This is our other Maine Coon Cat, Beauregard, with his own tribute to the Bush Administration...the Condoleeza Rice Death Stare(tm):
}:-)4
Posted on 07/06/2006 7:20:33 AM PDT by hispanarepublicana
PORT ARANSAS - Yes, the fat cat is here.
Among the beach pictures, jewelry and nautical decor at The Connoisseur, Chester roams - slowly.
The 31-pound orange tabby cat has become something of a tourist draw after he was featured in a May segment of Texas Country Reporter, a television travel show.
"They said they wanted to interview Chester," said owner Cassandra Clark. "I thought that was the funniest thing ever, but they were serious."
But even before that, word was traveling about Chester.
"All day, every day, people want to see the cat," said Rhoda Gleason, a store employee.
She and Heather Conner, another worker, know by heart the list of questions that come when customers first see Chester.
Is it real? (Yes.)
How much does he weigh? (About 30 pounds.)
Can he walk? (Yes.)
What does he eat? (He shares one cup of cat food with another cat each day.)
Sure enough, Sam Carnes and his niece Molly McGuire, 8, asked nearly every question during a visit from Boerne.
Donna Slagle and her daughter-in-law, Carmen Slagle, had to come back for a second look.
"I told my husband, 'You've got to see this cat,'" Carmen said.
Chester shares the store with Rat, a calico cat. Clark rescued the two 11 years ago.
They moved to the store about eight years ago when Clark learned her now 9-year-old son was allergic to cats. It was either move the son to the store or the cats. Clark said Chester's recent publicity has brought more customers in, but many just want to eye the cat. She insists Chester's not a marketing tool.
"The cats are not on display," Clark said. "The cats are not here to generate business. We don't wake them up just so you can see them. They live here."
Sandi Stout with the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce said she's been directing people to Chester, answering phone calls from people vacationing in the area who are making an extra trip to see the fat cat.
"We have a lot of things that people would find interesting that a lot of other people would go right past and never pay any attention to it," she said.
At the store, the cats make themselves at home. Rat likes to nestle inside the trunk of captain's hats, and Chester naps atop a digital scale - it's not a weight-conscious move, Clark says - because he just likes the spot. Another favorite is the countertop, which allows visitors a peek at his belly from below as it spreads out atop the glass.
Clark said the cats share one cup of cat food each day, and only Chester has grown into a tourist attraction. Rat weighs in at 12 pounds. Several cat care Web sites list a cat's ideal weight between 6 and 12 pounds for small and medium breeds and up to 20 pounds for large breeds. Overweight cats may be more prone to diabetes, arthritis and have difficulty grooming.
Clark theorizes Chester's weight may be related to his neutering at an early age, and a slow metabolism.
Clark said she and her veterinarian aren't overly concerned about Chester's weight but will try to bring it down. Chester gets two insulin shots a day to help regulate his blood sugar, and Clark plans to put him on a diet of pure protein with chicken and tuna. But she keeps forgetting to bring the food to the store.
Exercise is out of the question.
"How do you get a cat to exercise?" she asked.
I've got a nice Maine Coon cat and he goes 20 lbs. Skin and bones.
I used to think that was a cat's way of saying, "This food tastes like s**t".
Man! I thought I'd seen some huge pussies......
The photo is nicely done, too. Beautiful use of light and composition.
You can't starve a fat cat....the fat goes in the liver too fast and they can die.
This is our other Maine Coon Cat, Beauregard, with his own tribute to the Bush Administration...the Condoleeza Rice Death Stare(tm):
}:-)4
Thank you!
It's hard to judge from that picture of Chester with the boy, but our Livingston's probably a bit shorter and smaller than Chester (since he's 5-6 pounds lighter). But, he's a longhair, so the fur makes up for it.
I think Chester's the biggest shorthair cat I've ever seen. Not fattest, BIGGEST.
}:-)4
Signed Buddy Cat
I didn't say starve the cat.
I said stop feeding him and make him hunt down his own dinner.
The reason cats (like all animals) get fat in the first place is they're eating more calories than they're burning.
The only way to get thin is to change the imbalance by excercising to burn off the excess calories or to reduce the intake. The best way is to do both.
And, that's exactly what would happen if the cat had to hunt down his own food.
All this discussion of fat kitties reminds me of an ice cream place in the Outer Banks. The "Fat Cat" Ice Cream store. The have bulletin boards in the store with photos of fat cats from all around the country. Some of those photos were pretty amazing.
***That photo was shot with a wide angle lens, which makes things in the distance look smaller and more distant than they really are. ***
Like your right-hand car mirror. (I hate those stupid mirrors)
"the Condoleeza Rice Death Stare(tm)"
Ha, that is awesome. So's the kitty!
LOL! Oh that's funny. Your cat really DOES have the Condi Rice death stare. You ought to put it on the Daily Dose for the people over there to enjoy. Last evening we had a puppy who looked like Orson Wells (honest).
***And, that's exactly what would happen if the cat had to hunt down his own food.***
Until he catches a bird and the bones get stuck in his intestines.
At 12 lbs, it doesn't sound like he is starving.
I wonder if Rat takes any crap off of Chester.
(Figuratively and literally, given Chester's size).
A friend in HS had a 29lb cat. I think the biggest NA "cats" (Colorado mountain lions) are about 160lbs.
I too had a HS friend that had a 24lb cat. Until mine grew up, it was the largest cat I had ever seen.
31 pounds = 2.82 ISO Catrates.
you NEVER let me live that down, will ya
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