Nora the Piano Cat, one of Philly’s early viral animal stars, has died at 19

Nora the Piano Cat, one of Philadelphia’s first viral animal stars, has died. She was 19.

“We are so grateful to have had nearly 20 years with this beautiful and talented feline,” Nora’s owners, Betsy Alexander and Burnell Yow!, wrote on social media. “Over the years, Nora received thousands of messages of love from you, her fans and admirers. We thank you all.”

Nora had been undergoing treatment for chronic kidney disease over the last several years, and led a normal life for much of that time, her owners wrote. But her condition worsened in the last few weeks, and she died Monday on her favorite blanket at home, surrounded by her loved ones.

“At this moment, I can’t imagine a world without her,” Alexander and Yow! wrote.

Rescued from the streets of Camden as a kitten in 2004, Nora went viral in 2007 after Alexander and Yow! uploaded a video to YouTube of her plinking out notes on a piano at their Philadelphia home. It quickly went viral, garnering millions of views, and prompting Nora to be featured on television, including the Today Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Animal Planet.

Nora’s playing also inspired Lithuanian composer Mindaugas Piecaitis to compose a chamber orchestra piece known as “CATcerto,” which was first performed in 2009. That year, Nora was named ASPCA’s Cat of the Year.

A friend sent Piecaitis a copy of Nora’s initial viral video, which sparked an obsession with the cat, The Inquirer reported in 2012. The pair met that year, with Nora playing just four notes before lying back down on the piano’s bench.

“I was so amazed,” Piecaitis, a conductor with the the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra at the time, told The Inquirer of Nora’s work. ”It had such feeling, such stimmung.”

Piecaitis connected with Alexander and Yow!, who are artists and musicians themselves, and the couple sent him all the video footage of Nora that they had. Out of that came “CATCerto,” Piecaitis’ first piece of music, and it was performed about two dozen times around the world.

Nora’s playing, Alexander and Yow! told The Inquirer in 2012, came to their attention in 2005, when they heard music coming from a room in their home where Alexander taught piano students. Believing an intruder might be present, they rushed to the room only to find Nora, who glanced at them before continuing to play.

Since their initial upload in 2007, Alexander and Yow! have posted a number of other videos featuring Nora’s musical stylings, some of which have garnered millions or hundreds of thousands of views.

“She brought Betsy and I so much joy, and through her we met so many wonderful folks,” the couple wrote on social media. “We loved her dearly.”