Bazooka, the portly 35-pound cat, arrives at NC animal shelter

GARNER, N.C. -- He is big, bad and, much like his namesake, Bazooka makes a powerful statement.

The 35-pound orange tabby arrived at the Wake County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Raleigh, N.C., in a rather regal way this week.

He was carried down the hallway like a king. It took two people to chauffeur him into a facility.

"They alerted us to Bazooka here and once we saw the pictures we were like 'we have to get this kitty,'" said SPCA spokesperson Darci Vanderslik.

The portly cat came from one of SPCA Wake's valued transfer partners in Davidson County, about two hours away.

The 5-year-old feline used to live with a senior citizen who had dementia. The SPCA believes the owner kept feeding the cat, forgetting that he already ate.

Bazooka is now receiving care with a trained foster family. He is getting medical treatment and starting on his weight loss journey.

"Thirty-five pounds is a lot of weight for a cat so we're really hoping we can get him down 20 pounds, 25 pounds, even lighter than that," said Vanderslik. "One step at a time."

"Because of your support, we're giving this big boy a new life," the non-profit wrote on its Facebook page.

Bazooka is scheduled to move into his forever home Monday.