+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
Joy

People fell in love with Marty the cat after his owner wrote a heartbreaking goodbye letter

“I know this is a small tragedy in the grand scheme of the world, but one that I feel acutely knowing that I expected many more years with my friend."

Marty the cat
Photo by Juanita Swart on Unsplash

RIP Marty

Tons of people found themselves clicking on the trending hashtag #RIPMarty, expecting to hear tragic news about a celebrity of some sort.

Instead, they learned about Marty the cat, whose owner shared the most heartbreakingly beautiful goodbye letter following his passing. That letter quickly went viral online, leaving folks completely invested Marty's story, not to mention utterly devastated.

Will Menaker, who shared the letter on Twitter, began by sharing how he and Marty first met. Or more accurately, how Marty introduced himself by emerging from under a car and unapologetically following Menaker up to the steps of his apartment seeking pets. Eventually, as the weather began to get colder, Menaker experimented with bringing Marty inside.

“From that moment on I was in love. I wouldn’t say I ‘had’ a cat, but from then on I shared a house with a tuxedo cat I would name Marty,” Menaker wrote.

Other than being TNR’d (trapped, neutered, released), Marty’s past was a mystery. What Menaker did know of his feline companion was that he had “striking green eyes,” was “always friendly but aloof” and was “outgoing but possessed a Sphinx-like dignity that nothing could assail.”

Those are already lovely words, but you might want to grab tissues for this next part.

“Yesterday, we had to say goodbye. After months of trying to treat a cancer that he had been suffering from, enough was enough. He stopped eating and drinking entirely and by then had wasted away to weighing almost nothing…I decided to make the only decision we could on his behalf. He went to sleep in our house and in my arms.”

Tapping into every pet parent’s grief, Menaker wrote, “I know this is a small tragedy in the grand scheme of the world, but one that I feel acutely knowing that I expected many more years with my friend. We are heartbroken but grateful for the years that we did have him in our lives.”

Despite the obvious anguish, Menaker’s letter ends on a hopeful note.

“I firmly believe cats are connected in some way to the other side. They have been around human civilization for roughly 9,000 years and are the only animal species that has domesticated human beings and not vice versa…Whatever happens after our deaths, I think cats are somehow involved, and I hope that when it comes time, Marty will guide me on my own journey to the Western Lands.

“Goodbye Marty, I’ll miss you terribly.”

Menaker’s moving words had people in tears over a cat they didn’t even know.

Many commiserated with pictures of their own belated fur babies.

Others still applauded Menaker for showing Marty such compassion and love.

Goodbye, Marty. We might not know you, but we are touched by your story. Enjoy that great scratching post in the sky.

From Your Site Articles
animals
Pop Culture

Airbnb host has world riveted over stolen painting that was replaced inside her own home

Who is this Airbnb Bandit?

@allbelongco/TikTok

How bizarre, how bizarre.

It should go without saying that it’s not cool to steal from your Airbnb. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen.

However, when one Airbnb host recently discovered a guest had—for some strange reason—stolen one of her paintings, then replaced it with a completely different painting, she decided to make the best out of a very uncool situation by sharing the story on TikTok.

As a result, viewers got to witness an continuously unraveling, truly bizarre modern-day art heist.

Okay, let’s get into it.

Keep ReadingShow less
tiktok
Pop Culture

Woman has unforgettable encounter feeding taxi driver's 'pet' crow. It didn't go as planned.

Her day went from "literal hell" to nonstop giggles.

@abbycashman7/TikTok

From worst day to best day in less than ten seconds

Sometimes the best cure for a bad day is a good surprise.

Just ask Abbie Cashman, a woman in Ireland whose entire day was completely turned around the minute she began feeding a pet crow from the window of her taxi. Cause why not?

In an interview with Today, Cashman shared that after discovering she had a flat tire while at work, the planets seemed to align so that getting home was impossible. No taxi would take her. The bus was full. Luck did not seem to be on her side.

Cashman made one last attempt to book a taxi through a rideshare app. Finally, someone was able to pick her up.

Little did she know that the taxi driver would not only get her home, but also introduce her to a special winged friend to lift her spirits.

Keep ReadingShow less
joy
Science

Astronaut shares the profound 'big lie' he realized after seeing the Earth from space

This change in perspective could change humanity.

via Rubén Moreno Montolíu/Flickr

Our home, from space.

Sixty-one years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to make it into space and probably the first to experience what scientists now call the "overview effect." This change occurs when people see the world from far above and notice that it’s a place where “borders are invisible, where racial, religious and economic strife are nowhere to be seen.”

The overview effect makes man’s squabbles with one another seem incredibly petty and presents the planet as it truly is, one interconnected organism.

Keep ReadingShow less
space
Internet

Wedding DJ perfectly blends Star Wars and Marvel with traditional reception dance music

"The Avengers" theme music has never sounded so cool.

Dimitri Beauchamp|TikTok

Wedding DJ mashes up dance music and fandom theme music

There are those people who like certain franchises and those that would literally design their entire house around their particular fandom. It's a fine balance between loving something and it becoming part of who you are as a person but for some, they're totally cool with everything being Harry Potter. I may or may not have tried to convince my husband we needed an Avengers bedroom set. In my defense, they make them up to king size, so clearly they're for grown ups.

If you're one of those people like myself that has a borderline unhealthy love for all things Marvel, then you will be in for a treat and quite possibly a new wedding DJ. Dimitri Beauchamp has been mixing up tunes for wedding receptions and posting short clips on TikTok. But it's not just regular dance music, Beauchamp mixes in people's favorite franchise theme songs making the hits even more epic.

Keep ReadingShow less
music mashups
Family

Son tells mom that he's 'scared of her' and she responds with a great lesson in parenting

'I know this might be a little shocking but I do sometimes actually find you a little scary.'

Raisingself TikTok screenshots

Son tells mom that he's scared of her and the exchange is parenting goals.

Parenting is a hard gig regardless of whether you planned to have children or they were a happy surprise. As many parenting books as there are out there, none of them have the perfect equation to get it right and most parents do the best with what they learned, or unlearned, from their own parents.

Samantha, a parenting content creator on TikTok under the name Raising Self, has been working hard to overcome generational trauma and parent her children differently. Recently she was doing a live video to interact with her followers when one of her children made a stunning revelation: he was scared of her.

You could tell by her expression that his confession was a surprise, and though her son barely took his eyes off the video game he was playing, the two had a very meaningful dialogue. Instead of being upset or even happy that her child was fearful, she responded with curiosity.

Keep ReadingShow less
parenting
Pop Culture

Gen X couple share a delightfully cheesy rap song welcoming millennials into their 40s

This club is a little different, there's Wordle, seltzers and lots of houseplants.

via Holderness Family/YouTube

"Welcome to the club, Millenials."

It is pretty wild to consider that Millennials are now entering their 40s and no longer hold the mantle of the young and up-and-coming generation. According to Pew Research, Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, so these days they range between the ages of 29 and 42.

These are the years when people begin to settle down, start families and experience the first uncomfortable signs of aging.

The Holderness Family is headed by a Gen X couple, Kim and Penn Holderness, who are best known for their viral comedy songs. Their latest video is about welcoming Millennials to their next phase in life, one that’s less about spending all night in the club and more about embracing a quieter, more practical life.

In this case, “the club” isn’t a loud place to get a Long Island iced tea but a state of mind where you’re more likely to appreciate a good walk for your mental health.

Keep ReadingShow less
millennials
Trending Stories