In 2016, a 27-year-old woman known only as Júlia reported on her forum account reddit that she went to a shelter to adopt an 11-year-old cat so that, being in her home, the animal could have a place to “die peacefully”.
The initial idea of the American was to do a good deed with the animal, since at 11 years of age cats are already considered elderly and are closer to the end of their lives. The act was not a sacrifice for Júlia, who loves cats and, at the time, was already raising two felines at home.
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Studies point out that the older dogs and cats get, the more likely they are to end up in a shelter. This is because, when realizing the advancing age of pets, people prefer to donate them instead of seeing them die.
For Julia, this was never a problem. “I knew I could handle it. emotionally“, she said in an interview given to Newsweek magazine at the time. “For some people, knowing that their pet is going to die is traumatizing. For me it's sad but not the end of the world.”
The cat lover also told how living with the elderly kitten was going. According to her, in the first months in the new house, the feline simply did not want to interact.
“For the first four months, I basically didn't have a cat,” says Julia. “While the cat's poo would appear in the bathroom, the cat's food and water would disappear. I kind of came to terms with having a “ghost cat” at that point,” she reported.
Julia also said that from the fifth month on, the 11-year-old cat began to get used to the new home. "The day came when he started to leave his hiding place once a day, always when I was cooking", he said.
“From the fifth month onwards, he would go out a little more, but he would still run back to his hiding place whenever someone tried to get close. In the eighth month, he finally stopped running away.”
unexpected longevity
All the reports described above were made by Julia in 2016, the year she adopted the elderly kitten who, supposedly, would have a “peaceful death” in a short time.
However, six years later, in 2022, the woman was interviewed again and, to the surprise of many people, the 11-year-old cat is now close to 18, more alive than ever.
In the new interview, Julia, now 33, says that despite the “setback”, she is happy. "My plan to give this cat a peaceful end of life failed, but I'm glad it did," she joked.
Julia also told about the routine with the four-legged “old man”. “He doesn't seem bothered by his age,” she said. “I take him to the vet every 6 months or so for a regular checkup.”, she revealed.
The story resonated very well.
As mentioned before, Julia's story was initially told on the Reddit forum, which gathers millions of users from all over the world. The American usually shares photos, videos and reports involving the elderly kitten adopted by her on the platform.
Now, with the turnaround in the case, the young woman's reports gained even more notoriety, drawing "virtual applause" from many people who decided to comment on her posts.
“I love this story. I wish more people would adopt older pets,” wrote one user. “Love can make anyone feel young again. I think that's what happened here. Your love made him feel like a young kitten again.”
Julia also states that she wants other people to follow her example, adopting pets and offering a loving and welcoming environment to them.
Graduated in History and Human Resources Technology. Passionate about writing, she now lives the dream of acting professionally as a Content Writer for the Web, writing articles in different niches and different formats.
