This Is Bronson the Cat — He’s Nearly 30 Pounds, Has Thumbs, and Is About to Be Your New Obsession

When Bronson the cat met his new owners, Mike and Megan, he weighed 33 pounds and was in their local Humane Society shelter because his previous owner had passed away. Because Mike and Megan were drawn to Bronson immediately and fell in love with him just as quickly, they were committed to adopting Bronson to help him get healthy. Nearly nine months later, Bronson is well on his way to hitting his goals.

"When we adopted him, they asked us to wait on switching his food because of the stress of moving into his new home," Mike told POPSUGAR. "For the first couple of months, his weight loss was minimal because of needing to wean him off of his kibble and onto his grain-free, meat-based wet food diet. We took him into his vet right after we brought him home and had they gave us an exact number of calories to give him daily. It's been a bit tricky keeping track of his calories, because we have three other cats that are used to sharing food. Since we brought him home, he's lost a total of 5.4 pounds and we're really hoping things continue in this direction."

Since adopting Bronson — who happens to be a polydactyl cat, meaning he has pronounced thumbs in addition to his paws! — Mike and Megan have been sharing his progress on his Instagram account, @iambronsoncat. "Bronson's accumulated a large following, and they are amazingly supportive, give us advice, share their stories, and cheer him on. We really want to use the account to help raise awareness to feline obesity and the importance of a proper diet."

See some photos of Bronson below, from the early days after his adoption to now!