He Weighed As Much As Four Cats—Now This ‘Sumo Cat’ Has A Whole New Life

Is this the heaviest cat in the world? That’s what shocked animal rescue volunteer Kristine Seguin wondered when she first laid eyes on Biggie Smalls—a cat who tipped the scales at an astounding 43 pounds. Turned in to a shelter in Ontario, Canada, Biggie was so large he could barely walk and couldn’t groom himself.

“When I first saw him,” Kristine told a CTV reporter, “he was like a sumo wrestler meets a stress ball.” She quickly began working with vets to get Biggie on a weight loss plan, which he had to start immediately. He was put on a strict 500-calorie-a-day diet—an astonishing number, considering the average cat only needs around 100 calories daily.

But losing weight wasn’t easy. Kristine said the biggest challenge was how “hangry” Biggie got. A little catnip helped distract him, and slowly, he began shedding pounds—losing about half a pound per week. As he got lighter and more mobile, new challenges emerged. Biggie started sneaking into the pantry and stealing food from other cats. Kristine said they were forced to put child locks on everything.

Over time, Kristine became so attached to the big guy that she adopted him and renamed him Axel. A year later, Axel is much healthier, though he still has some weight to lose. Incredibly, he’s already shed the equivalent of an entire other cat.

He can now groom himself again—something Kristine says is a workout all on its own. “He’s going as fast as he can,” she wrote. “It’s a whole workout bathing with so much excess skin now, but he’s doing amazing at it.”

Inspired by Axel’s transformation, Kristine launched The Big House Sanctuary and Rehab, a rehabilitation foster rescue for overweight cats. “It’s been a year since Biggie’s been in our care and the journey has been incredible,” she told The Dodo. “I just couldn’t imagine him anywhere else. He’s become part of our family so we’ve officially adopted him.”

She added, “As his journey evolved, we started getting contacted by lots of people who had cats like Biggie. So we thought, why not create a space that can have more big cats and help them on their journeys of weight loss, so they’re not at risk of euthanasia. We give these chonky cats a second chance at adoption.”

Kristine notes that roughly 60% of pets are overweight. The Big House Sanctuary & Rehab now shares resources like their Quick Guide to Dechonking, which outlines what they do at the sanctuary to help other cats—though they caution it’s not intended as personalized veterinary advice.