Still a handful: Cuddly Casper pictured AFTER his diet with owner Christine Collins
A fat cat which became so obese he couldn’t even turn his head to clean himself is feline better after losing - HALF his body weight.
Over-indulged Casper ballooned to a whopping 22.4lbs (10.2kg) - twice his recommended size - after being pampered with treats like chicken and roast potatoes.
The mega-moggy even stole food from owner Christine Collins’ terrified terrier Timmi to feed his appetite.
Left, Casper at 22.4lbs before losing the weight and right, a slimmed-down Casper as he is now at 13.8lbs
Casper struggled to walk at his heaviest, could not jump and had to be washed by hand as he was unable to lick himself clean.
But last year Christine, 54, decided to take action and put him on a special diet.
Six months later Casper is half the size and now weighs in at a relatively slender 13.8lbs (6.3kg).
But the former rescue cat still cuts a fairly roly poly figure despite his dieting success.
Casper the enormous cat before shedding half his bodyweight. He became so fat he could no longer turn his head to clean himself and weighed 22.4lbs
Christine, from Edinburgh, said today: 'He couldn’t jump on the sofa and he used to waddle when he walked.
'He used to eat everything, roast potatoes, chicken, and he even used to steal the dog food from my Jack Russell.
'He was so heavy I couldn’t even pick him up. He was massive.
'I had to wash him because he couldn’t reach past his stomach to clean himself.
'Now he’s lost the weight, but I have to stay vigilant to keep him away from food which is difficult because now he can jump. But he’s much happier.'
Following his crash diet Casper's agility is returning
Christine rescued Casper when he was four weeks old and weighing just a pound after finding him neglected in a house over-run with cats.
She nursed him back to health but over-indulged him with a constant supply of treats.
At his heaviest Casper was eating 150 grams of cat food a day, on top of treats and stolen food.
She added: 'When I found Casper home he was so small he fit in the palm of my hand.
'It only took me a month to get him back to a normal weight but then things went too far and over the years he just became greedy.'
Looking up: The future looks brighter for Casper after his dramatic weight loss
source: dailymail