While hundreds upon hundreds of cats have been rescued by Animal Care Centers of NY (ACC) — there is one cat that stands apart from the rest.
Or should I say, “sits.”
Meet Barsik.
Barsik is a 5-year-old cat who weighs in at massive 41 pounds .
Barsik shocked staffers when he, along with his housemate, Sukie, were brought into the shelter.
The cats were found homeless after the cat’s family decided to move and could not bring the cats along with them — according to Barsik’s Instagram page.
The staff had to improvise when it came to housing the cat as they had never encountered a cat as big as Barsik.
The tabby is only 5 pounds from the being the fattest cat in the Guinness World Record book.
“Barsik is extremely obese and needs a home that can help him get to an ideal weight,” the ACC posted to Facebook. “He is too big for our housing so is resting in the office.”
Thankfully, Anjellicle Cats Rescue, decided to pull the two cats from the shelter and place them in a foster home.
Anjellicle Cats is a nonprofit cat rescue located in New York.
But just the act of moving Barsik was no easy task.
“The shelter staff had to search the building for the biggest carrier they had for me,” Barsik’s foster mom, Angelique Luzzolino, posted to his Instagram. “Two workers carried me to the car, but poor Foster Mom had to carry me to the house alone.”
At first, Barsik was a little skeptical of his foster home and attempted to hide — but as you can imagine, he was an easy find.
Barsik’s sheer size makes it uncomfortable for the cat to walk around but Luzzolino believes Barsik wants to be more active.
“He has difficultly getting up from lying down and he can’t jump at all,” Luzzolino shared with The Dodo. “You can tell he desperately wants to come up onto the bed with us but he’s unable to on his own and he doesn’t want to be picked up.”
“It’s very sad to see him grooming himself,” Luzzolino went on. “He can’t reach his back legs or rear half of his body. We have started brushing him to get his coat in better shape and will start using some waterless shampoo to help him out.”
Luzzolino ensures that Barsik has lots of soft blankets to sleep on and plenty of food.
“It’s very important that I keep eating so I don’t get sick,” Luzzolino posted to Instagram. “I don’t remember what I was eating in my last home so Foster Mom has been treating me like a king! Every meal is something new to see what I like best. The goal once I start my new diet will be ONLY wet food, but I quite enjoy this kibble for now.”
Barsik is currently on a very strict weight loss regimen and when he is healthy — he will be able to find a forever home.
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