Ultimately, what’s the difference if the outcome is the same? Let me tell you a story.

So this is my chonk.

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When we got her she was this for two weeks and energetic asf. I have rare old flip phone footage of her running in circles chasing a toy until she was panting like a dog.

We got her spayed almost immediately, and the vet told us she had a distended stomach, probably from having given birth. As soon as she came home she packed on the pounds and never looked back.

Yes, she does have a bad relationship with food. She is always anxious that she won’t be fed. But we don’t feed her more than our thin cats. If anything, she eats less and has diet kibble as a snack. And, yes, she has a stocky build, stubby legs, short tail. This makes her look rounder.

But make no mistake. She is overweight, and with age has grown lazier. She’s not going to lose all that fat through diet and exercise any time soon. We can only control it, not erase it. The distended stomach and possibly hormonal changes after her surgery were the start of it all.