When the world’s oldest cat has his birthday, even the Internet goes crazy and reports it everywhere.
This tabby kittie, who is a contender to be the world’s oldest cat, has just celebrated his 31st birthday (that’s a cat age equivalent of 141 in human years).
His name is Nutmeg and he chose his humans by showing up in their backyard some 26 years ago. ”He rules the house and he’s absolutely gorgeous,” Nutmeg’s owner told The Mirror.
The owners of Nutmeg are Liz and Ian Finlay and they welcomed the cat into their home for the first time in 1990 as a stray who befriended their own cat Spice. When they first took the cat to the vet as he had an ugly abscess on his neck, Nutmeg was already 5 years old and not a kitten anymore.
To be registered as the world’s oldest cat by the Guinness Records, the owner has to provide a birth certificate for Nutmeg and official documents – and that’s quite tricky, but they are working on it.
And as with old age come lots of health issues, poor Nutmeg suffered a stroke before his 31st birthday, but he managed to recover just in time for the celebration. Now he is up and going stronger, making those around wonder how many lives this cat has.
As 31 years to be alive is a long time for a house cat, the Finlays are wondering what Nutmeg’s secret might be. According to them, the fact that he feels safe, welcomed, and the true owner of the house is definitely the key to his longevity.
“He is not our family pet, we are his humans and he never lets us forget that. Maybe that is the secret to his long and happy life.”
