Giant cat weighing 40lbs is adopted in less than 24 hours

Are you wondering what a 40-pound cat looks like and need a bit of feel-good news today?

Well, look no further than an amazing story about Patches, a jumbo cat who weighs almost as much as a 5-year-old child.

Can you imagine it?

This furry jumbo cat has gone viral online in America - and around the world - after the animal shelter taking care of this purr-y friend posted on Facebook advertising him for adoption.

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Animal rescuers, Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC), shared Patches in all of his glory in the amazing picture, which showed his carer struggling to lift his weight.

The Virginia shelter sent the call out for someone who could look after all 40.3 pounds (or 18.3kg) of him and you’d better believe that Patches became a hit in the comments!

Thanks to the hilarious picture of a staff member and the podgy cat, Patches was soon snapped up.

Here’s what the rescue centre had to say about 'the largest cat anyone has ever seen'.

They asked: “Did you wake up today and think, ‘let’s adopt the largest cat anyone has ever seen?’ If so, we have the cat for you.”

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“Meet Patches; all 40.3 POUNDS of him! He’s been regulated to a very special diet, is on an exercise plan and is very sweet. He’s neutered, tested, chipped and ready to go today!”

This fantastic snap came with the caption: 'We love that belly', and so did the internet.

The shelter continued to ask for someone with the 'commitment to help Patches get to a safe and healthy weight.'

Does this mean that Patches will be losing the chunk sometime soon?

Thankfully, with all the attention this kitty received, sure enough a wonderful person stepped forward to take him off the rescue centre’s hands.

After the adoption was finalised, the RACC posted a video which hilariously shows the staff and their struggles to carry Patches out of the shelter in a cage.

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Even with two strong people, it still wasn’t enough to lift this cat high off the ground.

Christie Chipps Peters, the Director of RACC, added to the mystery of Patches and his wobbly belly by stating: "We don’t know how he got so big, he came to us that large!

"The new owner is lovely and has a plan in place to help him lose weight slowly and safely."

So, is Patches really the heaviest cat in the world?

Well, the Guinness World Records listed the heaviest cat as ‘Himmy’, the fat cat who weighed just over 46lb (21.3kg) when it died in 1986.

Unfortunately, the category was discontinued in 1998 in a bid to stop people from over-feeding their beloved pets just to get their name in the spot, but Patches surely is a contender.