Funny how life works after death. When you die, you might leave everything to the person you trust the most. But do you have 100% faith that after you leave, he won’t misuse your fortune? Welcome to the beautifully absurd world of Mr. Long, an 82-year-old man from southern China, who’s skipping the family drama and going straight to the one thing that truly matters: feline loyalty.
The only inheritance clause he has is that the person who loves Xianba, the cat, can inherit all his fortune. Forget prenups, contracts, or DNA tests. Mr. Long has boiled his life’s legacy down to one noble mission.
Mr. Long, who lives alone in Guangdong province, has no children and lost his wife a decade ago. While life left him lonely, a group of stray cats rescued on a rainy day gave him unexpected joy. Over the years, three of them passed on, and now only Xianba remains as the last meow standing. Now facing his mortality, Mr. Long isn’t worried about wills or legal heirs. He’s just worried about one thing. He always has a question in his mind. Who will feed Xianba her favorite treats, scratch her just behind the ear, and let her nap in the good chair?
That’s the only qualification for inheriting his entire estate. The caretaker must love, pamper, and never abandon the cat. In an interview, Mr. Long stated plainly, “I just want someone who will take good care of her. That’s it. No background checks, and no family tree tracing. Just solid cat-parenting skills.”
Whiskers Don’t Betray
It’s oddly poetic, isn’t it? In a world where trust feels like a luxury item, Mr. Long is placing blind faith in a stranger, and that too, not for himself, but for a furry creature who became his emotional companion for life. Why no family? Because there is none. He lost his wife a decade ago and has no children to look after. And even if there were, there’s no guarantee they would take care of Xianba the way he does. Bloodlines don’t always come with physical or emotional warranties.
It’s not an isolated case, either. China’s pet obsession is now a $42 billion industry, where pets get gourmet meals, pet hotels, facials, and even funerals. Last year, a Shanghai woman made headlines after rewriting her will to leave her $2.8 million fortune to her pets because her kids ghosted her during flu season. Somehow, this madness also makes sense because trust is so flaky, which leads to having more faith in animals than humans.
But Mr. Long’s gesture isn’t petty or performative. It’s earnest. He’s not teaching anyone a lesson. He’s just an old man who wants to make sure his cat lives out her nine lives in luxury. In a world where trust is rare and loyalty often comes with a tail, maybe Mr. Long is the smartest one of us all.