Doughnut’s owner was compelled by her landlord to give him up, and he was then turned over to the Jacksonville Humane Society in Florida approximately a week ago. She was devastated since she loved him so much, but she hoped the shelter could find him the finest possible new home.
Everyone at the shelter was a bit perplexed by Doughnut when he first showed there since, although being an ordinary cat in most respects, he has one notable feature that makes him stand out: he weights 28.6 pounds.
The shelter staffers aren’t really sure how Doughnut came to weigh so much. All his former mom told them is that he loves to eat, and clearly, his eating habits got out of control at some point. A healthy weight for Doughnut would be around 13 to 15 pounds, and the shelter staff knew that whoever eventually adopted Doughnut would need to be committed to helping him on his weight loss journey.
“He was surprisingly mobile but that weight is not healthy,” Lindsay Layendecker, senior manager of education and outreach at the Jacksonville Humane Society, told The Dodo. “Cats needs to lose weight slowly and with a veterinarian’s guidance, otherwise it will cause other issues down the road.”
Doughnut needed some time to open up since he was so perplexed about how he had landed up at the shelter and what was going on with him. Eventually, though, he started to form relationships with all of his new shelter friends and proved to be the most lovable obese cat in the area.
He was obviously upset when he initially came to us since he was in a new area, according to Layendecker. We gave him a pleasant name since we were aware of his true nature as a gentle cat. He became friendly with the employees after settling in and started to ask for chin rubs and petting.
Once he had warmed up to his new environment and came out of his shell, Doughnut transformed into such a silly guy …
… who loved to pose for photos and goof around with anyone who was willing to hang out with him.
Staff at the shelter weren’t sure how long it would take to find Doughnut a home, since his new family would need to be very committed to helping him lose weight and achieve a healthier lifestyle — but only days after arriving, the perfect family fell in love with him, and now, Doughnut is already all settled in to his new forever home.
“He is doing very well in his new home,” Layendecker said. “He is getting along with the other cat and his family was surprised that he jumped up into a kitchen chair! He has an appointment to see a vet next Friday and his family is excited to help him on his weight loss journey.”
