ILLINOIS – 16-year-old cat named Thuzi, which is short for Methuselah, found forever home at Clear the Shelters last August.
As a 16-year-old cat, Thuzi has surey had his share of ups and downs.
When Thuzi was just a kitten he was found in the laundry room of an apartment building. Just a few years later, he was adopted only to be returned to Treehouse Humane Society shortly after.
“He had a really hard time,” Kristine Ankey marketing manager at Treehouse Humane Society stated.
Fortunately, he was adopted back in 2004 where he spent 10 years in a loving home. However, his owner began suffering various from some health issues and had to return Thuzi to the shelter back in 2015.
“You [cat] lose everything you own, it’s really heartbreaking,” Ankey noted.
After living in a loving home for almost 10 years and then having to re-adjust to living at the Treehouse Humane Society for eight months, Thuzi finally had his 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 explained.
Methuselah is a man from the Bible who is reported to have lived to the ripe old age of 969.
Sometimes, 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 stated.
She now claims Thuzi is the best cat she has ever owned.
“He’s absolutely a doll and I absolutely adore this animal,” Chirchirillo admitted.
Thuzi is one truly affectionate cat for his age. He will come up to Chirchirillo and nap right 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 stated.
Chirchirillo has owned cats throughout her life and before Thuzi it had been about 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 stated.”It sounds silly but the breakfast I was at was closer to go to Treehouse than Anti-Cruelty [Society] and any other shelter, and since I wanted a cat I figured duh, go to Treehouse. I wanted a cat, it was Clear the Shelter day and I figured okay let’s do this”
Thuzi was the third cat who was 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 stated.
Some people may be a bit more 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 stated.
According to Treehouse Humane Society, the interaction shared between Chirchirillo and Thuzi (at the time named Tiger Eye) on Clear the Shelters day proved they would be great companions. He let Chirchirillo pet him as he relaxed on his pillow and quickly became a non-stop purring machine.
