WEST DORSET: Puppy love has helped a famous fat cat from Dorchester shed the pounds.

Ulric the cat hit headlines around the world after the Dorset Echo told how the moggy had ballooned to over two stone.

Attempts at dieting failed after a promising start, but now Ulric has a new personal trainer in the shape of Dennis the puppy.

The young pugalier, a pug crossed with a King Charles cavalier spaniel, has only been with the family for three months but owner Jan Mitchell said his high energy antics have already helped Ulric lose around two pounds, more than he lost in over a year of dieting.

She said: “It wasn’t planned specifically for that reason but we thought it would be nice to get a puppy and it’s turned out it’s been good for Ulric. He’s definitely a bit more active than he was.”

Ulric, a nine-year-old Norwegian forest cat, was a normal-sized kitten but ballooned in weight due to a lazy nature and a penchant for pinching his sister Ulla’s food.

Last year the massive moggy entered a slimming competition run by pet charity PDSA.

He started off promisingly, shedding 0.3kg in the first six months and toning up.

However, Jan said the success did not last and it was not until Dennis came on the scene that he started losing weight again.

Jan said that Dennis’ arrival had helped give Ulric a new lease of life, and made him more active around the house.

She said: “He’s certainly more interested now, rather than just sleeping all day.”

Jan added that Dennis had fitted right into the family and had taken a shine to Ulric.

She said: “Dennis absolutely loves him and can’t leave him alone.

“Ulric is still on a diet but now he is getting more exercise hopefully he should lose a lot more weight.”

At his peak, Ulric was not far off claiming the title of the world’s heaviest cat.

That honour is believed to go to a four-year-old cat called Meatball from Phoenix in America, who tips the scales at two-and-a-half-stone.