Tiny Tim, Houston's fat cat, succumbs to cancer

Dr. Alice Frei, owner of Southside Place Animal Hospital, called Tiny Tim "the star who doesn't know he's a star." The beloved feline died Friday at the clinic after losing his battle with cancer. Dr. Alice Frei, owner of Southside Place Animal Hospital, called Tiny Tim "the star who doesn't know he's a star." The beloved feline died Friday at the clinic after losing his battle with cancer. Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Tiny Tim, Houston's fat cat, succumbs to cancer 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Tiny Tim, a Houston cat whose long journey to lose weight was cut short by an aggressive cancer, died Friday at the clinic where he lived.

Diagnosed in mid-January, the cat everyone called Tiny had been living comfortably with the disease until the last couple of days, said Dr. Alice Frei, owner of Southside Place Animal Hospital.

"This morning he ate a little breakfast, tottered up front and sat down and just stopped breathing," Frei said. "We gave him oxygen and started CPR, but we couldn't get him back."

Rather than continue efforts to revive the 28-pound tabby, Frei said, she decided to let him die with dignity.

"If there's anything you can take out of this that's good, it's that he didn't go through a long, protracted deterioration," she said.

Tiny came to the southwest Houston clinic in late December 2011 after workers from the city's animal shelter picked him up on the street.

At the time, he weighed 35 pounds. Through diet and exercise, he lost about 8 pounds and gained a Facebook following for his efforts.

He also was an occasional guest on KHOU's "Great Day Houston" with Deborah Duncan.

Frei said Tiny seemed happy in the 15 months he spent as a clinic resident.

"His needs were so simple and his gratefulness was so profound," she said. "He loved anything cushy, or food, or being petted."

While all animals are amazing, some take your heart in a special way, Frei said.

"He was the star who doesn't know he's a star - a little blaze across the sky and he's gone."