Cinderblock the Fat Cat Charms the Internet With Lazy Workout Routine
Having to be active when you'd rather be in bed is a universal experience. Perhaps that's why this video of a fat cat on an aquatic treadmill went viral when it was shared on social media last week. In the brief clip below, Cinderblock the cat is shown doing the bare minimum of her new workout routine—a feeling many of us can relate to.
As CNN reports, Cinderblock's former owner surrendered her to the Northshore Veterinary Hospital in Washington state when the demands of pet care became too much to handle. At 25 pounds, the 8-year-old gray domestic shorthair was morbidly obese from overfeeding. When the hospital's medical director and veterinarian Brita Kiffney saw Cinderblock, she knew she had to take care of the chonky feline.
Cinderblock has since been put on a strict diet and exercise regimen in order to get her down to a healthy size. But the lifestyle change hasn't come easily. As the video shared by the Northshore Veterinary Hospital on Facebook shows, the cat figured out how to sit and exercise at the same time by "walking" on the underwater treadmill with one paw.
The internet proved once again that it's a sucker for fat cat videos. The hospital's video was shared more than 2.2 million times and it's since gone viral on Reddit and Twitter. Commenters have shared both their support and their empathy for the gym-averse feline.
(If you're wondering why Cinderblock has to work out this way, the hospital wrote on its Facebook page that "Cinder has arthritis in multiple joints and is carrying an extra 10 lb of body weight. The water provides a reduced weight-bearing environment that increases functional use of limbs without marked weight loading and resultant discomfort to joints.")
Though innovative, Cinderblock's workout strategy wasn't doing much to help her get fit. Eventually, her trainers were able to convince her to use the treadmill with all four legs. Let her grumpy energy be an inspiration to anyone who's ever had trouble getting to the gym.
[h/t CNN]