Maunzi, you didn't deserve this.

Maunzi was my mother's cat. I only met her once, when I went to visit. She had claimed the guest room I stayed in, and she was just aggravated at me for taking her territory! I think that if I had had more time, she might have decided to make peace, but what's done is done and anyway, I *did* invade her space.

Well, the other day I called my mother, and she casually mentioned, "Oh, yeah, Maunzi got too fat to clean herself, so I had her put to sleep."

Needless to say, I am not happy.

Here's what I think happened. When I visited, Maunzi had a sensitive stomach, and she threw up the cheap cat food my mom fed her. Mom fed her small meals in an effort to stop her from throwing up and she was always hungry. While I was there I took over meals to try to get Maunzi to enter into peace talks with me, and I fed her six times a day, tiny meals and a little food at a time, and she only threw up once. That would have worked. I guess Mom didn't keep it up.

Mom always let Maunzi outside (in a low-middle-class suburb, with neighboring dogs, cars, and poisons around), and I am willing to bet that Maunzi, hungry, decided that the neighbors' dogs' food looked pretty good. But if you are a cat trying to survive on dog food, you end up gaining weight because the dog food is just not nutritious enough for a cat, who needs protein-rich food, and a cat has to eat a lot of it to survive. She couldn't have gained on the food my mom gave her; the amount of it just wasn't enough to gain on, so she must have been getting food elsewhere.

So when Maunzi got fat, and Mom got annoyed that she couldn't lick herself clean properly, Mom didn't--as any sensible person should--take her indoors, put her on a good, high-quality cat food, get her some exercise, and help her lose a little weight so that she would be able to clean herself. She didn't even buy cat bath wipes to make the task easier in the meantime. No... she just had the cat put to sleep.

I am angry. I am very, very angry. This cat wasn't even my friend, but no cat deserves that kind of treatment. I can see that even a decent cat owner might free-feed and then realize that a cat's packed on a few extra pounds, but with the way my mom treated her both before and after she got fat, this is not one of those times. I've always known my mom looks down on fat people--she constantly yells at me about my own weight even though I exercise regularly and eat well--but I'm really saddened that this little cat had to lose her life over it. Maunzi was just coping as best she could. It wasn't her fault. She was still young; she could have lived five, ten more years.

My mom says that after this, she is never getting another cat. At least there's that.

This is a photo of Maunzi, which was taken around the time I visited her. She had beautiful eyes.

How utterly horrible. You're right- no cat deserves such a thing.

I recently adopted a cat who is too fat to clean herself (a year in a tiny shelter cage will do that to you). I can't imagine deciding a cat's life was no longer worthwhile because of its weight. And then of course, no cat chooses to be obese; its the fault and responsibility of their caretaker. To put down a cat because of your behavior and instead of solving a highly solvable problem is the epitome of irresponsibility and cruelty.

It's so incredibly difficult when those close to us do such terrible and irresponsible things. My mom once returned a dog to an animal shelter- an action that was less final and less fatal (it was a no-kill shelter), but I will never get over her flippant irresponsibility. I am so sorry that you have to deal with this and your mother's thoughtless insensitivity toward both you and that poor cat.

I also can't believe a vet would agree to such a procedure; that is equally terrible to me, though I know I shouldn't really be surprised.

Poor, poor Maunzi.

I'm very sorry to hear of Maunzi's fate and that you've had such a negative experience with a family member. RIP, Maunzi. I wish this hadn't happened to you.

Another photo of Maunzi. These were all taken by my little sister and e-mailed to me. I notice how defensive Maunzi always looks in these photos.

The poor baby, l'm so sorry.

He doesn't look fat at all in the picture IMO. I also can't believe a vet would pts an animal so easily either

RIP Maunzi

It was taken a few years before her death, so she probably got bigger in the meantime. But that still isn't a reason to have a cat put to sleep.

That the vet agreed to do it doesn't surprise me. The alternative... Well, if my mom had been told, "No, I won't kill a healthy albeit overweight cat," she might have "let the cat go" somewhere or just taken her to a shelter, where she would have been a middle-aged, overweight, bad-tempered black cat with no prospects for adoption. Either way Maunzi would have died, and not so quickly as she probably did at the vet's office. Given that my mom is who she is, it was probably the best thing the vet could have done for Maunzi. Whether that was his/her thinking, I don't know. Could just have been "The customer is always right".

Callista-

That's what I was guessing/hoping the vet was thinking as well. Still, its hard to imagine. I know how bad the chances for an adult at a shelter are, but... :/

I'm glad some people are mourning Maunzi though. Poor baby deserves it.

I am sorry to hear of Maunzi's fate. Rest in peace little girl.

Beautiful Maunzi