Our rescue animals often have big personalities and we have incredibly fond memories of them long after they have started their new lives with their adoptive families.

But some are particularly special - like Megatron. H

e has a body size to match his personality, and he’s the guest author of this week’s article.

Hi, I’m Megatron the Manx cat.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the ManxSPCA is that my team of humans here are very good at looking after me, but I’m not sure about their sense of humour

They re-named me Megatron because, apparently, I look like the Marvel comic giant robot of that name.

I admit that I am a little on the large side but I’m a lot more cuddly and affectionate than a robot.

I am just about to move out of the cattery’s quarantine unit into the main cattery, where I will be able to impress visitors with my looks and personality.

I had to spend a couple of weeks in the quarantine unit because I wasn’t vaccinated when I arrived from my previous home, where I lived as a house cat (well, a flat cat actually).

I’m only four, but lack of exercise and a good appetite meant that my weight ballooned and I’ve been on a strict diet since I arrived at the ManxSPCA.

I’m looking for a new home where I can go outside and stretch my legs, but I have no road-sense and so I’ll need to be somewhere well away from passing vehicles.

I’m very laidback - I like other cats and I might even learn to like dogs. So I’m hoping that I meet some nice people who will take me home with them fairly soon.

I’ve been checked over by the vet who visits the ManxSPCA every week, and she was telling me and my humans about some research that the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has been undertaking.

She told us that the RCVS is very worried about obesity in pets, and it estimates that 50% of dogs in the UK are overweight - that’s about nine million dogs.

They did a retrospective study with 100,000 dogs and concluded that overweight dogs lived shorter lives.

Just like overweight humans, they are more prone to heart disease and diabetes. Maybe we’re being given too many treats and not enough exercise.

It’s good to see so many dogs being brought to the ManxSPCA’s tearooms after they’ve had a walk in one of the near-by plantations - there’s always a bowl of fresh water and a dog biscuit to welcome them (one biscuit, now and then, is allowed!).

The kennels here always welcomes dog-walking volunteers.

We have one particularly amazing dog-walker who comes every week-day, no matter what the weather, to take dogs out for a stroll; and others who come regularly, as and when they can.

The ManxSPCA can’t look after animals like me without raising funds and it’s always looking for people to volunteer their time to help in this way.

Our charity shop in Buck’s Road, Douglas, raises much-needed revenue and its run by a lovely lady called Rosie.

She is looking for more people to help her in the shop - sorting and cleaning donated goods, and serving on the till.

It’s great fun, and she only needs volunteers to commit to three hours a week. There’s space for cars to park at the back of the shop which makes life a lot easier.

If you would like to chat to Rosie about volunteering in the shop, please call her on 678785 or leave a message for her on Ard Jerkyll’s main number, 851672.

And finally, wish me luck with my diet and with finding my new human family - I wonder if they will give me a new, more fitting, name? ’Slim’ maybe?