Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

The world’s fattest Lynx used in the advertising for an American fast-food chain after putting on weight when he was neutered and lost interest in sex has died.

Instead of chasing females, Rufus had preferred to lie around all day, or steal the food from his family members, leaving him with the title “the world’s fattest Lynx”.

Schweinfurt Wildlife Park in the southern German state of Bavaria announced his death this week, and revealed that he did not die because of his obesity, but because of a heart condition linked to his age.

Local media report that Rufus, who was 15 years old, was put to sleep on Wednesday after suffering from shortness of breath due to the heart disease that had plagued him for months.

In the past few days, they said, his health had deteriorated dramatically despite veterinary treatment.

After consulting with vets, the park’s management finally decided it was time to free Rufus from his suffering.

Rufus became famous around the world because of his obesity. The American fast food chain “Pluckers Wing Bar” chose the fat cat as their advertising face and published a photo of “Rufus” on their Facebook page.

They captioned their picture: “Me with a belly full of wings wondering if I should order fried Oreos.”

Rufus had been neutered and Thomas Leier, the park’s manager, was quoted in 2018 as saying that Rufus was “quite relaxed” because “where there is no testosterone, there is no sex”.

Rufus was known for lying around and not moving much, as well as stealing food from his family members, which is why he became so overweight.

Despite his great size, Rufus was reportedly in great health until just a few months ago.

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