Prince Chunk (also known as Princess Chunk and Captain Chunk, real name: Powder) (1998 – November 21, 2010) was a
domestic shorthair cat
A domestic short-haired cat is a cat possessing a coat of short fur, not belonging to any particular recognised cat breed. In Britain they are sometimes colloquially called moggies. Domestic short-haired cats are distinct from the British Shortha ...
, who at one time was alleged to weigh 44 pounds (20 kg), a
world record. He was found in
Voorhees, New Jersey
Voorhees Township is a township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,131, reflecting an increase of 1,005 (+3.6%) from the 28,126 counted in the 2000 census. Voorhee ...
, on July 26, 2008, by Animal Control, who nicknamed him "Captain Chunk". After a search for his owner, it was found that his name was Powder and that he was abandoned by Donna Oklatner, an elderly Voorhees resident. Oklatner claimed she could not afford to take care of the cat when she lost her home in
foreclosure
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.
Formally, a mortg ...
proceedings.
He was later adopted from the Camden County Animal Shelter in New Jersey by Donna Damiani of
Blackwood, New Jersey
Blackwood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Gloucester Township, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ,
and in August 2008 his weight was already down to 22 pounds.
According to the ''
Guinness World Records'', the largest
tabby cat was forty-six pounds and fifteen ounces.
Since then, the publishers have dropped the category to prevent deliberate overfeeding and possible harm to cats.
He made television appearances on ''
Live with Regis and Kelly'', ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'',
Fox News, and
MSNBC, based on his reported weight, but reliable sources of the cat's definitive weight in July 2008 are not available. One paper reported that "shelter officials said they were perplexed by the discrepancy", after the Damiani family found that the cat weighed just over 22 pounds, "days after" receiving him.
The Damiani family later founded the Prince Chunk Foundation, a nonprofit that allows people to keep their pets in difficult financial situations by giving them free pet food and vet care.
Prince Chunk died in his sleep
on November 21, 2010, due to
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
.
See also
*
Meow (cat)
Meow ( – May 5, 2012), also known as Meow the obese cat, was a male domestic cat who attracted international attention when an animal shelter publicized efforts to slim him down, in an attempt to have him adopted. However, Meow died of lung fa ...
*
Obesity in pets
*
List of individual cats
This is a list of famous cats which achieved some degree of popularity either in their own right or by association with someone famous.
Before the modern era
* Nedjem or Nojem (Egyptian: ''nḏm'' "Sweet One" or "Sweetie"), 15th century BC. The ...
References
External links
Camden County Animal Shelter
1998 animal births
2010 animal deaths
Individual cats in the United States
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