Feline Media Sensation Prince Chunk Dies in NJ

BLACKWOOD, N.J. (Nov. 27) - An enormously fat cat named Prince Chunk who became famous when he was found wandering in New Jersey after his owner lost her home to foreclosure has died.

Prince Chunk's adoptive owner, Vince Damiani of Blackwood, said the white tabby died in his sleep Sunday. He was about 10 years old. Damiani said a veterinarian had diagnosed the cat with heart disease.

Slaven Vlasic, Getty Images

Prince Chunk, the enormous feline who shot to fame after he was found wandering in New Jersey in 2008, died Sunday.

Prince Chunk skyrocketed to fame in August 2008 after the Camden County Animal Shelter, which took him in, reported that he weighed 44 pounds, just shy of a world record.

Damiani believes that estimate may have been somewhat exaggerated. He said Prince Chunk weighed 22 pounds when he brought the cat home from the shelter.

He soon became a media sensation, appearing on "Good Morning America," ''Live with Regis and Kelly," the covers of the New York tabloids and in People magazine.

The Damiani family was chosen from among 500 applicants to adopt him.

The pet's plight inspired the Damianis to establish the Prince Chunk Foundation, a nonprofit that helps financially distressed pet owners keep their animals. The foundation operates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and California.

Its mission is to prevent animal homelessness by providing temporary assistance to dog and cat owners, including free emergency vet care and pet food, Damiani said.






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Animals and animalrights in the media worldwide: Cat Travels 1,300 Miles From New Mexico to Chicago (USA)

Animals and animalrights in the media worldwide: Cat Travels 1,300 Miles From New Mexico to Chicago (USA)

Cat Travels 1,300 Miles From New Mexico to Chicago (USA)

A cat from New Mexico has turned up in Chicago after wandering 1,300 miles from his Albuquerque home. Charles was picked up by Chicago Animal Care and Control but his life was spared when staff found a microchip and contacted his owner.

Waiting…

Stella

©All Rights Reserved.

Jack

©2009 Suzanne/spookie. All rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.

Jack and Stella Blu

My cats are livin' large.






First pic: Jack stretching out.Second pic: Jack on the left; Stella hanging off the cat tower.Last pic: Stella just had to go for the food…
All photos © 2009 All rights Reserved; Suzanne/spookie. May be used with permission (ASK please!)

spookie, the CAT.

This is the queen of the castle.

…and this was every cat BUT spookie in 2007. Tiggler is in this picture. Tiggler was my feral turned mushball lap cat.

©2009, Suzanne Hayes / spookie. All Rights Reserved

Images may not be reproduced or copied and reposted to other blogs or websites without permission.

Oh, I So Enjoy This Chapter… Let's Read it Together…

The Infinite Cat Project

My cat Stella, full name Stella Blu (last name left off for privacy), wanted me to remind everyone that she is featured on the site The Infinite Cat Project.

Stella is Cat #1306: Stella Blu investigating Hiski watching Tupot...

The Infinite Cat Project

Presented by Mike Stanfill, Private Hand

Illustration, Flash Animation, Web Design

www.privatehand.com 

The site is quite fun, so go take a look!

Happy Holidays from All of Us, and Jack.

Especially from Jack, even though he doesn't know it's Chanukah. He's a cat.

(This is where the old ChipIn widget resided on my blog for years. ChipIn does not exist any longer.)

Our cat, Jack, is doing very well. He could've died, and most people would've chosen to put him to sleep because the options to keep him alive — and to just get him through his hospital stay with an unknown medical complication — were going to be very costly and possibly for naught.

We decided that it wasn't his time to go. After two days of fluids and trying different antibiotics, Jack's fever went down, and he started eating, eating food I brought him, of course, because he was not going to touch the food they had no matter how hungry he was! When I visited him on the second day, he was so weak, he didn't get up in the cage to say hello. The next evening, he not only got up, he tried to jump into my arms to come home. He rolled over onto his back and wanted his belly rubbed...for 5 minutes. He was not ready to die. He still had a fever, but he was improving. They still couldn't find the reason for the multiple problems, but he was beginning to stabilize, so I gave the go ahead for him to stay in hospitalization and be treated. They began a new treatment a couple of days later that was for FIV cats, and they continued the antibiotic that seemed to work on the infection that must've been what tried to take him down. Within a few more days, we were able to come pick Jack up and bring him home.

Jack is doing well now, and last night I even caught him playing with cat toys. To think that Jack was a feral who used to run the moment he saw any human, and now he's a family cat who wants someone to pets him and a warm bed all the time. In fact, Jack doesn't just want a warm bed, he must lean on you when he sleeps. He's adorable, but sometimes I feel guilty if I want to change position in the middle of the night!

I thank all my dear friends who helped with part of my huge hospitalization bill. None of you know how much I greatly appreciate your help during such a difficult time — not just with Jack, but with all the family matters.

Every dollar adds up, so to my friends, please keep passing on my Chipin Widget.

Thank you, and Happy Holidays!

All the best,

Suzanne
(and Scott, Harry, spookie, Morris, Stella Blu and Jack)

Happy Hanukkah!