Jumbo Cat Tiny Tim Doing Well 4 Months After Rescue

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By Karen Harrison Binette

Tiny Tim weighed 36 pounds when he was found on the streets of Houston in December. 4 1/2 months later, he is healthier, happier, slimmer, and more active.


Tiny Tim was found on the street in Houston, TX shortly before Christmas of 2011 and was taken to BARC, the city shelter. He weighed 36 pounds and could barely walk. As Friends of BARC volunteers visited the shelter on Christmas Eve to deliver a holiday dinner, they saw the gigantic cat and decided to rescue him. Friends of BARC secured his release, and he remains in their care. He lives at Southside Place Aninmal Hospital, which is owned by Friends of BARC member Dr. Alice Frei.

Friends of BARC waited for Tiny Tim’s owner to step forward looking for him, but came to believe his former caretaker was probably someone who had gone into the hospital or a nursing home, or who had passed away. Tiny Tim was depressed in his new surroundings at first, but has come around and shown himself to be a happy fellow.

Tiny Tim has been placed on a carefully planned weight loss regimen that is expected to take two years to get him down to his recommended weight of about 12 pounds. He is taking the weight off slowly by design, to guard his health and protect him from liver failure. He gets regular exercise, being carried the length of the clinic several times a day and having to walk back to his quarters in a dog run. By his May 3 weigh in he was down to 32.2 pounds.

Tiny Tim’s caregivers feel that his easygoing personality contributes to his overall good health. He is relaxed around strangers and on outings. Dr. Frei says that despite Tiny Tim’s calm personality and carefully managed health plan, he remains at risk of developing diabetes or heart trouble because of the time he spent being so very, very fat, and he will be monitored for signs of the conditions.

The first half of this video from February 28 features Tiny Tim and tells his story, as he visits a news studio with Dr. Frei.

Tiny Tim playfully rolling around on the floor in a video from late April.

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