An almost 27-year-old senior cat from the UK has earned herself a Guinness World Record as the “Oldest Living Cat,” for her esteemed age, which is equivalent to 120 human years.
Flossie lives with her adoptive owner in London, England. The senior feline was 26 years and 316 days old as of Nov. 10, the day her age was recognized by Guinness World Records in conjunction with the UK’s leading cat charity, Cats Protection.
Flossie, a brown and black kitty has overtaken Corduroy, the previous oldest living cat, who was 26 years and 300 days old when he held the title.
“I knew from the start that Flossie was a special cat, but I didn’t imagine I’d share my home with a Guinness World Records title holder,” Flossie’s adoptive owner, Vicki Green, said in a statement. “She’s so affectionate and playful, especially sweet when you remember how old she is ... she never turns her nose up at the chance of a good meal, except when she’s snuggled on her favorite yellow blanket.”
Flossie is deaf and her eyesight is failing, but the sweet senior cat is otherwise healthy and seems unfazed by her limitations said Green, who has prior experience with senior cats.
Flossie is an “amazing cat” that has settled in well and sleeps “snuggled on the bed” with Green who works as an executive assistant.
Before joining Green’s family, Flossie was loved by two generations of another family. Flossie was first found in 1995 by a Merseyside hospital employee as a young stray living in a cat colony nearby. She lived with that owner for ten years, until the hospital employee passed away.
Flossie was then adopted by the hospital employee’s sister, who kept her for another 14 years before she, too, passed away. The cat was taken in by the woman’s son and Flossie lived with him for another three years until circumstances forced him to relinquish Flossie to Cats Protection’s Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough and District branch.
Branch co-ordinator Naomi Rosling empathized, saying: “It wasn’t an easy decision. He sought our help when it was in Flossie’s best interests. Responsible cat ownership is when someone thinks about an animal’s needs above their feelings.”
Rosling and her team were “flabbergasted” when vet records revealed Flossie’s age. “She’s the oldest cat I’ve ever met,” Rosling said in a statement. “If I’m in such good shape when I’m her age, with someone who does what’s best for me when I need it most, I shall be a very happy lady!”
Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief at Guinness World Records, agreed that it’s “not every day” you meet a cat who has been alive since the mid-nineties. Flossie’s almost 27 years, equal to 120 human years, puts her on par with French supercentenarian, Jeanne Calment, who lived to 122 years and 164 days and holds the record for oldest person ever.
