Fat fighter: PDSA vet nurse Amanda Shearsby with Maverick, the 22lb moggy who is taking part in the charity's Pet Fit Club in the hope of shedding the weight and winning, perhaps unhelpfully, a year's supply of foodThey may have expected the next eight months to consist mainly of snoozing and eating. But these three roly-poly pets will instead spend the time locked in a strict diet and exercise regime for a slimming contest.
They are among 18 contestants and the prize for the pet which makes the most progress by November is a stay in a ‘pet-friendly hotel’ and, whisper it quietly, a year’s supply of food.
The competition is to mark an annual study by leading veterinary charity the PDSA that shows six million dogs and cats in the UK are overweight, leaving them in pain and at risk of health problems.
One competitor is Maverick, a blue longhair cat from Edinburgh who at 1st 8lb, 85 per cent above his ideal weight, can barely move.
Worse still is Fifi Bottomley, a Bradford cat who is more than double her ideal weight – tipping the scales at 1st 7lb.
What a lump! A vet nurse struggles with hefty hound Cavalier Jack, who weighed 22kg before starting his diet in the contest
Always gorging herself: Fifi Bottomley will have to curb her extreme eating habits if she is to drop from 9.3kg to her ideal weight
Cat versus food: Fifi was starving to death as a kitten when she was found her new owners, which accounts for her desire to steal grub at any opportunityHer owner said Fifi was found starving as a kitten, and has not stopped gorging herself since, stealing food from people’s plates given the slightest opportunity.
The pair face stiff competition from ‘Jumbo’ Jack, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel from London, who could barely walk in January. Jack has already lost a few pounds to reach 3st 3lb, but with an ideal weight of 1st 8lb, he remains more than twice the size he should be.
Overall, the competition includes 11 dogs, five cats and two rabbits with a combined weight of 24 stone.
Can't wait for Sundays: Deco the Labrador's love of roast dinners has seen him balloon to 55kg, more than 50 per cent over his healthy weight
Feline tendencies: At a morbidly obese 4.3kg, Samantha the rabbit weighs as much as a cat
Ouch! Bailey the border collie from Glasgow shocks vet nurse Kirsty McDougall with his reading on the scales
Pear-shaped: Mini Moo from Basildon ballooned after her owner became seriously ill and she kept her company on the sofa
source: dailymail
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