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OTTAWA, Ontario (CTV News) - A Canadian cat has become a TikTok star as he works to slim down from weighing 43 pounds.

When Kristine Seguin, the director of the Ferdinand and Friends Animal Rescue Network, rescued a cat named Axel Biggie Smalls, she put him on a diet and exercise plan.

“He was 43 pounds when we took him in, so he was four times the size of the average cat,” Seguin said.

When Axel Biggie Smalls was rescued, he weighed 43 pounds. Through a diet and exercise plan,... — When Axel Biggie Smalls was rescued, he weighed 43 pounds. Through a diet and exercise plan, he has lost 10 pounds since February.(Source: Kristine Seguin, CTV Network via CNN)

Seguin and her family are now sharing Axel’s weight loss journey on TikTok. He has lost 10 pounds since February, which Seguin says is “incredible.”

“Our goal is not only weight loss but being a cat: getting to jump on things, getting to enjoy things. I mean, he’s only 7 years old. He still has a lot of time left in his life, and we want to make sure he gets to enjoy that,” Seguin said.

Axel clearly loves food. While he’s been shedding the pounds, he does occasionally get “hangry,” like anyone on a diet.

“That’s when he claws at you. Sometimes he’ll try and steal food from other cats, so we’ve had to really be creative about where we feed the other cats in the house,” Seguin said.

While it’s not clear how Axel got so big, his owners say the cat was probably fed human food.

“We didn’t get much backstory, but when I’m cooking pizza, anything with cheese, he’s begging. He’s clawing at me. So, I’m assuming he got human food because he wouldn’t really eat cat food when he came,” Seguin said.

Seguin and her family hope to raise awareness about pet obesity through their TikTok videos. They also want to raise funds for the rescue Axel came from.

“I’ve fostered hundreds of cats, and he’s just like a toddler. He’s one of mine now, so he’s part of our family,” Seguin said.

The hope is for Axel to lose another 10 to 15 pounds over the next year.