Back in 2017, we shared some pictures of Luhu when he was still a young cat. This year, Luhu will be 12 years old, making him a senior cat. This milestone surpasses the age veterinarians predicted for him, given his multiple health issues.
To celebrate his life, we wanted to create another post that he so much deserves. Besides fighting with his own health problems, Luhu and his already famously sad face have helped other cats in need. His mom, Maggie Liu, shared on Instagram: "Like my friend John said, Luhu is an angel of cats down to our planet indeed. Luhu’s calendar of 2024 is already sold out on China mainland, and then the profits have already bought enough cat food for the stray cats this winter for our community, also the profits helped 2 cats that got sterilization surgery and stomatitis treatment, I'm so proud of it and wanna share this with anyone who loves Luhu."
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Meet Luhu, an adorable, yet forever sad-looking cat from Beijing
Image credits: lanlan731
“Luhu has a sad face because of eye problems he was born with. I almost lost him when he was two weeks old due to a respiratory infection caused by an eye virus”
Image credits: lanlan731
Bored Panda reached out to Maggie, Luhu’s mom, who told us more about Luhu.
“Thank God I didn’t give him up and tried several vets and did surgeries twice and then saved him. Maybe Luhu knows his life is not easy and his health is worse than other cats so he eats a lot without getting picky and he is so cooperative with eye drops and medications, probably I pay more attention to him, so Luhu is so close to me like a real mom’s boy, and his character is very strong, cheerful and lively but very timid.”
“Thank God I didn’t give him up and tried several vets and did surgeries twice and then saved him. Maybe Luhu knows his life is not easy and his health is worse than other cats so he eats a lot without getting picky and he is so cooperative with eye drops and medications, probably I pay more attention to him, so Luhu is so close to me like a real mom’s boy, and his character is very strong, cheerful and lively but very timid.”
Image credits: lanlan731
Image credits: lanlan731
Luhu has been facing all sorts of health problems ever since, but luckily he has a mom who continues to love him and take care of him no matter what
Image credits: lanlan731
Maggie also shared Luhu’s daily routine with us.
“Luhu’s daily routine is pretty free, cat food and water were always there, and he could eat and drink whenever he wanted. His favorite canned food is provided daily during oxygen and before and after treatment, and sometimes he could eat his favorite fruits like peaches, apples, strawberries, or pears. My parents or my brother would help me out to do those things when I had to go out of town for work, so Luhu has always been taken care of very well.”
“Luhu’s daily routine is pretty free, cat food and water were always there, and he could eat and drink whenever he wanted. His favorite canned food is provided daily during oxygen and before and after treatment, and sometimes he could eat his favorite fruits like peaches, apples, strawberries, or pears. My parents or my brother would help me out to do those things when I had to go out of town for work, so Luhu has always been taken care of very well.”
Image credits: lanlan731
Image credits: lanlan731
Luhu is a miracle, this year he will celebrate his 12th birthday even though vets said he would be lucky to live to age five
Image credits: lanlan731
Maggie continued: “Luhu will be 12 years old in August of this year. It's really a miracle because vets told me that he was not naturally healthy so he was lucky if he could live to the age of 5. In addition to his eye problems, respiratory problems, and reproductive problems, he had heart failure from 2022 to now already over 2 years and requires daily oxygen and nebulizer therapy, so I need to pay more attention and time to him and try my best not to get his life quality down.”
Image credits: lanlan731
Image credits: lanlan731
Despite Luhu’s sad face and fragile health, he has a positive attitude towards life and enjoys spending time with other cats, sleeping and going on walks
Image credits: lanlan731
We were also curious to know what inspired Maggie to start sharing photos of Luhu on Instagram, and if she ever anticipated that he would gain such a large following.
She wrote: “Oh, I have never anticipated Luhu will be loved by so many people around this world. I shared his pics on Instagram just because his personality and face always make me, my family and friends enjoy, so maybe he can make other people smile when they see his face, I think? You know, sometimes we like to share nice things with others, especially when I get private messages from people on the internet about whether they said Luhu makes them happy or cured them sometimes or they watch Luhu’s videos when they feel bad, I think I did the right thing by sharing Luhu on Instagram.”
She wrote: “Oh, I have never anticipated Luhu will be loved by so many people around this world. I shared his pics on Instagram just because his personality and face always make me, my family and friends enjoy, so maybe he can make other people smile when they see his face, I think? You know, sometimes we like to share nice things with others, especially when I get private messages from people on the internet about whether they said Luhu makes them happy or cured them sometimes or they watch Luhu’s videos when they feel bad, I think I did the right thing by sharing Luhu on Instagram.”
Image credits: lanlan731
Image credits: lanlan731
After Luhu became famous and started to earn money, his mom Maggie Liu decided that all the funds should help other cats in need
Image credits: lanlan731
Maggie also commented on what has changed since the last post on Bored Panda.
“It was pretty long ago and I can’t remember it very clearly but I’m sure your last post made more people fall in love with Luhu and follow him!” wrote Maggie.
With Luhu's sad expression bringing joy to so many people online, we asked how it feels to know that Maggie's photos have such a positive impact on her followers.
“I feel so happy absolutely, Luhu cures me every day when I’m down or tired or emotional, so it’s really meaningful to me that some people can feel the same way about it as me,” shared Maggie.
“It was pretty long ago and I can’t remember it very clearly but I’m sure your last post made more people fall in love with Luhu and follow him!” wrote Maggie.
With Luhu's sad expression bringing joy to so many people online, we asked how it feels to know that Maggie's photos have such a positive impact on her followers.
“I feel so happy absolutely, Luhu cures me every day when I’m down or tired or emotional, so it’s really meaningful to me that some people can feel the same way about it as me,” shared Maggie.
Image credits: lanlan731
“After Luhu became famous, he published a photo album in Japan and sold a desk calendar every year in China. All the proceeds were used to rescue stray cats, like buying cat food, treating stray cats who are close to humans and neutering operations, and then finding adoptions. His fame surprised me, but I realized that he could use it to help other cats do something meaningful, the living environment for stray cats is still very bad in this world so far… I have never thought of using Luhu for my own benefit, and I have always believed that Luhu is a cat, so the money Luhu earned should be spent all on cats," wrote Maggie.
Image credits: lanlan731
Despite all the challenges, Luhu continues to bring light to his owner, people online and even other pets
Image credits: lanlan731
Lastly, Maggie shared touching feedback that she got from followers: “Some comments and private messages are really touching me. I got a private message from a United States girl maybe in 2017. She suffered from depression for 3 years and thought of ending her life sometimes, but after she followed Luhu and found such an unhealthy little kitten suffering pain and illness every day but never stopped fighting with them and still being positive and sunshine attitude, even making humans laugh all the time, she feels there is no reason to keep down!
More responses are about people starting to love cats from Luhu, and then they have their own cats. I'm so happy more people have the life experience with cats and feel more love from different family members.”
More responses are about people starting to love cats from Luhu, and then they have their own cats. I'm so happy more people have the life experience with cats and feel more love from different family members.”
Image credits: lanlan731
Image credits: lanlan731