Fat Pets

HERCULES

the Cat

Hercules the cat was in the habit of sneaking into a garage owned by Jadwiga Drozdek, who left food there for her own six cats. Hercules would guzzle their food until one day he’d become so fat he got wedged fast in the catflap. Jadwiga – who had seen him in the garage before but not, until then, managed to catch him – took 20lb Hercules, who seemed to be a stray, to an animal sanctuary.

The story of Hercules’s criminal exploits and eventual capture made the television news.

The story of Hercules’s criminal exploits and eventual capture made the television news. Geoff Earnest saw the story – and recognised Hercules as his own cat, who had gone missing six months previously. Geoff – who has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that leads to breathing problems – had adopted Hercules four years before.

After Hercules got stuck in the catflap, he and Geoff were reunited at the animal sanctuary.

As Geoff’s illness had got worse, Hercules would lie on his stomach and play with his oxygen tubes. But until Hercules appeared on the news, Geoff hadn’t seen him since he went into hospital for a lung transplant and had left Hercules to be looked after by a house-sitter. Hercules had somehow made a journey from the American city of Portland, where Geoff lives, to neighbouring Gresham, where Jadwiga lives. After Hercules got stuck in the catflap, he and Geoff were reunited at the animal sanctuary – and that story made the news too.

CHAMREUN

the Python

Sambath Uon, a boy from the village of Sit Tbow in Cambodia, formed an unlikely friendship with Chamreun, a six-metre-long, 265lb female python. The snake first arrived at Sambath’s house when the boy was three months old, and continued to stick around even though Sambath’s father carried the snake into the forest and left him there three times. Sambath and Chamreun, say villagers, have slept together since Sambath was a baby. The villagers believe that Chamreun – whose name means lucky in the Khmer language – has healing powers.

ORAZIO

the Cat

Who ate all the lasagne? Orazio the 35lb cat hails from Eupilio in Italy. Here his owner, Laura Santarelli, is risking a serious hernia by lifting him.