Mariah the rabbit has had one too many nibbles and is now being put through her paces to shed the extra pounds.
The bulging bunny from Long Eaton has been picked to take part in Pet Fit Club – a national pet slimming competition run by veterinary charity, the PDSA.
She is one of 21 dogs, cats and rabbits from across the country selected to take part.
Three-year-old Mariah weighed in at 3lb (2.7kg) – around a quarter more than she should. She was entered into the six-month diet and fitness challenge by her owner, Jennifer Smith, 29.
Jennifer said: "Mariah isn't named after the singer, but she can be quite a diva – she definitely lets us know when she's not happy about something.
"She used to be smaller than her sister, Buttercup, but she is very greedy and helps herself to more than her fair share.
"She's steadily gained weight and is getting so big now I struggle to pick her up, so I entered her into PDSA Pet Fit Club."
Mariah will be put on a strict diet and fitness programme by vets and nurses at Nottingham PDSA PetAid hospital.
This will include cutting out her favourite treat of carrots, which are high in sugar and are the rabbit equivalent of chocolate.
PDSA Vet Jim Kellow, who will be monitoring Mariah's weight loss, said: "Mariah is obese, which can have very serious consequences for her health and life expectancy.
"Overweight pets are more likely to develop a number of serious health conditions. The good news is it's never too late to make a positive change and improve a pet's lifestyle. We're confident Mariah will have a slim-line figure and new lease of life by the end of the competition."
Jennifer added: "I used to just leave food out in the hutch for both of them as that's what was generally recommended, but Mariah was clearly eating too much so I've learnt not to do this now.
"I know Mariah's extra weight increases her risk of certain illnesses, so I'm determined to help her slim down so that she's healthier and happier."
Other pets taking part in PDSA's annual pet slimming competition include Ulric, a greedy two-stone Norwegian Forest cat, bulky Bull Mastiff Mizzy who weighs over 11 stone, and larger-than-life Labrador Tia who is over nine stone. The porky pets will all be competing to win the title of PDSA Pet Fit Club slimmer of the year.
Supporters can follow Mariah's progress by visiting www.pdsa.org.uk/petfitclub and can sponsor her weight loss challenge to help raise vital funds for PDSA.
