'Gloriously gluttonous body': Fat cat up for adoption weighs 40 pounds

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The fattest cat you've ever seen was recently put up for adoption by Richmond Animal Care and Control in Virginia.

Patches weighs 40.3 pounds, Animal Care and Control said. He's on a diet and exercise plan to get that number down, and he has been neutered, tested and chipped. The enormous cat is "very sweet," they say.

Richmond Animal Care and Control put up a post on social media asking people interested in adopting Patches to reach out. They were looking for a new owner who would be committed to helping the cat reach a "safe and healthy weight."

A domestic cat's ideal weight depends on its breed and sex, but you should usually be able to feel its ribs and see its waist from above, Purina says. Your veterinarian can help you determine if your cat is in a healthy weight range.

The Facebook post about Patches quickly racked up hundreds of comments and shares. In an update Wednesday, the group said an adoption is pending.

Until Patches gets back into a healthy weight range, "we will marvel at his gloriously gluttonous body," Richmond Animal Care and Control wrote.

Believe it or not, Patches isn't the fattest cat known to man. That title went to Himmy, a 46-pound cat from Australia who was so big he needed to be moved around in a wheelbarrow, Guinness World Records says. Since Himmy was named the world's fattest cat in 1986, Guinness has stopped giving awards in the category "to deter people from over-feeding their pets just to appear in the book."