This big sweetie is Patches the cat, who weighs a whopping 2st 9lbs (18.2kg) – about the same as the average four-year-old.

The average weight of a domestic cat, depending on the breed, is around 10lbs, and adorable Patches is four times that amount.

Poor Patches was put up for adoption by his previous owners, but he wasn’t waiting for a new home for long.

It only took one day for retiree Kay Ford to snap him up after she saw pictures of him posted online, and she said she knew right away he was the cat for her.

Kay said: ‘I saw the picture of Patches and I just knew immediately I needed to go and get him.

‘I knew that there were going to be nine billion people who were falling in love with him at the same time.’

We certainly have.

Richmond Animal Care and Control, in Richmond, Virginia, US took him in on 4 and put the big fella on a diet.

Staff there appealed for a home for Patches on social media after he’d been with them for 15 days

The post read: ‘Did you wake up today and say “let’s adopt the largest cat anyone has ever seen?”

‘If so, we have the cat for you. Meet Patches, all 40.3 pounds of him.

‘He’s been on a very special diet, is on an exercise plan, and is very sweet.

‘He’s neutered, tested, chipped and ready to go.’

Kay, who has another cat called Wellesley, doesn’t live far from the charity, so she was able to get in there and claim Patches fast, meeting him within just a couple of hours.

Kay said: ‘He started purring right away.

‘You just look at him and you go “That’s my cat”.’