Overweight Russian cat, Crumbs, dies during weight loss training due to undiagnosed tumours under fat layers

Crumbs, the beloved overweight cat who was rescued from a Russian hospital and placed in a weight loss camp, died on Oct. 26, 2024 after vets failed to spot cancerous tumours under his layers of flab.

The Matroskin shelter, where Crumbs was being cared for, shared the news via its Telegram group on Oct. 27, 2024.

The shelter owners wrote: "Kroshik [Crumbs] passed away last night. This news echoes with a ringing emptiness in the heart."

Crumbs weighed 17kg at his heaviest.

Possible multiple organ collapse

According to The Mirror, vets had found tumours on Crumbs' spleen and lungs, which may have triggered a "multiple-organ collapse".

The shelter owners wrote on their Telegram message:

"Separately, each of Kroshik's illnesses is not so terrible. But terrible obesity and internal bleeding did their job..."

Galiana More, the owner of the shelter where Crumbs was being cared for, reportedly told Russian media that the cat had started suffocating on Oct. 26, and was placed in an oxygen chamber in the clinic.

For two hours, vets had tried to keep Crumbs alive in the chamber, ensuring he could continue to breathe.

However, Crumbs did not make it.

As Crumbs had managed to lose 3kg while at the shelter, she said that vets were able to detect via ultrasound sensors that tumours had formed on Crumbs' spleen.

The exact cause of Crumbs' death has yet to be confirmed.

More added:

"When this is a large set of such multi-organ failure, the body simply cannot cope, despite the fact that Kroshik was really a fighter. We are looking ahead to starting an examination, to understand why Crumbs died but we will have to wait for five days for that conclusion."

How Crumbs got so fat

Crumbs was rescued from a Russian hospital and transferred to Matroskin shelter, where he was undergoing a weight loss programme.

The tabby cat had been fed a diet of crackers and soup by well-meaning hospital staff, leading to him putting on excess weight.

The shelter previously added that Crumbs had so much fat that the vet could not do an ultrasound on him as the sensors simply could not work.

To ensure Crumbs would lose that extra weight, a special diet and exercise regime was created for him at the weight loss camp, including hydrotherapy and kinesiotherapy.

Crumbs again popped up in the news after he staged a daring escape from the shelter, only to end up wedged in a shoe rack.

Top photo from matroskin_prm/Instagram & Мысли реабилитолога VetRehab-DogMas/Telegram.