Once settled in their new home, Patches is sure to have plenty of adventures ahead.

When Kay Ford, from Virginia (USA) first saw the picture of the chubby cat Patches, she immediately fell in love, the feeling that people often call “lightning love”. Understandably, it is hard for anyone not to “melt their hearts” with a chubby, fat cat weighing up to 18kg.

Kay first read about Patches when her daughter sent a Facebook post from the group Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC), a local animal shelter. This center is looking for a new home for Patches.

“You woke up today and said you wanted to adopt the biggest cat anyone has ever seen? If so, we have such a cat for you,” the post read.

The RACC team posted a picture of the perfectly chubby cat with the caption saying Patches is on a special diet and exercise plan and just needs someone to help him “get to a safe weight.” and healthy”.

“Until then, we’ll be amazed at the cat’s amazingly perfect body!” the post reads.

Patches lost some weight after being transferred to the RACC. According to RACC center employee Savannah Hughes, the cat weighed more than 19kg when its original owner brought it to the center.

“Patches has lost a little bit of weight thanks to the diet we followed,” Savannah says.

Savannah, who regularly interacts with Patches while awaiting adoption, describes Patches as “extremely sweet”.

Another employee named Robin Young explained that the original owner of the Patches abandoned Patches on April 4 because they couldn’t take care of it anymore. Naturally, the cat made a pretty good impression on the RACC team.

Image of Kay Ford and Patches.

“We were all shocked by its size. It was definitely the biggest cat any of our staff had ever seen,” Young told TODAY news site.

On April 19, the RACC posted a photo of Patches on Facebook and “immediately started receiving emails from interested people,” according to Young. People as far away as California and Maine even asked about bringing Patches home.

That same day, the RACC selected the name Kay Ford from numerous applications.

“We love Kay’s email describing how she will help Patches on his weight loss journey and the two will lose weight together. She’s also an experienced pet owner ready to take on the challenge of losing weight. weight for Patches,” Young said.

After two weeks at the RACC, Patches was picked up at the home of Ms. Kay Ford. Helping Patches lose a few pounds will require a lot of work, but Kay Ford says she’s up for the challenge. She also helps answer the question people ask: How did the cat get so big?

She said: “The only story I know of is that the reason it got so big was because its former owners gave it too much junk food.

Luckily, Patches had seen a vet before, so Kay Ford was able to track her past health through the archives.

Now that she’s settled into her new home, Patches is sure to have plenty of adventures ahead.

Kay Ford set up a Facebook page to track Patches’ weight loss journey. In just the past week, the Facebook page has more than 5,000 followers.

In the immediate future, Kay Ford is focused on helping Patches adopt a healthier lifestyle and says she can’t wait to see what the future holds for the kitten.

“I see the mind from the animal’s eyes, I see that it’s uncomfortable in terms of weight,” she said.

According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest cat ever was Himmy, owned by Thomas Vyse living in Australia, weighing 21.2kg when he died on March 12, 1986, at 10 years and 4 months.

In January 2023, the media reported on the giant Murphy cat of the Maine Coon breed, weighing 11kg and 104cm long from head to tail when he was only 12 months old. Murphy’s cat is so large that it is often mistaken for a dog or sometimes a small lion.

Murphy’s pet cat owner Sareeta Brewin, 46, of Worcester County, Massachusetts, says she is often tagged in posts about big cat sightings across Worcestershire.

Murphy is very hungry and spends a lot of money on food, about 1.7 million VND of dry food per month.