Food-filching fat cat reunited with owner

20-pound tabby taken to shelter after getting stuck in pet door

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updated 1:17 p.m. ET Jan. 12, 2007

PORTLAND, Ore. - A 20-pound stray cat whose girth got him stuck in a pet door while trying to plunder some dog food was reunited with his owner Thursday.

Owner Geoff Ernest said the tubby tabby Hercules (called Goliath while at the animal shelter) went missing while Ernest was in Seattle for a lung transplant six months ago.

Jadwiga Drozdek, who lives in suburban Portland, found the feline stuck in the dog door of her home a few days ago, helped free him and gave him a plate of food on her patio.

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While at the Humane Society, Hercules was diagnosed with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, similar to HIV in humans.

The society says cats can live years with the virus and still make good pets, but owners should keep them indoors to keep it from spreading.

Veterinarians say about 40 percent of America’s cats are obese, putting them at risk for a variety of diabetes-related disorders.

Hercules, meanwhile, has had his 15 minutes of fame, piling up stacks of hits on YouTube and other Web sites.