is a cat with a personality as big as him.
One Reddit user with the handle KneeAppallingTanIceCream uploaded images of the sign that Furry Friends made on Fred’s behalf after questions came pouring in. And it seems that everyone who saw this big boy flooded them with questions. So to give everyone who passes by the clinic the 411 on Fat Fred, they figured they’d make a sign instead. It’s caught the attention of many, including thousands of people online!
The original post from Reddit on the big kitty AKA Fat Fred:
And the photo of Fat Fred that made its way to Reddit along with his now infamous sign:
The signs for the attention-grabbing fat cat read as follows:
“This is Fat Fred. His is a boy. He is not pregnant. He weighs 28 pounds. Yes, he is on a diet. No, it is not working well.”
“Fred loves people. You may come in and pet him. He sits on small children and he loves being scratched near his hips.”
“Fat Fred is not up for adoption, but we do have smaller models available.”
Furry Friends Animal Hospital told us that Fred was thankful for the attention that he is receiving. Additionally, they said that, “He is setting up the ‘Fat Fred’s Food Pantry’ and will be accepting donations to go to those who are not as well-endowed in their adipose tissue percentages.”
We are grateful that Fred is in good hands. Even if he doesn’t think so when it comes to those food rations from the humans that have grown to love him. And we thank Furry Friends for encouraging others to consider adoption when it comes to our feline friends. Here’s to wishing that we will be seeing less and less of Fat Fred in the physical sense in the new year.
Obesity is certainly on the rise when it comes to our feline friends, and helping your cat to stay at a healthy weight is the first step to ensuring that the two of you spend a long and happy life together.
All Images Courtesy of Furry Friends Animal Hospital
REMEMBER: ADOPT, DON’T SHOP; FOSTERING SAVES LIVES & SPAY AND NEUTER!
I used to have a big boy named Tobe, weighing in at 32 pounds. He was a wonderful companion. Thanks for sharing with us