It’s been a good week for ... getting in shape
Fat-shaming is bad enough. Now we have cat-shaming. An overweight puss from Aberdeen who got wedged in a cat flap is the public face of overweight Scottish pets.
Pumpkin, who likes crisps and ice cream, is a finalist in a major slimming competition, the only Scottish representative in PDSA Pet Fit Club.
The seven-year-old tabby will compete against six other pets from across the UK, including dogs, other cats, and a rabbit. Weighing 1st 8lbs (10.2kg), Pumpkin’s target is to lose 7lb (3.2kg) He’ll now go on a strict diet and exercise programme.
Owner Chelsea Mullen, 21, from Bridge of Dee, has owned Pumpkin and his slimmer sister Munchkin since they were kittens.
PDSA senior vet Fiona Gregge said that while Pumpkin and Munchkin eat the same amount, “Pumpkin simply doesn’t do any exercise. He just lies there. Several years ago Pumpkin got stuck in the cat flap. He was completely wedged in”.
Having avoided the catflap ever since, Pumpkin has become a couch potato. “His daily exercise now consists of moving from the bed or sofa to the food bowl and back again,” said Gregge.
Poor old Pumpkin. It’s a familiar story of a modern malaise. All that tempting junk food, computer games and wall-to-wall telly when back in the day cats would have been chucked out to play whatever the weather and told if they’re hungry, go and catch a mouse.
Pumpkin has the ideal incentive, though. He won’t fit back through the catflap and back to his home comforts until he sheds some weight.
Is this reverse psychology?
It’s been a bad week for ... looking happy
This will wipe the smile off your face. A scientific study has found that cracking a grin can make you appear two years older than you really are. Dr Mel Goodale, director of the Brain and Mind Institute, Canada, found that people perceived others who smile as older.
The results, published in Science Daily, also showed that participants thought that people with a surprised look on their face were the youngest. Apparently, it’s all down to wrinkles, although I think I’d rather look old and crumpled than in a permanent state of smooth-skinned shock.
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