Overweight woman and her obese cat: swimming pool as the plan

Overweight woman and her obese cat: swimming pool as the plan

There is more to this story than meets the eye: an obese woman decides to do something about her cat Peaches' weight and puts him in the pool so he will «get moving» and end up «slimfit». The scene, told with that mix of desperation and improvisation, has triggered a wave of reactions. While some wonder whether the cat was crying for help or asking for a double portion, others point out that the owner should start with her own excess weight.

There is one detail worth noting: the story also antiestéticatures a cat gym whose staff members are carrying extra pounds themselves. The anecdote, which could make a screenplay — in fact, some have compared it to a survival film in which the cat ends up emigrating to a place called Catland — hides a well-known pattern: pet obesity usually goes hand in hand with the sedentary habits of its human environment.

The debate quickly shifts to the animal. The underlying question is whether swimming is a reasonable solution for an overweight feline. Swimming can be a low-impact therapy, but cats, with rare exceptions, hate water. Putting an obese cat in a pool without veterinary supervision is more spectacle than treatment.

The curious thing is that, amid all the memes, the only common ground is concern for the cat. «What matters is that the cat is doing well», some conclude; «he's very well behaved», others add. No one mentions that the most obvious solution would be for the whole family to exercise on dry land. And the meteorite, as always, never arrives.