37-pound tubby tabby Biscuit in need of home

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- At 37 pounds, Biscuit is about the right weight for a 4-year-old -- human, that is.

A St. Louis-area animal shelter is trying to find a new home for the sweet tabby with a sweet tooth.

Biscuit's salad days were spent pigging out, and now at roughly three times the weight of a healthy adult cat, he's restricted to about a cup of diet food per day.

His first owner, a disabled woman who fed him lots of treats, brought him to the St. Charles Animal Control shelter about a year ago because she could no longer care for him, Teresa Gilley, the shelter's lead animal control officer, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"She didn't mean the cat any harm," Gilley said. "I just think she didn't know any better."

Another woman took him in but had to return him because her new apartment doesn't allow pets, she said.

Gilley said the tubby tabby isn't crazy about his new low-calorie diet, but he has begun adjusting to it. When he arrived, Biscuit could only take a few steps before lying down and panting, but now he's showing increased energy.

"The other day I went into the office, and he was up in the chair," Gilley said. "So he was able to jump pretty high."

Biscuit is neutered and is believed to be about 4 years old. Gilley said he's easygoing and loves being petted.

"He's sweet and loving, and if you talk to him, he'll talk back," Gilley said.

Any prospective owner would need to keep Biscuit away from the gravy and on a strict diet.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com