Prince Chunk

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}

{{Short description|Domestic shorthair cat, known for his heavy weight}}

{{Infobox animal

| name = Prince Chunk

| image = Prince Chunk.jpg

| caption =

| birth_name = Powder

| othername = Powder, Princess Chunk, Captain Chunk

| species = Tabby cat

| breed =

| gender = Male

| birth_date = 1998{{cite web|url=http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080731/NEWS01/80731011/1006|title=Owner comes forward for Princess Chunk (or is it Prince Chunk?)|date=July 31, 2008|work=Courier-Post|accessdate=July 31, 2008}}

| birth_place = Voorhees, New Jersey, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and given age|2010|11|21|12}}

| death_place = Voorhees, New Jersey

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| relativeage =

| occupation =

| years_active =

| known =

| awards =

| owner = Donna Damiani

| parents =

| children =

| weight = 44 lbs (20 kg) (around 22 lbs (10 kg) before death)

| height =

| appearance =

| namedafter =

| website =

}}

Prince Chunk (also known as Princess Chunk and Captain Chunk, real name: Powder) (1998 – November 21, 2010) was a domestic shorthair cat, who at one time was alleged to weigh 44 pounds (20 kg), a world record. He was found in Voorhees, New Jersey, on July 26, 2008, by Animal Control, who nicknamed him "Captain Chunk". After a search for his owner, it was found that his name was Powder and that he was abandoned by Donna Oklatner, an elderly Voorhees resident. Oklatner claimed she could not afford to take care of the cat when she lost her home in foreclosure proceedings.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/fat-cats-owner-found-lost-home-to-foreclosure|title=Fat Cat's Owner Found; Lost Home to Foreclosure|date=July 31, 2008|work=FOXNews.com|access-date=July 31, 2008}}

He was later adopted from the Camden County Animal Shelter in New Jersey by Donna Damiani of Blackwood, New Jersey,{{Cite web|title=Famously large cat Prince Chunk dies in New Jersey|url=https://ew.com/article/2010/11/27/prince-chunk-dies/|access-date=June 26, 2020|website=EW.com|language=EN}} and in August 2008 his weight was already down to 22 pounds.{{cite news |date=August 28, 2008 |title=Not So Chunk-y? New Owner Says Fat Cat's Weight Is Down to 22 Pounds |newspaper=New York Daily News |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2008/08/28/not-so-chunk-y-new-owner-says-fat-cats-weight-is-down-to-22-pounds/ |url-status=live |accessdate=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231213016/https://www.nydailynews.com/2008/08/28/not-so-chunk-y-new-owner-says-fat-cats-weight-is-down-to-22-pounds/ |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |postscript=. "UPDATED: January 12, 2019": Text unchanged from original: web.archive.org/web/20080831091912/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/08/28/2008-08-28_not_so_chunky_new_owner_says_fat_cats_we.html but byline missing. Audio added. URL changed.}}

According to the Guinness World Records, the largest tabby cat was forty-six pounds and fifteen ounces.{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/26137629.html|title=Vet: 44-pound cat is a he; real name 'Powder'|date=July 31, 2008|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|accessdate=July 31, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=June 2010}} Since then, the publishers have dropped the category to prevent deliberate overfeeding and possible harm to cats.{{Cite news|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2015/8/60-years-on-the-categories-that-guinness-world-records-no-longer-monitors-393758|title=60 years on, the categories that Guinness World Records no longer monitors|date=2015-08-26|work=Guinness World Records|access-date=2017-03-30|language=en-GB}}

He made television appearances on Live with Regis and Kelly, Good Morning America, Fox News, and MSNBC, based on his reported weight, but reliable sources of the cat's definitive weight in July 2008 are not available. One paper reported that "shelter officials said they were perplexed by the discrepancy", after the Damiani family found that the cat weighed just over 22 pounds, "days after" receiving him.{{cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Rich |date=March 14, 2009 |title=Famed Fat Cat Chunk Still Living (and Eating) Like a King |newspaper=New York Daily News |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2009/03/14/famed-fat-cat-chunk-still-living-and-eating-like-a-king/ |url-status=live |accessdate=June 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231215108/https://www.nydailynews.com/2009/03/14/famed-fat-cat-chunk-still-living-and-eating-like-a-king/ |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |postscript=. "UPDATED: January 11, 2019": Text slightly changed from original web.archive.org/web/20100613013657/https://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/03/14/2009-03-14_famed_fat_cat_chunk_still_living_and_eat.html, byline missing. Audio added. URL changed.}} The Damiani family later founded the Prince Chunk Foundation, a nonprofit that allows people to keep their pets in difficult financial situations by giving them free pet food and vet care.{{Cite web |last=Schapiro |first=Rich |date=March 14, 2009 |title=Prince Chunk Foundation, Named after Fat Tabby, Gives Free Vet Care, Food to Struggling Pet Owners |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2010/06/08/prince-chunk-foundation-named-after-fat-tabby-gives-free-vet-care-food-to-struggling-pet-owners/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231225624/https://www.nydailynews.com/2010/06/08/prince-chunk-foundation-named-after-fat-tabby-gives-free-vet-care-food-to-struggling-pet-owners/ |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |access-date=December 31, 2023 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=. "UPDATED: April 9, 2018": Text unchanged from original: archive.org/web/20180616153521/https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/pets/prince-chunk-foundation-named-fat-tabby-free-vet-care-food-struggling-pet-owners-article-1.181767. Audio added. URL changed.}}

Prince Chunk died in his sleep on November 21, 2010, due to heart disease.{{cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Rich |date=November 26, 2010 |orig-date= |title=Prince Chunk, New Jersey Cat that Weighed as much as 44 pounds, Dies |newspaper=New York Daily News |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2010/11/26/prince-chunk-new-jersey-cat-that-weighed-as-much-as-44-pounds-dies/ |url-status=live |accessdate=December 31, 2023 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231195828/https://www.nydailynews.com/2010/11/26/prince-chunk-new-jersey-cat-that-weighed-as-much-as-44-pounds-dies/ |archivedate=December 31, 2023 |postscript=. "UPDATED: January 11, 2019": Text unchanged from original: web.archive.org/web/20101130043005/http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/2010/11/26/2010-11-26_prince_chunk_famed_new_jersey_cat_that_weighed_as_much_as_44_pounds_dies.html but byline missing. Audio added. URL changed.}}