Foreclosure victim: Princess Chunk, a fat cat

A couple of people forwarded me links to the story of "Princess Chunk," a 44-pound white cat who has been wandering the streets of New Jersey, a victim of foreclosure.  At first I thought it was some sort of news hoax, the kind of thing you would read in the Onion and forward to friends.

But it's true. WNBC-TV in New York reports the cat -- real name "Powder" --  "became a local media sensation this week and was dubbed "Princess Chunk" -- since it was found on Saturday wandering the southern New Jersey suburb of Voorhees.... In a week with headlines about presidential politics, suicide bombings in Iraq and big baseball trades, the cat has also captured the nation's attention."

New York magazine: "The nationwide mortgage crisis has a new face: Powder, a.k.a. Princess Chunk, the 44-pound orphaned cat from Camden County, New Jersey. The tubby tabby's elderly owner recently contacted animal-control officials — who, in turn, told WNBC — that she can no longer take care of him because she recently lost her home to the bank."

The cat, by the way, is a male.

Now, go ahead and let me have it for jumping the shark, ruining the blog and journalism as we knew it by posting something so over-the-top irrelevant and frivolous. Go ahead, you want to.

--Peter Viles
Photo credit: John Costello / Philadelphia Inquirer

Comments

[Cal]

Here is a radical thought, maybe shave a couple of bucks off the cat food bill and pay the mortgage instead.

I would name him Angelo Meowzilo if I adopted him.

[puckhead]

It's not easy to afford a mortgage payment when you spend $2K a month on cat food.

[peteviles]

Cal and Puckhead -- thanks. Who doesn't like a little cat humor? I'm waiting for the string of dead cat bounce jokes, and hoping someone sees the dead cat bounce-earthquake joke possibilities.

[Bryan Morris]

I don't think this is over the top at all. It actually sheds light on a very real and serious issue - pets being abandoned when "homeowners" lose their homes. According to the Humane Society, it's a growing crisis.

I've got some secondhand experience with it myself. Last February, I sold my then home in Troutdale, OR to a couple who were clearly not cut from home ownership cloth. But they got one of those phoney-baloney mortgages anyway. They decamped in the middle of the night sometime in November and left three cats in the house. The poor animals were locked up in there for weeks until a neighbor broke in and freed them. If you want to see what the did to the house, go to www.rmls.com and look at the pictures for ML# 8055771. I bought the house in 2002 for $187K. I sold it in early 2007 for $262K. It's currently listed "as is" for $200K, but the bank has several offers on it that they are mulling over. The highest one is about $160K.

[Milla]

pete -- pls post more of these stories rather than less, in addition to the good journalism you guys do here. they might be frivolous but they also add some much needed levity. the cat and the crowd both need a little lightening up.

[It All Happens on the Margin]

Add this picture to the montage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=642qxehEcGg

[Sick of it]

Jumping the shark is a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV or movie series at which the characters or plot veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Shows that have "jumped the shark" are typically deemed to have passed their peak, since they have undergone too many changes to retain their original appeal, and after this point critical fans often sense a noticeable decline in the show's quality - I am so sick of this term being used incorrectly and too often.

[The original RZ]

"I would name him Angelo Meowzilo if I adopted him."

Cal, that is the best line I've heard all day!

[peteviles]

"Sick of it" wrote, "Jumping the shark is a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV or movie series at which the characters or plot veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. ... I am so sick of this term being used incorrectly and too often."

Thanks, Sick. That is EXACTLY what I meant when I wrote it. In fact, someone accused me and the blog of jumping the shark earlier this week. I'm anticipating that some readers will find the cat item to be "ridiculous and out-of-the-ordinary"...

[TakeFive]

Jump the shark? Looks like that cat ate the shark. Can you imagine the hair balls that thing must hock up?

Folks, this as a good omen. It illustrates how easy life is in the US. Not only are the poor suffering from an obesity epidemic, so are their pets.

Maybe "Princess Chunk" can get a mascot gig for HomeTown Buffet and get her home back. Lord knows we need more cat houses.

[linda keenan]

powder looks DELICIOUS!
just kidding.
fabulous picture, on various levels.
it's the end of the world! run for your lives!

[LA-renter]

If the elderly owner was responsible...
1) Chunk would not be saddled with his excess liability
2) Chunk would be a former male cat.

Think positive:
Most cats prefer outdoor living over the couped confines of a house... Chunk finally realized freedom! Unfortunately, our gourmand also realizes that opened cans of tuna are not growing on trees.

[xtine]

New formatting problem.

You have the post.
Then a line.
Then the link to comments.
Then the earlier posts with no separator.

The line is in the wrong place. I have to stop myself and find the link to read the comments.

(yes, I know I'm the blog idiot, please fix :)

[Tombstone Realty]

Ah.... If we could only abandon some other Fat Cats into the wilds of IE. The ones in suits, preferably.

"Princess Junk-Stock"

I'd love to adopt a little dog, but there's no apartment that I can afford which allows pets. So I can't get as angry as some people over giving the pets to the shelter - it really is "your family or your pet" out there.

[flip]

how can a white cat have a brown tail? i don't know much about cats. is that normal?

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

I have a feeling my cat might join Princess Chunk soon.

The guy dragged in a mouse from the backyard the other night and didn't finish the job and now I know there is a mouse in the house somewhere.

[Jose]

look at the ears. he's a mixed white/ginger tabby. very common.

big so and so. biggest I saw before this one was my brothers puddy blob, and he only topped out at 26 or so.

[Ace]

Ok, now we know where we stand. This article actually made it on the digg la times top articles of the day. The Greenspan article didn't make it for some reason!

Second, are you saying those articles in the Onion are not real? Jesus Christ is not returning to the NBA?

Whatever. Your favorite band sucks and my local sports team is way superior to yours.

-Area Man

[bored employees]

They should name the cat "dirt nap", because at that weight thats what its going to be taking soon..... going to play in the big catbox in the sky.....

[angryrenter]

Mr. Viles, When I first found your blog a few months ago, I was looking for a place where ideas were exchanged, a forum that perhaps had concerned and informed participants of society collectively looking at a situation from all angles and striving for a solution. I thought that there would be an honest exchange of information based on experience and an earnest effort towards helping each other through this mess. What I found instead, were some pretty cold people that don't really care about what is happening to our community or to the people in it. This "let it burn" mentality is what got us here in the first place. Peoples greed and disregard for financialy sound life-choices, although a personal path that one must eventually learn from, affects us all. a few months ago a young lady purchased her first home...I think her name was milla or something...the way all of you treated her choices with total disdain and almost contempt was just deplorable. The Obamaton crack is what sent me over the edge...but I realize that we all have different points of view and beliefs on how we will recover from this. When I asked if a blog could jump the shark...my intention was not to offend you or suffer the wrath of sickofit...I simply wanted to know...did this blog start out as something good for all of us to use? Did it evolve into the two camps? Shockg VS. E, laker, etc. etc. or was it always intended to be divisive and counter-productive?

[BottomFisher]

Did they give the cat a Liar Loan?? Now I've heard everything! Poor kitty.

[TakeFive]

Mr. Viles, When I first found your blog …blah, blah, blah…some pretty cold people …blah, blah,…"let it burn" …blah… Peoples greed…blah… her name was milla or something...blah… Obamaton …blah… jump the shark...blah…

Hey Angryrenter – I hear Ted Kaczynski’s shack is available to rent.

[Milla]

angryrenter: thanks for the support! my honey always says the internet is a bathroom wall. scribble your note and then move on to the next truck stop. i say if you keep your expectations low, you'll never be disappointed.

this is just a blog on the internet. it can be nice (you) or nasty (them), but it's ultimately still a blog on the internet.

[Laker]

This cat symbolizes the RE bubble. During the last 6-9 years price went wild and appreciation was 20-30% annually. This fits this cat that had gotten so fat as the price of a house. However, it is not sustainable. If this cat happens to find a good responsible family, they will feed him right and he will get back to normal dimensions.
As the economy will feed the housing market right, and prices will return to fundamentals.
Ultra fat can == over inflated house price.
The owner of the cat must have cash refinanced the house to but food for this cat...As soon as the Cash ATM machine closed, they dump the cat to bounce.
I hope the cat lives happy ever after, and finds a new home. I hope the foreclosed owner finds a nice rental for the rest of their life!
Losers!

[l.a.guy]

Shouldn't the feline be adopted collectively by congress and become the masscat... uh... mascot for all the fat cats up on the hill?

As for "jumping the shark"; I don't think there's a rigid definition for what it means. It's in reference to a Happy Days episode where Fonzi jumped over a shark on water skis and was regarded as the nadir of the series by many. I don't think the phrase is reserved exclusively for criticizing television shows. I think it's funny that a show like Happy Days became the inspiration for a colloquialism.