COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — The refrigerator magnet at Ruth Purvis' house offers this simple statement:
"If you want the best seat in this house, you'll have to move the cat."
But you better think twice before trying, because "Jasper" isn't exactly a lightweight.
In fact, he's a rather rotund tabby cat.
He needs a stool to climb on a bed.
Letting him cuddle up on your lap can hurt.
Jasper, however, will play with a ball of string.
Well, kind of.
"You've got to like do half the work," said Purvis' teenage son Justin. "He doesn't move around that much."
That's what happens when you're a 40-pound cat.
"He was the runt of the litter when I got him," Purvis insists.
But a runt no longer.
Today, 7-year-old Jasper is one of the fattest felines to ever call North Idaho home.
"I've never seen or heard of a 40-pound cat ever before," said James Duchow, owner of Alpine Animal Hospital in Coeur d'Alene. "It's extremely unusual. No one at the clinic has ever seen a cat this large before."
Duchow's examination of Jasper last month included blood tests and an X-ray.
Other than the weight problem, all is well.
"He's a healthy cat in every other regard," Duchow said. "I can't find anything medically wrong with the cat to explain its obesity.
"It just has an incredibly slow metabolism and is genetically predisposed to being obese," he said.
Purvis has watched, in amazement at times, as Jasper has slowly grown into a slow-moving mass of fluff and fur.
"He doesn't jump like he used to jump," she said.
Jasper reached 33 pounds two years ago, then added seven more in one year after going on a special diet that didn't quite work.
His weight has leveled off at an even 40 pounds. But Purvis worries about Jasper's health.
The average cat, after all, weighs about 10 pounds.
"I've had cats all my life. I am such a cat freak. This is the sweetest cat I've had," she said. "The ideal thing for him is to lose weight. I love my cat. I want to keep him."
Purvis was raised in El Paso, Texas, where her mom owned seven cats.
"My mom would always put little presents under the tree for them," she said.
That love of cats runs in the family.
Ruth Purvis has statues of tigers, mountain lions and leopards lining the shelves in her front room.
The list goes on and on as she tries to name all the cats in her life.
"Dogs are so loyal and kind of dependent in a way. Cats are more independent in a way," she explained. "If they don't like you, they are so ready to tell you they don't like you. So when you bond with a cat, it's a really neat experience."
Life-changing, even.
Purvis had her favorite cat "Slick," which died years ago, stuffed. Today, Slick still sits, wide-eyed, peering out at the living room from a top shelf.
"He was a wonderful cat," she said. "It was sad to lose him."
Purvis bought Jasper in a pet store because he reminded her of Slick.
Then, there was no hint the scrawny kitten would eventually become one of the biggest cats in town.
People are incredulous when she says her cat is a 40-pounder.
"Everybody says, 'Yeah right,' " she said.
Duchow was one of those.
"When she first contacted me and said she had a 40-pound cat, I didn't believe it. We hear that all the time. People get them in here, we weigh 'em and they're only 20 pounds," he said.
Purvis said it's not that Jasper eats a lot: about a bowl of diet food each day.
But not surprisingly, Jasper is an indoor type who only occasionally ventures outdoors.
Like most cats, he sleeps 16-18 hours a days.
"He walks. He'll play. He's not sick. He was out with us when we raked, but he doesn't go far," Purvis said.
Both teenage son Justin and his mom have stools near their beds so Jasper, the affectionate type, can climb up at night and curl up for a night's rest.
"It's pretty uncomfortable sometimes," Justin said.
Duchow suggested a special prescription diet, which Jasper is on.
"That's about all you can do," he said. "It's tough to exercise them. You can't really take them for walks."
Still, a little outside activity might help and there's little chance Jasper could run away.
"He wouldn't get very far," Duchow said. "I don't think he could clear a fence or anything."