World's fattest cat Crumbs - Kroshik - dies at feline fat camp
The world's fattest cat has heartbreakingly died at a feline fat camp where medics were trying to help him lose weight.
Vets believe his layers of flab were so deep that scans had failed to show cancerous tumours riddling his internal organs.
The puss, nicknamed Crumbs for his habit of eating every last scrap of food, had been raised on a diet of biscuits and soup in the basement of a Russian hospital before he was found. At his fattest, Crumbs, or Kroshik in Russian, weighed 38lbs and was put in the care of a special veterinary weight loss centre in Perm, central Russia.
The real-life fat cat had shown remarkable improvement on a strict diet and exercise programme, losing nearly 7lbs. But beloved Crumbs died suddenly at the diet clinic on October 26 after developing breathing problems, according to local media reports.
A full post-mortem examination due to be carried out today (28th October) is expected to reveal that internal tumours on his spleen had been invisible to scans until he lost weight.
Medics at the Matroskin cat shelter found tumours on his lungs and spleen and believe they triggered a multiple organ collapse. Shelter owner Galiana More told local media: "The cat started suffocating two days ago, lying in an oxygen chamber in the clinic. For the past two hours, we actually pumped him out so that he could continue to breathe so that he survived.
"Unfortunately, the real cause of death is unknown at the moment. But due to the fact that he was able to lose 3kg, ultrasound sensors worked, and doctors were able to see multiple tumours in the spleen and do not exclude the possibility of metastases in the lungs.
"Therefore, it is very difficult to judge what was the root cause - excess weight or neoplasms. When this is a large set of such multi-organ failure, the body simply can not cope, despite the fact that Kroshik was really a fighter. We are looking ahead to starting an examination, to understand why the Crumbs died but we will have to wait for five days for that conclusion."
She added: "In the history of neoplasms, with tumours, with cancer, we have a lot of experience. Cats always hold on to the last, they do not show this disease. Kroshik had no shortness of breath, no digestive problems. We could not do ultrasound, but we constantly monitored his health, because we understood that excess weight does not just happen. The tests were normal.
"This collapse may have occurred due to the fact that the body simply did not cope with all these neoplasms. It hurts that we didn’t know about it before, couldn’t help. This is a great loss for us, because Kroshik was a symbol of hope for everyone, and we really wanted to publish only good news. It’s really painful to talk about it."
Crumbs was first found to be too fat to walk but the monster moggy began to shed the pounds at the diet centre. As well as a strict diet Crumbs was put on an exercise regime that included walking on an underwater treadmill that helped support his weight. Amazingly Crumbs began to show results and recent videos showed him leaping up onto a piece of furniture in his enclosure to gasps from his carers.
But his didn't lose any of his opportunistic instincts and was once found trapped in a nurse's surgery clogs shoe rack after trying to escape.
Crumbs’ heartbroken carers added: "Sometimes miracles do not happen. Sometimes even the strongest cats cannot cope. Sometimes even the best doctors, rehabilitation centres and support from people around the world are not able to help. Thank you for being and staying with Kroshik until his very last breath. Thank you for being the reason why Kroshik believed in good people. Thank you for continuing to save others with your kindness."
Story: NewsX