so long as you die happy?

I used to have this cat named Tiggah (womp womp, yeah I know). Anyway, I got Tig when I was a junior in college and had this lil off campus apartment. At first my roommates were all like “that’s your cat so no one else is responsible for taking care of him”. I could understand that. However, after a little while, Tig began to grow on everyone who came around. He was so cute and I watched him grow from the little kitten I got from the shelter into a nice lil young adult cat. LOL. Then I eventually graduated from college and had plans on going away to Louisiana for law school (obvy I didn’t go there, but it’s a long story) and in the meantime I was moving around. I couldn’t really take Tig with me all around so I brought him to my Auntie’s crib and basically gave him to her. It worked out because she freakin loves Tig. LOVES him. Spoils him like nothing else. The one thing that bothers me though is that Tiggah is a fat cat.

Not fat cat like Garfield who is a comic/cartoon cat that talks to a dog and eats lasagna. Garfield is funny. Tiggah is a real cat who can develop diseases and die from obesity-related conditions. Tiggah is not funny. Ever watch Maury and see those parents whose 4 year old children are obese? The parents usually say that they have trouble telling their kids no or they want to provide their kids with everything they want. If those wants happen to be food, so be it. My aunt is like that. There are cat treats all over the place.

Sorry Tig

She and my uncle feed him all day long, wet food too. When I had Tig, I tried to balance his wet and dry food intake. Why? Well he loved the wet food and would gobble it all up. He’d eat it if it was there, even if he wasn’t hungry. but the dry food, he liked okay but you knew it wasn’t his fave. He’d only eat that when he had to eat SOMEthing. Here, in addition to the dry food being out all the time, new cans of wet food are popped open all day and treats are given out. It irks me so much.

You’d think I’d be upset because Tiggah used to be my cat and now he’s this fat hairball who can barely jump up on the window sill. No. I’m upset because I see the treatment of the cat as an extension of how my aunt and uncle view food themselves. Both of them are overweight. I should probably note that they’re brother and sister, not husband/wife. Anyway, my aunt suffers from a ton of problems with her back and joints that she could likely relieve should she lose some weight. My uncle has been diagnosed as a diabetic but still eats like food is going extinct. I probably wrote about this before, but I am prejudiced against overweight people. I can’t help it. It doesn’t make sense to me to KNOW you’re ill because of your size and continue to do nothing about it. Now granted, I understand that there are a lot of psychological issues and some biological issues behind overeating. I know because I can identify some of those psych issues in my aunt pretty easily. I’m just saying.

Last night, my uncle gave Tiggah some treats right after feeding him. He said the cat looked like he wanted one. I casually mentioned that Tig didn’t need any snacks, that he was probably one snack away from a ridiculous veterinary bill (those things cost so much it’s not funny) or worse. My uncle’s reaction: Well, at least he’ll die happy. Ohhhhkayyyy. Then he went on to say that’s how he wants to go… at a buffet. Happy.

Now I get people don’t want to die in a fiery inferno or being hacked to bits by a sociopathic killer. We all want to go happy. But don’t you think there’s something wrong when your idea of dying happy is you, face down in a plate of mashed potatoes? I am certain that my uncle will die from obesity-related complications sooner than he would have had he actually paid attention to the shit that he shovels into his mouth. Unfortunately, you can’t tell him anything because he’s convinced that it’s better to die happy at a buffet than miserable in the vegetable aisle (his actual words).

I just wonder if Tiggah’s really happy gorging on cat treats or if he wouldn’t mind running and jumping and playing just a little bit better? 
PS. Yes, I am judging.