As a 16-year-old cat, Thuzi has had his share of ups and downs.
When Thuzi was a kitten he was found in the laundry room of an apartment building. A couple years later, he was adopted only to be returned to Tree House Humane Society shortly after.
“He had a really hard time,” Kristine Ankey marketing manager at Tree House Humane Society said.
Fortunately, he was adopted in 2004 where he spent 10 years in a loving home. However, his owner began suffering health issues and had to return Thuzi to the shelter in 2015.
“You [cat] lose everything you own, it’s really heartbreaking,” Ankey said.
After living in a loving home for almost 10 years and having to adjust to living at the Tree House Humane Society for eight months, Thuzi finally had the chance to live out his golden years when he found his permanent home last August during Clear the Shelters.
“Because he was 16 when I adopted him, I named him Methuselah because he was old,” owner Jan Chirchirillo said.
Local
Methuselah is a man from the Bible who is reported to have lived to the age of 969.
Chirchirillo calls him Thuzi, for short.
“I’m retired so I wanted an older animal because I didn’t want one that would potentially out live me,” Chirchirillo said.
She says Thuzi is the best cat she has ever owned.
“He’s absolutely a doll and I absolutely adore this animal,” Chirchirillo said.
Thuzi is one affectionate cat for his age. He will come up to Chirchirillo and nap beside her on the couch or lay himself in her lap.
“The older ones [cats] can be more rewarding because they tend to be more tranquil,” Chirchirillo said.
Chirchirillo has owned cats all her life and before Thuzi it had been a year-and-a-half since she last had one.
“I had been thinking of getting a cat and for some reason I saw it [Clear the Shelters] from Tree House before I saw it from any other shelter,” Chirchirillo said.”It sounds silly but the breakfast I was at was closer to go to Tree House than Anti-Cruelty [Society] and any other shelter, and since I wanted a cat I figured duh, go to Tree House. I wanted a cat, it was Clear the Shelter day and I figured okay let’s do this”
Thuzi was the third cat over the age of 10 that Chirchirillo saw that day at Treehouse but noticed how laid back he was yet still acknowledging her present over the others.
“I brought him home, he sniffed around and found the rounds and where all the rooms are and the litter box and flopped down and went to sleep,” Chirchirillo said.
Some people may be hesitant to adopt older animals, but Chirchirillo says Thuzi is one healthy, sweet animal.
“I’ve had older cats and yeah they develop problems but so do we all,” Chirchirillo said.
According to Tree House Humane Society, the interaction between Chirchirillo and Thuzi (at the time named Tiger Eye) on Clear the Shelters day proved they were good companions. He let Chirchirillo pet him as he relaxed on his pillow and was a non-stop purring machine.
