'Real life Garfield:' Obese Grand Rapids cat goes viral

Meet Bronson, or what some are calling, 'real life Garfield.' Not only is he polydactyl meaning he has thumbs, but he's also tipping the scale at nearly 30 pounds.

"We're aiming for a half a pound a month," owner Michael Wilson said.

Wilson is familiar with the feline lifestyle.

"We have four cats all together," Wilson said.

He and girlfriend Megan Hanneman design wall-mounted cat furniture.

"We ended up getting our first cat and then building a couple things for him, and then from there just building on and kind of continuing," Wilson said.

The couple decided to take on a new project, adopting Bronson and helping him lose weight.

"I think seeing him and feeling like a little bit sorry for him, but also how amazing he looked I mean just bigger than anything we'd ever seen before," Wilson said.

The West Michigan Humane Society says the three-year-old cat didn't have any health issues, well, except for being overweight.

"He kind of grew a full cat every year of his life," Megan Hanneman said.

With a new diet and some much needed play time, Bronson is well on his way to losing weight.

"He's on 375 calories a day right now," Wilson said. "His owner passed away, so we're not 100 percent sure why he got really big."

One thing's for sure, Bronson loves to eat.

"In the middle of the night he wakes us up wanting food," Wilson said.

The couple is sharing Bronson's weight loss journey online.

"We thought it would be fun to have an Instagram documenting his weight loss, so all of his fans could see over time as he's shedding the pounds," Wilson said.

The cat couple said they're up for the challenge.

"He's a good cat, we like him a lot, like right now we can't even imagine our lives without him," Wilson and Hanneman said.

To follow Bronson's journey on Instagram, search for the handle: @IamBronsonCat.

Bronson starts every morning with downward cat. 🧘‍♂️ . . . . #skinnylegend #getbronsonskinny #gobronsongo #bronsonthecat #weightloss #weightlossjourney #weightlossmotivation #weightlosstransformation #catstagram #cats_of_world #catsofinstagram #cats_of_instagram #gato_cats #cat_features #catstagramcat #excellent_cats #bestmeow #catyoga

A post shared by  Bronson the cat (@iambronsoncat) on Aug 15, 2018 at 1:12pm PDT

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