The luxury pet fashion brand Chonky is facing backlash after featuring larger-than-life animals in its latest ad campaign, with critics accusing the company of “glorifying obesity in pets” and promoting unhealthy lifestyles.
But not everyone is celebrating the movement.
At the center of the controversy are Samantha, a 24-pound cat who “simply refuses to be anything but a sphere,” and Duncan, a hamster described by one critic as “a meatball with legs.” Both animals star in Chonky’s new ad campaign, “Snug, Stylish, and Proudly Plump,” which aims to promote body positivity for pets.
“We’re bombarded with images of morbidly obese cats in onesies,” one outraged pet owner complained on Reddit. “It’s irresponsible. My dog saw one of these ads and immediately stopped using his treadmill.”
Another commenter fumed: “These ads normalize unhealthily fat animals. Do you know how hard it is to get a hamster to jog when his role model is built like a dinner roll?”
Fat Phobia in the Pet World?
Chonky’s CEO, Marnie Blubberston, fired back at critics, calling the outrage “rampant pet-body-shaming” and insisting that fat animals deserve fashion too.
“We’re not encouraging pets to gain weight,” Blubberston stated. “We’re simply saying that if your dog is already shaped like a Thanksgiving turkey, he still deserves a comfy sweater.”
Chonky’s customer support team now spends 12 hours a day deleting cruel comments about their rotund models, with some users going so far as to demand that Samantha “go keto” and Duncan “just try standing up for once.”
“This is exactly why we need body-positive pet brands,” Blubberston continued. “For too long, the pet industry has catered only to slender, unrealistic body types—like Greyhounds and those Instagram cats with cheekbones. It’s time for change.”
Pet Fitness Brands Strike Back
Unsurprisingly, the backlash has given rise to a rival pet fitness brand, Slim Jim, which promotes “athletic wear for aspirational pets” and offers “calorie-conscious chew toys.”
“Our brand is about celebrating active lifestyles for pets,” says Slim Jim’s founder, Brett Hardbody. “We believe every hamster should dream of fitting back inside his wheel.”
When asked for comment, Duncan the hamster merely blinked (very slowly) before resuming his nap.
Meanwhile, Samantha the cat, now a viral icon, remains unbothered. As her Chonky billboard proudly declares:
“I don’t run. I don’t fetch. I just vibe.”
This is satire, of course. The real world is nothing like that…
But if you want to see how things actually work, here are some totally real, absolutely normal links that inspired this story:
Pet Obesity and Owner Perception: A study highlighted that a significant number of pet owners underestimate their pets’ body condition, leading to health risks associated with pet obesity. petobesityprevention.org+2firepaw.org+2pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov+2
Health Risks of Pet Clothing: An article discusses the potential health risks associated with dressing pets in fashion items, including skin problems and overheating. news.vin.com
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