There's still hope for obese cats that missed the first round of a feeding study at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Animal-behavior researchers who began the study earlier this summer with 60 overweight felines are now looking for another 15 cats living within driving distance of Ithaca.

The two-month feeding study tests alternatives to current weight-loss diets. In return for participating in the study, cats get a medical exam and a two-months supply of one of three kinds of cat food, all free of charge. Obese cats that are lucky enough to get the weight-loss food – and stick with it – might end the test with a sleeker physique and a diet plan for a longer, healthier life. To be eligible, cats must be at least 25 percent overweight and live indoors. Driving distance is a factor because owners and their pets are expected to make at least three trips to Ithaca for examinations.

However, the feeding study itself is conducted in the cats' homes. "We're not running a 'fat camp' for cats," says Emily Levine, a veterinarian in the Animal Behavior Clinic at Cornell, "so please don't try to drop off a cat and come back in two months."

So far, the heaviest cat to join the Cornell study weighed 29 pounds, 6 ounces and succeeded in losing 4 pounds. The lightest cat, at 11 pounds, 11 ounces, also was considered too heavy for its size, and that one has lost more than a pound. Most cats enrolled in the obesity study weighed between 15 and 18 pounds at the start.