The orange and white tabby named Meow tips the scales at nearly 40 pounds, and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter in New Mexico is on a mission to get him back into shape.
Shelter spokesman Ben Swan says Meow's 87-year-old owner could no longer take care of him, so the 2-year-old cat was turned over to a southeastern New Mexico shelter that called Santa Fe for help.
Meow is going on a special diet so he can shed some pounds and go up for adoption.
Swan says the cat has a sweet demeanor but can't play for very long because he loses his breath due to the extra weight.
Swan says it's unclear how Meow got so big in his short life.
