Fat cat Socrates loses weight on new diet

Nov 20 2009 by Tom Mullen, The Journal

WEIGHING in at a whopping 22lbs, massive moggy Socrates takes the term “fat cat” to a whole new level.

But this is the chubby kitty pictured last night after actually losing weight in a special diet plan.

Socrates ballooned to a huge 10 kilos after his owner, Bill Duncan, fed him a diet of crisps, cheese and other tit-bit treats.

Mr Duncan, of North Shields, says he also gave him far too much regular pet food before the moggy’s size spiraled out of control.

And when vets declared Socrates 124% overweight and double his recommended size, Bill decided something had to be done.

So the portly puss was signed up for a national pet slimming competition – a 100-day diet and fitness programme called The Pet Fit Club Challenge.

Now two months later, Bill and Socrates are celebrating after the moggy lost one-and-a-half pounds.

That might not sound like much, but Socrates’ vet has assured Bill this is a huge achievement because cats need to lose weight extremely gradually in order to stay healthy.

The aim is to help him reach his ideal weight of 9lbs in 18 months time.

Bill, 52, explained: “I was basically giving him too much food, I admit that. I just thought because he was a big cat it would be okay. It’s all my fault.

“With the cheese and crisps he would sit there staring at me so I would break off a little bit and throw it to him. “But my girlfriend stopped me doing that. She said if you keep doing that you’re going to have a begging cat, so I stopped.