The hefty gray pussycat in this old photo is a fellow who was known as “Room 8″. He was a cat who took up residence in a public elementary school in Los Angeles in 1952, and made his home there for the next 16 years. Nobody knows exactly how old he was when he first arrived at the school, but it was estimated that he was 22 years old when he finally passed away; that’s definitely on the long-end of the lifespan of your average housecat even today and almost unheard of forty or fifty years ago.

Along the way, Room 8 (so named because that classroom was his usual “home”) was featured in “Look” Magazine, had a childrens’ book written about him by some of the teachers at the school, appeared on Art Linkletter’s TV show, and even had a song written about him by guitarist Leo Kottke (listen to a sample via Amazon here).

The story as told on the linked website is very charming. It’s written by a man who attended the school during Room 8’s tenure there and features a lot of personal remembrances from other students and teachers associated with the school and the cat. There’s even a memorial foundation in his name that supports a no-kill shelter and adoption service for cats in Los Angeles.