Tiddles, also known as the Paddington Station cat, (1970–1983) was a
tabby-and-white
cat who spent most of his life in the
ladies' room at
Paddington Station, in
London. Constantly fed choice meats, including titbits from his admirers, he became famously fat.
On a cold morning in 1970, Tiddles was adopted as a six-week-old stray kitten by June Watson, an attendant in the ladies' room at Paddington Station.
[Sam Stall, ''100 Cats who Changed Civilization: History's Most Influential Felines'', Philadelphia: Quirk, 2007, , pp. 136–37, p. 136.][Anthony Lambert, ''Lambert's Railway Miscellany'', London: Ebert, 2010, ]
p. 13
[Gerald L. Wood, ''Guinness Book of Pet Records'', Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives, 1984 /Sterling, 1985, ]
pp. 75–76
[Michael Zullo, ''Cat Astrology: The Complete Guide to Feline Horoscopes'', rev. ed. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 2001, ]
p. 22
[Joan Palmer, ''All About Cats'', London: Ward Lock, 1986, ]
pp. 23–24
Women began to come to visit him there. In addition to fan letters, Christmas presents and a Christmas tree,
[ Tiddles received food from many of his admirers, which was stored in his personal refrigerator; some posted food to him.]["Fat Animals"]
''The Week'', 8 September 2010 (with picture). As a result of his high-fat, high-calorie diet of delicacies such as chicken livers, kidneys, rabbit, and steak, the frequent titbits from admirers, and lack of exercise, Tiddles became very fat.[Sarah Hartwell]
MessyBeast.com cat resource archive, updated 2011, retrieved 24 September 2012 (with picture). By 1982, he weighed and won the title of 'London Fat Cat Champion'.[Stall]
p. 137
He was one of the most famous fat cats[ (making his name ironic, as he was "anything but 'tiddly'"). He was filmed by a Canadian camera crew, featured in foreign magazines,][ and in 1993, painted by ]Frances Broomfield
Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...
.
Attempts to reduce his weight did not work because his fans continued to overfeed him. He eventually weighed ["Rising concern over feline obesity", ''Cat Watch'', 1 January 2006]
Online at Highbeam
subscription required). and "resemble a beach ball with fur."[ Tiddles was euthanised in 1983 after veterinarians found fluid around his ]lung
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
s.[
]
See also
* List of individual cats
References
Further reading
* Martyn Lewis, ''Cats in the News'', Macdonald, 1991,
External links
Top 15 Amazingly Ginormous Fat Cats
Neatorama
{{Authority control
1970 animal births
1983 animal deaths
Individual cats in England
Paddington