Alison Sullivan
It’s very hard for humans to motivate themselves to work out, so imagine what it’s like for a cat. Cats pretty much just enjoy sleeping and jumping on your head in the middle of the night, which isn’t super cardio heavy. A chubby kitty is fun to squeeze, but at a certain point, they get too big to wake you up with a thump, and then it’s time to see a vet or put them on a regimen, because they definitely won’t do it on their own.
A cat named Cinderblock has been struggling very publicly with this exact problem. Cinderblock’s story started out a bit sad: she was surrendered to a vet in her town and declared clinically obese.
The facility is called Northshore Veterinary Hospital, in Belingham, Washington, according to Huffpost, and they gained a lot of attention after posting a short video of Cinderblock standing on the farthest edge of a treadmill, one paw moving, and meowing angrily.
“Are you working out?” a man’s voice asks her. Her miserable face indicates she is.
People find Cinderblock’s reluctance to get fit extremely relatable. The treadmill sucks, we all know it and so does this cat. The Instagram video made it’s way to Twitter, and everyone pounced on it like Cinderblock with hopefully one day be able to again:
I'm emotional invested in a cat's weight loss journey on instagram. We will get through this, Cinderblock. pic.twitter.com/4qt8x4pv4u
— Jennifer Truong (@uniThy) October 25, 2019
Omg what if you met someone named Cindy and found out it was short for Cinderblock. https://t.co/OMhTYX5H1s
— sarah schauer ? (@SJSchauer) October 27, 2019
me trying my hardest pic.twitter.com/92N28PO5MO
— siân (@sharnacious) October 23, 2019
IN THIS HOUSE WE CHEER ON CINDERBLOCK YOU GOT THIS BB DO THAT WORKOUT pic.twitter.com/VNbyFBKLOO
— ?️?Sweetntreat ? AnthroNorthwest19?️? (@smolpinkcat) October 26, 2019
Can we please keep getting updates of Cinderblock's progress? She is the most precious thing in my life now
— Stuti Verma (@_stuti) October 26, 2019
You can get updates on Cinderblock, because the Northshore has been posting more about how Cinderblock is doing and how they’re encouraging her to get back to her jumping weight. They play with her and scatter her kibble so she has to work for it a little harder. Is that what I should do with potato chips for myself?
They also pet her, don’t worry:
The medical director of Northshore Veterinary Hospital Brita Kiffney told HuffPost that Cinderblock is a great cat when she’s not on the treadmill, saying “Extremely affectionate, she purrs whenever you talk to her, she’s very sweet.”
And she has started to master her workout routine:
A update on Cinderblock she finally walking pic.twitter.com/P6VsrKKd4L
— Oregon I.T. Not IT⚾ (@OregonProgress) October 26, 2019
A fitness icon:
Go, Cinderblock, go! We are all rooting for you…from the couch.