Caturday: The Two Nineteen‑Year‑Olds

 

Most people never live with a nineteen‑year‑old cat. I’ve lived with two.

That alone is extraordinary. For a Himalayan, it borders on miraculous.

But what astonishes me even more is how two cats could reach the same rare age and inhabit it as if they were living in different universes.

Murjan: The Cat Who Filled the Room

Murjan, my Turkish Van, was a force of nature from the moment he arrived. He didn’t walk through life — he announced himself through it.

At nineteen, weighing less than five pounds after years of lymphoma and three and a half years of chemotherapy, he still:

  • patrolled every room

  • jumped on and off exam tables

  • explored new vet offices like a tourist on holiday

  • demanded his daily leash walk

  • supervised every creature in the house

  • communicated constantly, loudly, and with purpose

He was alpha to the end — a cat who refused to surrender even as his body thinned to nothing. He left a footprint everywhere he went, and when he moved, he left a wake.

Murjan didn’t age. He persisted.

Simone: The Cat Who Leaves No Footprint

And then there is Simone. A Himalayan who spent two years living under my house, then two more under my bed, she has always been a creature of quiet survival.Her life has been shaped by stillness, caution, and the hard-earned safety of routine.

At nineteen, blind, arthritic, and fragile, she:

  • sleeps on her chosen bed

  • stays within her known world

  • purrs deeply when touched

  • accepts grooming with a softness she never had in youth

  • communicates her needs with a single, precise meow

  • asks for nothing, but receives everything

She does not seek attention, but she welcomes it. She does not explore, but she is content. She does not leave a footprint — she leaves a presence.

Simone is not a wave. She is a whisper.

Two Cats, Two Ways of Reaching Nineteen

Murjan lived outward. Simone lives inward.

Murjan shaped the world around him. Simone lets the world be gentle around her.

Murjan’s happiness was motion, control, engagement. Simone’s happiness is safety, predictability, quiet connection.

Both reached nineteen. Both defied the odds. Both lived fully — just in opposite directions.

The Gift of Their Differences

Murjan taught me about willpower, defiance, and the fierce dignity of a cat who refuses to yield.

Simone teaches me about trust, softness, and the quiet grace of a cat who finally feels safe enough to rest.

One left a giant wave. One leaves no footprint.

And both, in their own ways, leave a mark on my heart that will outlast them.



Learn more about cats. See our many Caturday posts.

Be entertained. See all our posts about cats.





Be inspired. See posts by and about Sula, parish cat, and her books.


Have a chuckle. Read posts by and about Jeremy Feig's award-winning book (book of the year finalist, Kops-Fetherling Lagacy Award for Humor), How My Cat Made Me a Better Man.






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