Tiddles

Tiddles, also known as the Paddington Station cat, (1970–1983) was a tabby-and-white cat who spent most of his life in the ladies' room at Paddington Station, in London. Constantly fed choice meats, including titbits from his admirers, he became famously fat.

For other uses, see Tiddles (disambiguation).

On a cold morning in 1970, Tiddles was adopted as a six-week-old stray kitten by June Watson, an attendant in the ladies' room at Paddington Station.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Women began to come to visit him there.[7] In addition to fan letters, Christmas presents and a Christmas tree,[6] Tiddles received food from many of his admirers, which was stored in his personal refrigerator; some posted food to him.[1][8] As a result of his high-fat, high-calorie diet of delicacies such as chicken livers, kidneys, rabbit, and steak, the frequent titbits from admirers, and lack of exercise, Tiddles became very fat.[2][9][10] By 1982, he weighed 30 pounds (14 kg) and won the title of 'London Fat Cat Champion'.[2][11] He was one of the most famous fat cats[3][5] (ironic because he was "anything but 'tiddly'"[12]). He was filmed by a Canadian camera crew, featured in foreign magazines,[3] and in 1993, painted by Frances Broomfield.[13]

Attempts to reduce his weight did not work because his fans continued to overfeed him. He eventually weighed 32 pounds (15 kg)[14] and "resemble[d] a beach ball with fur."[11] Tiddles was euthanised in 1983 after veterinarians found fluid around his lungs.[9]

References
  1. Sam Stall, 100 Cats who Changed Civilization: History's Most Influential Felines, Philadelphia: Quirk, 2007, ISBN 9781594741630 , pp. 136–37, p. 136.
  2. Anthony Lambert, Lambert's Railway Miscellany, London: Ebert, 2010, ISBN 9780091937713, p. 13.
  3. Gerald L. Wood, Guinness Book of Pet Records, Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives, 1984 /Sterling, 1985, ISBN 9780851122755, pp. 75–76.
  4. "The Paddington Cat", in Philip Wood (ed.), A Passion for Cats, The Cats Protection League, Newton Abbot / North Pomfret, Vermont: David & Charles, 1987, ISBN 9780715389713, p. 92.
  5. Michael Zullo, Cat Astrology: The Complete Guide to Feline Horoscopes, rev. ed. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 2001, ISBN 9780740718687, p. 22.
  6. Joan Palmer, All About Cats, London: Ward Lock, 1986, ISBN 9780706362978, pp. 23–24.
  7. Jayne R. Smith, "Innocent Abroad: The English Teacher in England", The English Journal 72.3, March 1983, pp. 80–85, p. 81 (online at JSTOR, subscription required), recommending visiting him when passing through London and giving his weight as 28 lb.
  8. "Fat Animals", The Week, 8 September 2010 (with picture).
  9. Sarah Hartwell, Overweight and Obese Cats, MessyBeast.com cat resource archive, updated 2011, retrieved 24 September 2012 (with picture).
  10. Amanda O'Neill, Cat Biz: A Compendium of Amazing Facts and Anecdotes from the Cat World, Dorking: Interpet, 2006; Hauppauge, New York: Barron's, 2007, ISBN 9780764134678, p. 88.
  11. Stall, p. 137.
  12. Adrian Room, The Naming of Animals: An Appellative Reference to Domestic, Work, and Show Animals, Real and Fictional, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1993, ISBN 9780899507958, p. 130.
  13. Tiddles, 1993 (oil and tempera on panel), reproduced from a postcard at Patrick Roberts, "Tiddles of Paddington Station, London", Working Felines: Rail Station Cats 2, Purr 'n' Fur, 2009, retrieved 15 December 2015.
  14. "Rising concern over feline obesity", Cat Watch, 1 January 2006 (Online at Highbeam, subscription required).

Further reading
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