When Kay Ford, from Virginia (USA) first saw the image of the fat cat Patches, she immediately fell in love, a feeling that people often call “love at first sight”. It’s understandable, it’s hard for anyone not to “melt their heart” with a chubby, fat cat weighing up to 18kg.

Kay first read about Patches when her daughter sent her a Facebook post from the group Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) , a local animal shelter. The center is looking for a new home for Patches.

“You woke up today and said you wanted to adopt the biggest cat anyone had ever seen? If so, we have just such a cat for you,” the post read.

The RACC team posted a photo of the perfectly plump cat with a caption saying Patches is on a special diet and exercise plan and just needs someone to help him “get to a safe weight and healthy”.

“Until then, we will marvel at the cat’s amazingly perfect body!” , the post reads.

Patches lost some weight after being transferred to RACC. According to RACC center employee Savannah Hughes, the cat weighed more than 19kg when its original owner brought it to the center.

“Patches has lost a little weight thanks to the diet we’ve been on,” Savannah said.

Savannah, who interacted with Patches regularly while waiting to be adopted, described Patches as “extremely sweet.”

Another employee named Robin Young explained that Patches’s original owners abandoned Patches on April 4 because they could no longer care for him. Naturally, the cat made quite an impression on the RACC team.

Photos of Kay Ford and Patches.

“We were all shocked by its size. It was definitely the biggest cat any of our staff had ever seen,” Young told news site TODAY.

On April 19, RACC posted a photo of Patches on Facebook and “immediately started receiving emails from interested people,” according to Young. People from as far away as California and Maine have even asked about bringing Patches home.

That same day, RACC selected the name Kay Ford from many applications.

“We love Kay’s email describing how she will help Patches on his weight loss journey and that they will both lose weight together. She is also an experienced pet owner who is up for the challenge lose weight for Patches,” Young said.

After 2 weeks at RACC, Patches was welcomed to Miss Kay Ford’s home. Helping Patches lose a few pounds will require a lot of work, but Kay Ford says she’s up for the challenge. She also helps answer the question people ask: How can a cat get so big?

“The only story I know is that the reason he got so big was because his previous owners gave him too many treats,” she said.

Luckily, Patches had been seen by a veterinarian before, so Kay Ford was able to track his condition in the past through archived records.

Now that he has settled into his new home, Patches is sure to have many adventures ahead.

Kay Ford created a Facebook page to track Patches’ weight loss journey. In just the past week, the Facebook page has had more than 5,000 followers.

Looking ahead, Kay Ford is focused on helping Patches adopt a healthier lifestyle and says she can’t wait to see what the future holds for the kitten.

“I saw the thoughts in the animal’s eyes, I saw that it was uncomfortable about its weight,” she said.

According to Guinness World Records records, the heaviest cat ever was Himmy, owned by Thomas Vyse living in Australia, weighing 21.2kg when he died on March 12, 1986, at 10 years 4 months.

In January 2023, the media reported on the giant cat Murphy of the Maine Coon breed, weighing 11kg and 104cm long from head to tail when he was only 12 months old. Murphy’s cat is so large that it is often mistaken for a dog or sometimes a small lion.

Owner of her pet cat Murphy, Sareeta Brewin (46) of Worcester County, Massachusetts, said she is often tagged in posts about big cat sightings across Worcestershire.

Murphy has a great appetite and spends a lot of money on food, about 1.7 million VND in dry food each month.