FP News Top Story

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Former New Brunswick fat cat turned international celebrity adopted

By: The Canadian Press

Posted: 01/13/2013 1:27 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 01/13/2013 4:08 PM

Tiny the cat is shown in Rusagonis, N.B., on February 23, 2012. It's been quite a year for one frisky New Brunswick feline whose weight loss journey garnered international attention and helped raised thousands of dollars for a local animal shelter. Tiny, a loveable grey house cat, was adopted by his foster mother on Saturday, one year after the astoundingly large cat was found inside a box outside the Fredericton SPCA. At the time, he weighed 13.7 kilograms. He's now 7.5 kilograms. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Smith

FREDERICTON - A frisky New Brunswick feline whose weight loss journey garnered international attention and helped raised thousands of dollars for a local animal shelter has found a new home.

Tiny, a loveable grey house cat with piercing green eyes, was adopted by his foster mother Nancy Garon on Saturday, one year after the astoundingly large feline was found inside a box outside the Fredericton SPCA.

At the time, he weighed 13.7 kilograms. He's now 7.5 kilograms.

LeeAnn Haggerty, the SPCA's education co-ordinator, said Tiny donned one of his signature bow ties for the big day — a custom crystal-studded black velvet piece.

"It was a special day," said Haggerty on Sunday from Fredericton. "It was a nice way for us to celebrate what we've all accomplished over the last year."

Since last January, Tiny has been diligently working to shed the pounds. He was put on a high protein, low carbohydrate meal plan — dubbed the "catkins" diet — of three cans of wet food and a quarter cup of dry food per day. He also exercises for at least 15 minutes.

Tiny was weighed weekly, photos and details of which were posted on a Facebook page called Tiny's Weight Loss Challenge that has nearly 4,800 friends.

His weight loss drew the attention of national and international media — including CNN and People magazine's website — as people across the world tracked his progress.

"I think it was shocking to everybody just how far his story has gone," said Haggerty. "We've received messages from all over the United States, the U.K., Australia — all over the world really."

Haggerty said Tiny will continue to work as an ambassador for the SPCA, raising awareness about pet health and the importance of adoption.

He's a happy, energetic cat that loves chasing laser pointers and being taunted by a feather wand.

"He loves to play," said Haggerty. "As he started to lose the weight, he definitely had more endurance and more energy and could play more."

Although he's part of the feline family, Haggerty said she thinks a lot of people see themselves in Tiny.

"We can all relate to weight issues," said Haggerty, noting the timing of Tiny's arrival at the shelter coincided with the season of new year resolution-making.

"I think we all have something that we can relate to in Tiny's story."

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More FP News Top Story

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.