Weight is on! 'Shamu' gives 'Prince Chunk' a run for his money
Thursday, August 28th 2008, 7:34 AM
Fusco for News Shamu was found Tuesday roaming outside an abandoned home in Camden, N.J.
Fusco for News Shamu tips the scales at 35 pounds...
Warga/News ... while Prince Chunk weighed in at 44.
There must be something in the water: A second fat cat has been dropped off at the same south Jersey animal shelter that introduced the world to a 44-pound tabby named Prince Chunk.
The new portly pussycat weighs 35 pounds, is a male and has a nickname deserving of his remarkable heft.
"He looks fatter than Chunk looked," Catherine Harr, board president of the Camden County Animal Shelter, said yesterday. "He's black and white and looks just like a whale. We named him Shamu."
Animal kingdom oddballs: See the photos
Shamu was found Tuesday roaming outside an abandoned home in Camden, N.J., and delivered to the shelter.
It seemed the cat had been living in the unoccupied home for a few weeks, though he clearly had no problem finding food, Harr said.
"He looks to be in pretty good shape other than him being grossly obese," Harr said. "When you look down at the cat, you can't even see his feet."
The discovery of Shamu came on the same day the Daily News learned a cat fight had broken out between the family selected to adopt Prince Chunk and shelter officials.
The unidentified family is upset over the amount of time it's taken for an adoption contract to be drawn up - and is even claiming now that the cat weighs only 22 pounds, a source said.
"We can't believe this is happening," the source said. "We've just been looking out for the best interests of the cat."
Prince Chunk captivated the nation last month after winding up at the New Jersey shelter. The 10-year-old cat was abandoned after his owner lost her home to foreclosure. As more than 500 people applied to adopt the tubby tabby, he went on a media tour usually reserved for A-list celebs, including "Good Morning America" and "Live With Regis and Kelly."
Shamu will be kept out of the spotlight at least for another week.
Like every stray animal that gets dropped at the shelter, the owner is given seven days to reclaim their pet.
If the owner doesn't turn up, shelter officials are planning to contact people who applied to adopt Prince Chunk.
Shelter officials are hoping Shamu is the last fat cat they see for a while.
"I just hope it's not a trend that's starting because we don't have cages big enough to accommodate these fat cats," Harr said.
3 comments:
Those poor kitties. We feel so bad for any kitty that has been turned out onto the street, but it is especially sad when they are not well taken care of to begin with.
Tiki, Tavi, Cody, Camie and Miss Jade
PS - congratulations on your 100th post.
I think it's a shame that the family who applied to adopt Chunk are raving on about him weighing les than reported. It makes me think these people only want to adopt a cat so they can boast about its weight. As for Shamu, I'm not sure a cat that big would be still so big if he'd been living rough for several weeks. I reckon there's something fishy going on and not the edible kinda fishy either.
I totally agree with you, Whicky. We can only hope that families with only the best interests of the those two kitties at heart will end up caring for them.
'Kaika
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