Everyone’s Rooting For Obese Cat ‘Cinder-Block’ Who Hates Her Treadmill

ViralHog

Have you ever been running on a treadmill at the gym for an entire hour, sweat dripping down your face, only to catch a glimpse of your phone and realise it’s only been three minutes?

I have. That feeling of despair you get when you realise you’ve still got at least another 25 minutes to go until you complete your 5k is devastating, and is one that is all too relatable for anyone who’s been in that situation.

So I think we can all root for Cinder-block the cat, who went viral recently when she was filmed putting as little effort as possible into her exercise regime in an attempt to shift a bit of weight.

You can watch the hilarious video below:

In the video, a man’s voice can be heard asking the cat, ‘are you working out?’, as Cinder-block looks on uninterested with only one paw on the treadmill. Which, fair.

Despite her grumpy exterior though, the animal is apparently nothing like that, with veterinarian Brita Kiffney telling HuffPost she’s ‘extremely affectionate’ and purrs whenever you talk to her. Kiffney, the medical director of Northshore Veterinary Hospital in Bellingham, Washington, added: ‘she’s very sweet’.

The video initially went viral earlier this month when the practice shared it on social media, with tens and thousands of people sympathising with the overweight cat, who ended up at the vet’s after her health and hygiene issues – largely caused by her obesity – became too much to handle for her previous owner.

However, Kiffney said she didn’t want to shame the owner in any way, adding that the person was under a lot of stress caring for an ill family member and the situation became ‘unmanageable’.

Northshore Veterinary Hospital/Facebook

As soon as people saw Cinder’s less-than-impressed demeanour, they obviously started rooting for her, with many taking to social media to express their support.

While one person said they had ‘found [their] spirit animal’ (quite literally), another person said Cinder-block was ‘giving [them] life’.

Another described the entire thing as ‘so pure,’ adding:

I love that everyone is so invested in #Cinderblock’s journey. I have spent the last hour scrolling through Northshore Veterinary Hospital’s Instagram & it hasn’t been time wasted.

Cinder-block – who was previously just called Cinder until the vets ‘added block because she’s fat,’ according to Kiffney – is currently being cared for by the vet, who is handling her strict weight loss regimen to help ease her joint problems.

The cat weighed 22lbs when she first came to the practice, but it is hoped she will eventually get down to around 12lbs, which will lessen the risk of diabetes and pancreatitis.

Kiffney explained:

Because she’s so heavy, she can’t walk more than a couple steps right now.

Hopefully the exercise regime will work and Cinder-block will soon get down to her goal weight. What a good kitty.

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Lucy Connolly

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).