Chunchu Nair, The ‘Mystery’ Cat That Lives On With Viral Newspaper Clipping – News18

Chunchu Nair, a cat that lived for almost 18 years before she died of old age in 2018, continues to live on in this world through an unusual yet heartwarming tribute. On the first anniversary of her final purr, her family shared an obituary that went viral on the Internet. Originally published in 2019, the obituary resurfaces each year, keeping Chunchu’s memory alive and celebrating the unique bond she shared with her family.

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“First death anniversary, Chunchu Nair. Molutty, we badly miss you!” reads the obituary shared for Chunchu. The obituary went viral not just for its emotional tribute but also because people questioned how a cat came to have a surname associated with a Kerala caste.

Take a look at the obituary here:

As per a TOI report, the pet mom first met Chunchu in a garden outside her home. She recalled, “Once, I noticed this kitten, which would wait in the garden in the evening for my arrival after work. I used to occasionally give her milk or food and thus, our connection gradually grew. When I grew up in Kerala, I had a cat whom I called Sundari (beauty) and I named this cat too the same. Over time, it got shortened to Chunchu and she became part of our lives.”

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Despite never being formally trained, Chunchu maintained a unique habit: she never laid a paw on her owner’s food plate. Additionally, she would only eat fresh fish, that too, if it was served by her beloved owner.

Chunchu experienced losing all kittens in her early pregnancies and, after undergoing surgery, became notably averse to male cats. “She would break her stitches and refused to eat from anyone else, displaying behaviour reminiscent of a human child,” her owner shared with TOI in 2019.

Chunchu, like any other cat, was very possessive about her owner and would show a particular disdain for anyone else getting too close. “She never liked even my daughters sitting too close to me and wanted to be on my lap always. We couldn’t even go out much, as she would be upset and as we loved her so much, we too would often oblige,” she added.

As Chunchu aged, she succumbed to age-related ailments. “Our neighbours also used to visit her during her last days, in tears. Within days, she succumbed to her ailments. We had to let her go…,” Chunchu’s owner further expressed.

The family of four cremated the feline at an electrical crematorium within a veterinary hospital.