The Cat Fight to Become The World’s Oldest Cat
When Poppy, a tortoiseshell, aged 24 and Guinness record holder for World’s Oldest Cat died in June, owners of other old cats jockeyed into position to stake their claims. The Guinness World Records demands proof of age ideally with veterinary records to claim the title. Who the next official World’s Oldest Cat is up in the air but we’re rooting for a cat named Whiskey.
Claire Willis, from Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, U.K. claimed her cat Snowy was 27 years old – or 156 in cat years. Sadly, Snowy died this past June before a claim could be proven.
Ann and Bob Higginbottom from Dunston in Lincolnshire U.K. claim they have proof, Pinky, a 28-year-old tabby was born in July 1986 but haven’t provided the requisite documentation with Guinness World Records yet.
Olive, yet another ancient U.K. cat. Her owner John Burgess from Manchester, U.K. said Olive turned 24 in March of this year. He’s a doting cat dad who adopted her as a kitten and he says, she has all her faculties and remains a skilled mouser.
Putts, a tortoiseshell could easily be older than Olive by 14 months but her owners David and Joyce Willey of Sidmouth, Devon U.K said she was born in January of 1989. They admit they have no proof but the video makes a good case.
The current Guinness Record holder for World’s Oldest Living Cat is Corduroy, 24, who lives in Oregon, U.S.
The most likely contender to overthrow Corduroy is Whisky, a blind cat who turned 29 on Sept.11, 2014 and lives in the U.K. According to his owner Lorraine Arnott, 33, she attended his birth in 1985 and grew up with him. Arnott claims she needs no boyfriend and Whisky is the love of her life. Apparently her veterinarian has verified his age but the next step is sending documentation to Guinness World Records.
Are you beginning to see a pattern? What’s remarkable is how many old cats live in the U.K. They also all happen to be indoor-outdoor. It’s hard to know whether the longevity is because the English love their moggies and want to enter contests or if there is statistical proof. Maybe the truly, oldest cat lives in a country where they aren’t revered and no one would think to enter a contest.
Do you know any very old cats? Let me know in the comments.
The winner of our Catastrophes giveaway from the Animalist web series for t-shirt and tote bag is Savannah’s Paw Tracks. Congratulations! look for an email from Cat Wisdom 101 requesting your shipping address.
16 Comments
Connie Marie
Hope Merlin is still on the upswing and eating, many purrs!!
All these “oldest” cats look extremely well.
Congrats to the winner, enjoy!
I got an email today,Thursday. Just a fyi, it’s great it shows it’s sent when it hasn’t been, NOT! I started checking the add ne to your mailing list when I comment, so hopefully it’ll help.
The Island Cats
Wow, us cats are living longer and longer! The mom had a cat before us that lived to be almost 21.
Austin Towers
I was wondering about the indoor/outdoor connection too, but then I would MOL I feel a young whippersnapper at only seven!! The Staff’s Gran had a tabby and white called Tim who was around for like forever, but we don’t know how old he was. Every year when they went on their annual visit he would be there sitting on the wall like the rock of ages!! I send mancatly hugs and purrs for Merlin xx
Flynn
I forgot to say, we didn’t have any official records of their ages , but my MIL wrote the date of every litter, a description of the kittens and the names she had given them in her book.
Flynn
When my mother in law died, we took on her 9 cats to live with our cat. Two of the females had never been spayed so we took them in but one was already in kitten again so we found homes for them and kept the smallest, Kitty Yumbum. The females were called Pinky and Perky but we called them Mother Puss and Auntie Puss. Mother Puss lived to be 23 and Auntie Puss was 24. Two of Mother Puss’ sons from an earlier litter lived to 19 and 21. The third son became ill and only lived to 14. They were a very long lived strain, but of course once we had them spayed the strain eventually ended.
Layla Morgan Wilde
Wow, and you’re in the U.K. too.
meowmeowmans
Our Sammy was 19+ when he passed away last year, but we don’t have vet records to prove it. He had a myriad of health issues, but was happy until the very end.
Brian Frum
Our peeps had a 21 year old calico many years ago.
Angel AbbyGrace
I did notice that so many of the cats were in the UK and I wondered about that.
da tabbies o trout towne
doodz….we troo lee dont know any purrson a lee…. but de food gurl wuz ther de day de wheel wuz invented…..does thiz count !! ♥
Heather and Ellie Mae
The oldest cat I know currently is my friend’s cat Bliss. She is a Himalayan mix and is 19. She is a year younger than Merlin as she turned 19 this spring/early summer. She was a rescue and my friend has had her since she was a kitten. I’ve had three kitties share my life. My first kitty only lived until 9 but he was a lovely brown/gray tabby cat. Then there was my true friend and guardian angel Garfield whom I had for almost 18 years. He was orange/red and white. Just a lovely cat and he missed his 18th birthday by three months. My current kitty and first female is Ellie Mae O’Cat. Orange/Red and white and 7 years young and hopefully heading to 29! 🙂
Also wanted to let you know the last two days I have not gotten the link to the blog in my email. I’ve been coming to the website direct to check for updates on Merlin. If you have noticed a drop in comments this could be why.
Heather
Layla Morgan Wilde
Thanks for sharing. Sometimes my host sends out the list slowly and indicates its been sent when it wasn’t.
Skeeter and Izzy
Concats to the winner!
We are glad to know that so many cats are living to a very old age and maintaining their health!
Thanks for sharing all the golden oldies here!
Luvs
Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo >^..^<
Hannah and Lucy
The cat before Hannah and Lucy lived here was 20 when she died – her name was Emma. She was almost blind but could still jump on the fence and from there on to the garage roof to drink water out of puddles – may be it was the water not being treated for human consumption that kept her so fit.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx x
Summer
My human’s grandmother had a cat that came into her life when my human’s mother was in college. His name was Minnie, because she thought she was a girl, and then never bothered to change his name when the vet told her differently. Minnie lived on a farm in West Covina, CA (to show you how long ago that was!), and when she sold the farm to developers and moved to a San Fernando Valley apartment, she gave Minnie to my human’s mother because she had a house. Minnie was an indoor-outdoor cat and lived to be something like 22 or 24 – my human doesn’t remember because it was so long ago now. But Minnie was really something. On the other hand, Harlot, my human’s soul cat, was indoor-outdoor and she only lived to be 15-1/2 (she died of cancer).