Surviving in the wild is especially difficult for animals accustomed to domestic life. However, one giant cat, formerly domesticated, but became an outdoor cat, not only survived – he managed to maintain his weight at 9 kilograms. In 2007, he became an Internet sensation.
It turned out that he had been sneaking into a woman’s garage and stealing dog food from there. And, apparently, he had been doing it for the entire six months he had been without an owner.
Eventually he was caught. He was found trapped in the dog’s hole through which he had been dragging his food. The homeowner called a humane organization to get him out of the manhole and into the shelter.
On the left is a 9-pound Goliath, and on the right is a kitten of much more average size
That day the organization accepted him and named him Goliath. That same evening he became a star, appearing on the evening news.
Barbara, director of the humanitarian organization that rescued the cat, noted that it’s not every day they get such heavy cats. It’s unclear why, but this story has become a sensation in Portland; apparently, the locals love fat cats, she concluded.
Goliath’s owner saw the story on the news that evening and immediately recognized his cat. The next day he showed up at the shelter with a picture proving that the cat belonged to him.
When the owner came, the staff found out that the cat’s name was actually Hercules. They also learned how he ended up homeless.
Six months earlier, the cat’s owner had gone to Canada for a major operation. During that time, Hercules ran away from the caregiver who was watching him at home. According to Barbara, the only reason his owner survived was because he loved his cat very much.
Even though Hercules only spent one night at the humanitarian organization, he and his owner became frequent guests there. By this time, both the owner and the cat had unfortunately passed away, but the Internet captured the story for fat cat fans
