The Strange, Waddling Journey of Chloe The Immobile Cat.

No Olympian has ever been more determined to cross a finish line than Chloe is to make it past the front desk. Head down, green eyes flashing, she lumbers determinedly down the hallway, past the cubes, around the corner, through the mailroom.

Where can a gal get some decent food in this joint?

She is an explorer, a free spirit and the paltry door of Vice President of Human Resources Jeanne Wu's office can not contain her. She must go. She must wander. She must find people and kiss them.

Kisses kisses kisses.

And maybe if she's super lucky she'll find some food that's not that awful diet food. Not that anyone will let her have it. Everyone has her on lockdown...

Oh look. It's weight control kibble. Again. 

We're not being jerks, honestly. We love Chloe. It's just that when we first met Chloe she's was more a cat-shaped pile of sadness than an actual cat. Weighing in at a whopping twenty two pounds, she was more than just a little inconvenienced by her weight, she was virtually immobilized by it.

I'm a happy gal but this is uncomfortable. Seriously. 

With her petite little frame, Chloe was carrying more than twice what her bones and joints had been designed to. As a result, she had developed severe arthritis that made walking nearly impossible. And forget the litterbox - the long hike down the hallway was agonizing and then there was the step into it. 

Another unfortunate side effect of her size: her hygiene was lacking. Unable to turn far enough to clean herself her fur had tangled up in mats and she had rashes in delicate areas. She was a mess. 

Ahem! My privacy! TMI about the hygiene and litterbox!

When she got here Chloe got some arthritis meds and a New Year's Resolution: lose enough weight to be less like a very depressed houseplant and more like the sassy, well behaved kitty that she was inside. In addition to her special diet, she also got special digs - Jeanne Wu's office. And she got an exercise plan. With her pain managed, it was time for her to start moving.

And what exactly am I supposed to be doing with that?

We will not pretend that this was smooth going at first. While Chloe loved all the folks coming to see her, she was more into patting time than doing laps around the boardroom. Laser pointers and wind up toys were employed but eventually she started moving. 

And once she started moving, she didn't stop. 

When Chloe was less mobile Jeanne would leave her door open to give Chloe the chance to wander. She wouldn't go far - across the hall, maybe around the corner. But as she lost a few pounds she became unstoppable, motoring all over the admin area. We finally had to put some gates up to keep her from going too far into office-dog areas. 

And the litterbox? Pro. She was a litterbox pro again. 

Really? Can we stop talking about my bathroom habits now?

Which, dear readers, bring us to you. Because while Chloe is doing better she still has a looong way to go, weight wise. While we love all of Chloe, there's a little too much of her right now. To get her back to perfect health she's got to keep losing. She also deserves a home.

Sometime in the next few weeks we'll be putting this not-so-little darlin' up for adoption. She'll need a home that can keep her on her diet and her arthritis meds. Someone who understands that the stakes for Chloe are a little higher than the ability to look good in a bikini. For a cat to be so big she can't move is a pretty drastic issue. She just got her mobility back and she needs to keep going.

Other than her weight and arthritis, she's pretty much the perfect cat. She's super outgoing, loves to give kisses like a dog and hasn't had one litterbox problem since she started walking. She is also an absolute bellyrub fiend and will demand them.

Keep rubbing, hooman. 

If you're looking for a lovely cat and can help Chloe achieve her New Year's goals, keep an eye on our adoption page. We'll be posting her as soon as she's ready to go home. 

If you like big kitties and want immediate gratification, come meet Artemes. He's a lovely, striking guy who is all about that bass, too. 

I have perfect bathroom habits and no, I don't want to talk about them.