Couple adopts enormous 33-pound cat and chronicles his weight loss journey
When you agree to take in a pet, you also take responsibility for its health and well-being. That means preventing it from getting obese.
Unfortunately for Bronson, his previous owner let things get out of control before they passed away and he was severely overweight by the time he got to the shelter. Shelter workers assume he was either fed far too much kibble or was given copious table scraps.
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But he is one adorable cat. So cute, in fact, that Mike Wilson and Megan Hanneman fell in love with him immediately when they went into the Humane Society of West Michigan in April of 2018 to inquire about adopting a kitten.
Previously named “Fat Kat,” the newly re-monikered Bronson was no kitten. He was a 3-year old 33-pound project that would require a lot of work.
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“When we first saw him, we were shocked at how big he was,” Wilson told The Dodo. “Neither of us had seen a cat that size before and we thought he was so cute and cuddly, like a large stuffed animal! We immediately went over to gaze at him from outside his room.”
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They decided they wanted to adopt him but both needed to get to work before they had time to sit down for their interview with the shelter. All day long they looked at the photo they had snapped of Bronson, hoping no other potential owner had snapped him up in the meantime.
“We started feeling like he would be adopted in no time because of how quickly we were drawn to him,” Wilson said. “We returned right when they opened the following day and were so happy to see him again!”
But before taking him home, they needed to acknowledge that Bronson needed to lose weight and that it would take a lot of work.
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He would need to drop pounds slowly in order to avoid an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes that would shorten his life.
They would also need to brush him daily because he was too big to clean himself properly.
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When the couple finally got to spend some time with the cat, they knew Bronson was meant to be part of their family, even if his life up until that point left him looking less than his best.
“He was quite unkempt and had a lot of dander in his hair, mostly due to him not being able to groom himself because of his size,” Wilson said. “I just wanted to take him home, clean him up and care for him.”
And that’s precisely what the couple did.
While he was shy at first around his two new cat siblings, eventually he came out of his shell – and playing with the resident cats was good exercise.
“When we first brought him home, he kind of did his own thing throughout the day and stayed in our bedroom,” Wilson told The Dodo in 2018. “Nowadays, he is waiting for us by the door with our other cats when we get home, he runs out to the kitchen if he hears a ruckus of cans opening and hangs out with the other cats in the living room in the daytime. He is actually a really social kitty.”
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But his weight loss journey would be a long one – just like humans, the safest and most reliable way for a cat to lose weight is slowly and steadily through diet and exercise.
The couple started an Instagram page for Bronson so people could follow his progress.
In two years, Bronson has lost 13 pounds!
He looks great and is still working on shedding those final pounds. For his two-year adoption anniversary, his owners posted a before and after photo to show him off.
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Be sure to scroll down below to see a video about Bronson’s journey.
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Source: The Dodo, @iambronsoncat via Instagram