Rescued 17kg cat in Russia gets stuck in shoe rack when trying to escape ‘fat camp’

An overweight cat that was put on a diet at an animal shelter in Russia apparently tried to escape from his “fat camp” but the attempt backfired when he got stuck in a shoe rack.

Kroshik – Russian for Crumbs –

had tipped the scales at 17kg

, around the weight of an average four-year-old child, and was put on a diet and exercise regime at the shelter in Perm, a city near the Ural Mountains.

However, the chonky orange tabby, which could be a real-life version of the obese cartoon cat Garfield, had other ideas.

“Kroshik… caused a ruckus and escaped today,” animal rehabilitation expert Ekaterina Bedakova wrote in a Sept 11 Telegram post.

Staff members at Matroskin Shelter said the cat tried to escape but did not go far – he was found wedged between the bars of a shoe rack, his head in a bright blue Crocs.

Ms Bedakova said the feline was “extremely displeased” when he was found “disguised as slippers”.

However, the cat “mellowed out” after he was given some food, she added.

Despite Kroshik’s escape attempt, Ms Bedakova said that his current weight loss regime is working.

The shelter reported that he weighed 15.4kg as of Sept 16.

According to British tabloid The Sun, Kroshik’s ideal weight is 4.5kg.

Photos on social media showed the tabby’s fur on his belly had been shaved to make it easier to dry him after his exercise sessions.

Kroshik is believed to have been abandoned and somehow found his way into the basement of a hospital in Perm, where well-meaning people fed him biscuits and soup.

As a result, he ballooned so much that he was not able to walk when rescuers found him.