Owner Discovers Hilarious Reason for Cat’s Mystery Weight Gain: ‘Shocked’

A cat owner was shocked to discover the real reason her pet was gaining weight, after the feisty feline learned to hack an automatic food dispenser—twice.

Rebecca Brown, from Ashburn, Virginia, first noticed that her 5-year-old cat Xyla was gaining weight in 2019. The pair moved in with Brown’s boyfriend Vic, with the cheeky rescue cat tricking him into handing over extra snacks.

“Xyla can get anyone she encounters to give her treats,” the 46-year-old told Newsweek. “She is very good at sounding like she is starving.”

After a telling-off from the vet, Vic curbed Xyla’s treat allowance. The couple also purchased an automatic feeder for Xyla, but despite setting reasonable portions for her size, she continued to expand.

“She had reached 12 pounds at that point,” Brown said. “With her feeder portions reduced and Vic reducing her treats, she became desperate.”

Tired of her diet, Xyla took matters into her own paws and began headbutting the automatic feeder, causing pieces of kibble to fall out. She also started to “con” guests into giving her additional treats.

With Xyla’s weight continuing to increase, the couple brought a new, sturdier feeder. Her attempts to attack this feeder failed, but Xyla wasn’t ready to give up.

“I noticed she often had food in her bowl, which perplexed me, even though she usually ate up her food within a few minutes,” Brown said.

“Taking her to the vet was so embarrassing. I couldn’t explain what was happening.”

By now, Xyla was 14 pounds, 4 pounds heavier than the recommended weight for domestic shorthairs.

A few days later, Brown and Vic were sitting in the living room when they caught Xyla pawing at her feeder. They heard the unlock button, followed by the sound of food dispensing.

“We were shocked,” Brown said. “I watched her surreptitiously and she was batting and nosing the left side of her feeder where the buttons were.”

To stop the clever cat from hacking her feeder, Vic placed a cardboard box over the machine, leaving a hole for the food to slip through.

“I wedged the box into a square shelf space, so she couldn’t push the box off the feeder,” Brown said.

The plan worked, with Xyla’s diet finally taking effect. A few months later, she is down to 11 pounds.

“I’m eager to tell my vet what happened,” Brown said. “I feel so vindicated.”

Brown shared Xyla’s antics to Facebook’s THIS CAT IS C H O N K Y community, a group where owners can post photos of their plus-sized felines. Xyla’s story had fellow cat lovers in hysterics, with the post receiving more than 3,000 reactions.

“YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME, MA’AM,” commented Brienne O’Tarth.

“I’d be so mad if I put that much effort into being fat & someone chonk blocked me,” joked Jana Aston.

“THICC QUEEN was just determined to stay gorgeous and full,” agreed Amanda Robins.

“She had to feed that big brain of hers,” said Ashley Puddester.

“The FBI needs to hire this cat,” wrote Jacqueline Nichole LeClair Marasigan.

“[Thi] cat is a genius, just give her the phone and let her order takeout,” commented Susie Last.

“I’ve never related to a cat so much before,” said Jennifer C. Timmins. “Damn animals are too smart for us.”

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