I have to lose a few me-ounces! Maverick the 22-POUND moggy goes on a diet

It's taken a while, but Maverick the morbidly obese moggy has finally decided to tackle his weight problem - by taking part in the pet version of The Biggest Loser.

The long-haired cat from Edinburgh tips the scales at 22.5lb (10.5kg) - more than twice his ideal weight - but is now fighting the flab in a dieting contest.

He faces heavy competition from 9.3kg feline Fifi Bottomley, a roast dinner-loving Labrador from Staffordshire, who was too heavy to have an X-ray, a border collie from the Wirral whose excess pounds exacerbate his arthritis and a Wakefield rabbit named Samantha who weighs more than an average cat.          Read More