Tiny Tim, Fat Cat, On Diet But Still (Adorable) Battling Weight Issues

Hey, it's not funny! Tiny Tim has a problem.

The ridiculously cute Texas kitty -- who weighed in at 36 pounds just before Christmas in 2011 -- is down to 28.6 pounds this year, but he has a long way to go, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"Because he was so huge, he had trouble walking, he had trouble standing," Southside Place Animal Hospital manager Debbie Green told ABCNews.com.

The 9-year-old "super sweet cat," abandoned last year, has been taken care of at the hospital. He's been put on a strict diet after it was determined that he was healthy but about as obese as a pussy can get.

Since then, he's lost 20 percent of his body weight through a sensible meal plan and a long, arduous 50-foot walk each day from the front of the clinic to his room for chow time.

That path hasn't been easy. At one point this year, Tiny Tim stopped losing weight. Doctors couldn't figure it out, until they realized the error of their ways: letting him sleep in the pantry.

"At night, he was feeding himself because his little measured amounts would run out," Green said.

The food was moved up, and Tiny Tim got back on track. He's now running around more -- despite arthritis problems -- and enjoying the attention from hospital guests.

It's a happy story in a world of sad tales for fat cats. Meow, the 40-pound orange and white tabby, died earlier this year of lung failure. He did, however, raise awareness about obesity in pets before he passed in New Mexico, the Los Angeles Times points out.