By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The winner of the “Biggest Cat in Kosciusko County” contest is Scooter of Winona Lake, weighing in at a whopping 33.5 lb. Scooter’s owners are John and Connie Kaiser. 

Scooter is 4 years old. The Kaisers describe Scooter as “very playful, super affectionate and “the biggest cuddler.” Connie said he is most excited to play with his light laser and catnip toys. 

“He always finds one of us to snuggle up to, but his most favorite human is John. Scooter is John’s lap cat. One of his best attributes is that he likes to welcome us and any of our visitors at the door,” Connie said. “We call him our welcoming committee. He’s so happy to see us and greets us when we first arrive home.”

The Kaisers rescued Scooter when he was 3 weeks old and had been abandoned by his mother.

“We quickly bonded with him when he was so tiny – small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. We bottle fed him every three to four hours to give him a chance at life,” Connie said. “He would clutch on to the bottle and support it himself with his hind feet. It was the cutest.”

Scooter was thriving and growing, but then one morning John was carrying an armful of boxes and didn’t see Scooter running between his feet. He felt horrible when he realized he had accidentally stepped on the kitten. Scooter sustained injuries to his jaw, to the extent that it was uncertain if he would be able to eat again. 

“With exceptional care from our vet, he was able to recover from his injuries and slowly started eating. Quite possibly the reason for his size is because he thought maybe he’d never eat again,” Connie said. “We always joke about cats having nine lives because Scooter has already used two of them.”

Second place honors go to Pumpkin, with a weight of 23.6 lb. Pumpkin belongs to Jerry “Happy” Auer of Warsaw.

Pumpkin is nearly 10. According to Auer, he found him while taking a walk on Country Club Road. 

“We witnessed a van stop and literally dump him. He was extremely scared and we struggled to catch him. After heading home, he got away and ran into some bushes,” Auer said. “We could not retrieve him, so the next day, we went back to the place where he fled. He was still there, crying, and we got him home. He ate us out of house and home. He would be the perfect,  spoiled outdoor cat for our country home.”

Several days later, Pumpkin disappeared. He showed up later with a broken leg and a broken tooth. Auer spent $2,000 to have the leg repaired and the tooth pulled.

“He was definitely a house cat then,” Auer said. “He had a rough kitten-hood, but he was babied for some time with the healing of the leg. His surgery has been a success.”

Pumpkin now lives with his cat and dog companions and enjoys eating. He loves playing with his puppy brother, Solace.

“He is my lap cat and great friend,” Auer said. “He definitely is a blessing and a joy to my life.”

Gus, weighing 23.3 lb., nabbed the third place spot. Gus belongs to Ryan and Shannon Seale, Winona Lake.

“I adopted Gus and his sister when they were kittens from the Zimmer Biomet classifieds,” Shannon said. “They are 6 years old. Gus was chunky even as a kitten (his original name was ‘Pig’).”

Shannon said his name draws inspiration from both Augustus Gloop of “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” and from Gus Gus, the fat mouse from “Cinderella.”

“His favorite pastimes are laying on us (as close to our faces as he can get), playing fetch with rubber bracelets or hair ties, getting belly rubs and, well – eating, obviously,” Shannon said. “He’s very sweet and makes friends with anyone who is willing to pet or play with him.”

Parker, who belongs to Kim Brown, came in fourth. 

According to Brown, Parker was named after Spiderman because he likes to catch spiders. He is a 2-year-old Maine Coon. 

“He has a great personality – very kind and gentle, except when he wants to race his brother, Rosco, around the yard,” Brown said. “At first he runs on his hind legs to get his brother revved up, then he is on all fours like a dynamo. He runs extremely fast until he tires out.”

Approximately 40 contestants entered the competition. Five finalists were selected and agreed to attend the official weigh-in; however, one was not in attendance at that time, resulting in only four contestants being awarded prizes.

The four finalists were officially weighed in at Animal Medical Center, located at 207 W. Winona Ave., Warsaw, Thursday, Dec. 15.  

The contest was held by The Papers Inc. to find the largest domestic cat in the county — similar to a competition held 100 years ago.

Prizes were generously donated by PetSmart, Paws and Claws & Company, The Underground Hound and Lake City Animal Health & Wellness Center, all of Warsaw, Lakeland Animal Clinic, of Syracuse, and Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce.

The Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County received a $500 donation from The Papers Inc, with $250 donated in the first place winner’s name, $150 donated in the second place winner’s name and $100 donated in the third place winner’s name.

We would like to extend a special “Thank you” to all of the organizations who donated prizes, to Animal Medical Center of Warsaw for offering to perform the official weigh-in for the contest and to Margaret Kahn at AMC for her help with the weigh-in process.

The Papers Inc., InkFreeNews and all sponsors associated with the contest encourage pet owners to provide regular veterinary care for their pets and to follow their veterinarian’s recommendations regarding nutrition and healthy weight.

Honorable mentions include:

• Tad, 22 lb.
  Marilyn Cassell
  North Webster
• Cooper, 21.8 lb.
  Denise Watkins
  Pierceton
• Reba Jean, 21 lb.
  Heather Lewis
  Cromwell
• Killer, 23.6 lb.
  Robyn Plank, Daniel Lyons, Kim Harden
  North Webster
• Mister, 20 lb.
  Pam Jack
  Leesburg
• Ivan, 22.88 lb.
  Lori McOscar
  Warsaw
• Pixie, 23 lb.
  Christina Hoover
  Warsaw 
• Max, 21.9 lb.
  Charlie and Mary Mills
  Warsaw
• Tyrone, 21.1 lb.
  Kassie Perzanowski-Wolf
  Syracuse
• Doug, 23 lb.
  Jennifer Sales
  Warsaw
• Barnabus 22.8 lb.
  Donita Raypholtz
  Pierceton
• Roc, 20.6 lb.
  Tabitha Temple
  Warsaw