Elliot C. Williams
If you thought DCist left its extensive coverage of fat, lovable, adoptable cats in the past, I am so delighted to tell you: You thought wrong.
Understandably, you’re still mourning the loss of Vito, a 35-pound tabby (formerly known as Symba), who lost 12 percent of his body weight after being adopted. But I urge you to make room in your hearts for another chonky feline.
In walks (or rolls) Wilford, a 28-pound, eight-year-old gray cat. He was surrendered to the Virginia-based Lost Dog and Cat Rescue in early December and was taken in by a D.C. foster family during the holidays.
Contrary to popular belief, Wilford is not very motivated by food. His weight has more to do with his metabolism and preexisting conditions, says his foster parent, Jen Boger.
“I mean, he’s just absolutely adorable,” Boger says. “He’s very dramatic, and when he wants something, he’ll roll over and just squeak. And you’re basically like, ‘Alright, Wilford, I’ll give you another tummy rub.'”
While he loves belly rubs, Wilford is equally enthusiastic about baths. “As long as you pet him and scratch his neck and back while you’re soaping him up, he’s totally content,” Boger says. “He’ll just sit there and be like, ‘Fine, but could you get my right shoulder now?'”
While the big fella needs a lot of love, Wilford also needs to lose half his body weight.
“Wilford is 28 pounds, which doesn’t sound like a lot, except it’s kind of like picking up a greasy watermelon when you have to move him from place to place,” Boger says.
Wilford’s weight makes it impossible for him to do just about anything without human assistance, and he also suffers from asthma. Obesity in cats limits their asthma treatment options, but Wilford has a little inhaler that he puffs twice a day.
The weight loss recipe for obese cats is a combo of veterinarian-supervised calorie reduction and calorie burning, Boger says. Wilford’s favorite exercise is upper-ab crunches, motivated by Boger waving a toy at him while he lays belly-up (his favorite position, naturally).
You can follow his progress at Boger’s Instagram account—and if you’re so inclined, scroll through the list of alumni, the 100 or so kitties that Jen and her husband Ian have helped find homes for.
While Boger wants to find Wilford a loving home, she also hopes to combat the misconception that the previous owners were bad people.
“I know it’s really easy to judge owners who let their cats get to a condition like this, but there’s just so many factors that can go into why a cat ends up like this,” she says. “I want to encourage people not to focus on placing blame anywhere, but acknowledge that the owner made a good decision by handing him over to a place where he could get the help he needs.”
Boger has already received dozens of adoption inquiries about Wilford, but specifies that she’s looking for a local adopter and “people who are committed to his special needs and weight loss journey.”
In the meantime, Wilford is adjusting to being around the other cats in the house, including Pokey, Hagrid, and Bop, an adorable blind cat. And, of course, he is working on those abs.
“He does a lot of upper body, but he is not very good on leg day,” Boger says. And in that way, Wilford is just like all of us.
This story has been updated with Jen Boger’s full name.
