Illustration by Rachel Harris
You do not want to mess with a 37-pound cat. That’s what one Eureka couple found out the hard way when they adopted Biscuit, a morbidly obese feline who made a splash in the national news earlier this year. Biscuit, who’d been overfed by his previous owner, found his way to the St. Charles city animal shelter, then to Eureka, where he clashed violently with another chubby cat, Max, in what turned out to be his not-forever home.
Authorities found another solution: Biscuit has been sent to the Shannon Foundation Farm, a retirement home and sanctuary for hard-to-place animals outside St. Clair in Franklin County. At the time of this writing, Biscuit is down 4 pounds, thanks to a special metabolic diet, says Shannon Foundation president Rhonda Stephens.
“We’re shooting for 15 pounds, and giving him 13 to 14 months to get there,” she says. “Right now, you really can’t pick him up. He’s too much of a chunk—it’s painful for him.”
Stephens intends to get Biscuit on an exercise plan. “He’s not very energetic,” she says, “but in a new room we’re building for him, he’ll have stairs. The litter will be on one level and his food will be on the other level.”
In the meantime, Biscuit is chillin’. “He rolls over on his back for you to rub his tummy,” Stephens says. “He does a lot of purring. He’s a very content little cat… He’s happy being Biscuit.”
