'Big man with a lot of love:' Fat cat 'Big Lebowski' looking for fur-ever home in DuPage County

WHEATON, Ill. (WLS) -- A fat cat in DuPage County is looking for a fur-ever home.

The staff at DuPage County Animal Services named the 3-year-old feline Big Lebowski. He arrived at the shelter last week after his previous owners gave him up because they were moving.

"(He) loves to cuddle, loves to be brushed, he's a big man with a lot of love," said Dr. Barbara Hanek, with the DuPage County Animal Services.

Since he arrived at the shelter, Big Lebowski has been put on a low carb diet called Catkins.

"He came in at a little over 29 pounds, right now he's a little over 28 pounds," Hanek said. "Weight loss in cats you want to make sure you do it slowly, we don't want to do it too quickly."

Big Lebowksi isn't only losing weight, he's gaining fame. A photo of Big Lebowski, uploaded to the shelter's Facebook page, was shared over 1.7 thousand times in 48 hours, and people around the country are asking to adopt him.

The staff is hoping Big Lebowski's social media status will help other animals at the shelter find forever homes too.

"We're running a special right now for rabbits and kittens, it's a BOGO, buy one get one," Hanek said. "We have a lot of animals that need to be adopted."

The shelter's staff said Big Lebowsk is "a big man with a whole lot of love," and he's good with kids and other cats. Hanek said she would just like see his future family help him lose a few more pounds.

"Luckily we don't adopt per pound, our adoptive fee isn't by weight, so it's just a flat fee of $60, otherwise he would be about $600," Hanek said.

Interested in being Big Lebowski's new owner? Visit DuPage County Animal Services to apply.