In Loving Memory - Mr. Murphy King of the House

January 09, 2025

In loving memory to our beloved Mr. Murphy who recently passed.

Murphy is our Exotic Short Hair Persian Cat. If you have not had the pleasure of spending time with this breed, then you don't know what you are missing. They have a unique look and personality which grows on you quickly. When people meet him their first comment is always about his flat face. Where most cats have a longer nose the Persians is flat to their face. Once we got used to Murphy's unique look, all other cats appeared strange to us.

Mr. Murphy - as many of our family and friends refer to him - has many funny habits that started when he was a kitten. The first was his insistence on drinking from the faucet. Not sure why he decided that is what he needed to do, but it is a habit we could never break. And when he is thirsty, he will sit at the sink and meow until you get up and turn on the faucet. When he is feeling especially indignant, he will walk away once you turn the water on, just to prove that he is in charge. His latest thing is to sit in the sink and look at the faucet waiting for it to turn on.

In the morning, he will yowl loudly to try and make me get up to feed him and give him morning treats. If I don't want to get up, I will tell him to be quiet as it is too early. He will be silent for a few seconds and then meow softly thinking that is acceptable over the yowl. He is persistent and usually wins in the end.

When he is feeling playful, he will run down the hall and I will chase him. Then I run back and hide around the corner. In a minute he will sneak down the hall and jump around the corner to try and "attack". Of course, he thinks he is the winner every time.

He is very amusing and one of his favorite things to play is hide and seek. We have sheer curtains in the living room which he will hide behind, and he thinks that nobody can see him. We pretend we cannot find him and walk slowly past one or two times calling his name. By the third time walking by he will leap out from behind the curtains thinking he is surprising you.

He will sit on the granite counter after the dishwasher has been running as it is warm and will sleep there. Even better is when the granite is warm, and the sun is shining in the window - warmth from top to bottom. He will sprawl across the top of the chair to look out the window at the lake. And will lay out on his back on the floor and look up at you as if to say: "look at me I'm a very handsome boy".

We do have fun with Mr. Murphy and enjoy his company and can't imagine life without him. Even though we think that we are the ones in charge deep down we know that he is King of the House.