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Munchkin Identified
image I think I first became aware of the picture of Munchkin the Monster Cat two years ago. The picture always perplexed me because Munchkin seemed too big to be real, but I couldn't see any evidence it was photoshopped. The Sydney Morning Herald, however, decided it was a hoax. But it turns out Munchkin was real. His owner, Susan Martin of Ontario, Canada, just contacted me with more pictures of her former pet (he died at the age of 8 of heart disease). His real name was Sassy. He certainly was a big guy. She says he weighed forty pounds. Here are more details from Susan:

Sassy was born in Virginia, and moved to Canada in 1991 with me. He was a kitten then and after we had him fixed he started getting fat. I never thought anything of it cause he slept so much. His visits to the Blair Animal Hospital did not find any problems with him and could not figure out why he was so fat. He was on diet food for about 8 years. In 1999 he was noted as being 15.9 kilos. in 2001 he was listed as 40 pounds and then lost 8 when he died. He did not eat an excess amount of food and did not eat table scraps. A bite or two of chicken or tuna was his favorite. I miss him very much and often find his picture posted on various web sites.

The fattest cat in the world weighs about fifty pounds. Here are more pictures of Sassy:

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Categories: Animals
Posted by Alex on Wed Aug 24, 2005
Comments (30)
More from the Hoax Museum Archives:


There's no stopping them.
Posted by Alex H  on  Wed Aug 24, 2005  at  11:39 AM
my god that was a big cat!
he liked water too! that was one unique kitty.

I never thought i would see a cat fill out one of those cat-bed thingies.
Posted by Chuck  on  Wed Aug 24, 2005  at  01:02 PM
Well....thats a suprise Alex....it's good she contacted you about that.
Posted by X  on  Wed Aug 24, 2005  at  03:02 PM
Err...problem. You said in your post that he was age 8 when he died, but in the e-mail she said that he had lost 8 pounds when he died, not that he was 8. He had to be at least 10 when he died if they got him in Virgina and moved to Canada in 1991 and was last weighed in 2001.
Posted by Dan  on  Wed Aug 24, 2005  at  04:56 PM
I like the pictures. Sassy reminds me of my cat, Joe. But Joe's a mere wisp of a thing at about 17 pounds.
Posted by Big Gary in Dallas  on  Wed Aug 24, 2005  at  05:15 PM
My 9 yr old cat was nearly 19 lbs when we got her...first night home she got stuck under our old couch. After 2 years of diet food, she's a comparatively svelte 13-14 lbs. 😉
Posted by Winona  on  Wed Aug 24, 2005  at  08:16 PM
Dan, I misread her email. Must be some kind of dyslexia creeping up on me.
Posted by The Curator  in  San Diego  on  Wed Aug 24, 2005  at  09:29 PM
Not to worry, it happens to the best of us. =)
Posted by Dan  on  Thu Aug 25, 2005  at  10:09 PM
Don't buy her story. There's no way a cat could get that big and not be over-eating, can't get something from nothing. This is akin to animal abuse.
Posted by Jorge  on  Mon Aug 29, 2005  at  04:45 AM
Now that's the don vito of cats.
Posted by Jeff  on  Thu Sep 01, 2005  at  09:54 AM
DamN! thats a fat cat... you killed him..you horrible people!..how could you feed a cat that much and make him that big..you need god!..its a sin..gluttony..you could have fed 10 millions of other cats who were starving in 3rd world countries..
Posted by an Angel  on  Tue Sep 06, 2005  at  07:05 AM
Actually a friend of mine (no, seriously!) had a cat that went over 20 kilos after being neutered
Posted by swangelok  on  Thu Sep 08, 2005  at  11:51 AM
Just so you all Know.....He was indeed at the vets many times and they could not find out why he was so fat, and we had another cat that was eating the same food and he did not get fat.He was not force feed and I have all the vet bills to confirm it.He was on diet food because regular pet food was too rich. It caused other problems. All diets including human need a balance. But until recently there was a limited types of food available to pets. He was well loved,and cared for. All who know me know I take the best care of my pets.I now have two dogs and a cat and they too are not over weight. If you want video I can give you that too.Try over feeding your cat they eat only what they want. Ask your vet or call the Blair Animal Hospital here in Ottawa Canada and they will be glad to give you any info you need! This was not a contest . His picture was sent to a friend and it has been floating around since 2001.I am proud to have known him and I keep him close to my heart everyday .
Susan Martin
Posted by Susan Martin  on  Thu Sep 15, 2005  at  07:26 AM
:-/ ur kittie reminds me of garfield..i love garfield..
Posted by draven151  on  Fri Oct 07, 2005  at  03:49 PM
"Katy herself achieved her enormous size partly because she was fed hormones to stop her mating."

?!?!?! Do they not spay cats in Russia?

With cats, as with people, a lot of their weight and body type is determined by genetics. My cat eats about a quarter cup of cat food every day and she still won't lose weight. It's not fair to assume Sassy's owner is a bad person because her cat was overweight. It sounds like she loved him very much.
Posted by Elizabeth  on  Tue Nov 01, 2005  at  10:39 PM
Hi;

It appears to me that Sassy was a Bengal cat, and I am wondering if his mixed genetics might have somehow gone haywire and caused this weight problem.. (Bengal cats are a domesticated crossbreed between domestic house cats and wild Bengal Leopards). If you look at the 5th picture above (with the kitten) you can see the distinctive markings & pattern on his back. (not stripes, but spots).
Posted by warmbear  on  Thu Mar 09, 2006  at  07:01 AM
For all the people out there thinking that this is some type of animal over feeding abuse. Well, it is not. I also have a gray tabby, male, cat that weighs 23 lbs. His name is Bobo and he gained his weight when we neutered him. He is not over eating and is actually very healthy. What he eats is organic dry food (is what he likes best) and a spoonfull or two of wet cat food a day. I love him to death, he is very vocal, friendly, and affectionate.
Cheers everyone!
Posted by Lina  on  Sun Apr 23, 2006  at  01:33 PM
Big cat... I have a cat that got over 20 pounds after being neutered and hes the over wieght one... other two seem like they didnt gain more than 2 pounds.
Posted by Chris  on  Wed Aug 16, 2006  at  11:45 AM
Also... these cats are indoor... but we live in an open rural area... they can leave for almost a whole day on their own... but they are usually back inside after an hour or two of exercising with my kids.
Posted by Chris  on  Wed Aug 16, 2006  at  11:49 AM
I've been googling fat cats all day because they are so darn cute! - I noted from story to story though that some cats just balloon into whales once they are spayed or neutered. Interesting huh? Sex or the potential for sex is a powerful thing.
Posted by Victor  on  Thu Jan 11, 2007  at  09:34 PM
You gotta really f***ing big cat! Put it on a diet.
Posted by Micheal  on  Sat Feb 17, 2007  at  04:08 PM
omg is that a real cat i use to have a cat 20 lbs how much does that cat weigh {e-mail me back}
Posted by lizzie  on  Tue Feb 27, 2007  at  02:31 PM
This "guy" looks a lot like a real version of that garfield cartoon... He's (was) an awesome (yet horrendously fat) cat!
Posted by Eliade Bezerra Duarte Filho  on  Fri May 11, 2007  at  08:04 AM
Awww... Just look at that face he was a lovley cat.

To the person who posted ages ago about the spots on sassy's back, there is also a breed called an Egyptian Mau that has the same coat but they are scrawny little things similar to siamese cats.

And JFYI when i was little we lived on a farm in outback Australia (Queensland, and we had a stray that showed up in the machinery shed so we adopted her, she had several litters kittens through the years and at least 2 kittens in every litter had the same coat as Sassy.
Posted by Miranda Evans  on  Fri Jun 01, 2007  at  11:49 PM
Aw, Poor thing! I knew cats kould get fat but this is just...oh! Poor litle thing.
:'(
Posted by Dragomind  on  Fri Aug 24, 2007  at  02:19 AM
you say he didn't eat table scraps, but then you say he loved tuna and chicken...tuna is high in fat. I can't believe that anyone would let their cat get that big. I just want to know, if he was an indoor cat, did you exercise him?
Posted by Jenn  on  Sat Sep 15, 2007  at  02:01 AM
hehe...boy this cat was fat, he reminds me of cartman from that southpark cartoon.
Posted by ItsMe  on  Sun Nov 25, 2007  at  07:58 PM
We crazy French love to laugh at fat people. But now we are being told that it is symptom of disease and it will be cured and we will look evil like people who throw rocks at lepers. This is stupid! No?! People with cancer are very funny to see when parts of bodies are deformed or missing. But sometimes their families come over and they will hit you FOR NO REASONS! People with MS are also funny to watch. They look drunk but they will sue you for being happy and having fun. They need to find senses of humor. Once midgets were fun to see. Now they carry knives and kick or bite you for no good reasons. If we French can not have fun of fat people then how can we enjoy life?! They only look this way because they enjoy this. So this is not fair!!!

Remerciez Dieu de fat cats! They are so very funny. Keep feeding them from McDonald's and letting them watch television with remote controls because this has been proved scientifiquement to be only reasons for being fat.
Posted by Joey Who  on  Sun Dec 23, 2007  at  11:16 AM
this cat is so funny 🐍
his owner is lying that he was this way by accident
he was force fed the same way fat people do to themselves because they like to get beatdown
they can't have sex so it takes the place of sex
in school we would stick them with tacks and they would pretend to be hurt but they do not really feel it because they are fat
so teachers would grab them and put them in detention for jumping and yelling when we stuck them and they would pretend to cry and get depresed
this is fun because they do not really have feelings like real people do
scientest who try to say it is a disease and it will be cured are the same dumb stupid people who don't want us to enjoy drinking drugs and sex
they can't have fun because they are OLD LIKE THE CRYPT KEEPER
so they are only trying to spoil any fun that is left in this world for all the rest of us 😡
show more fat cats
they are funny :coolgrin:
Posted by aaron  on  Sun Dec 23, 2007  at  12:56 PM
THIS IS ANIMAL ABUSE!!!
Posted by silver  on  Thu Apr 22, 2010  at  10:44 AM
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