Ahead of the rest: cats that are listed in the Guinness Book of Records

A cat in the house is an amazing pet.
Always with your own character, habits and preferences. When we take a kitten into our home, we rarely think about how much time we will spend together, but the older the cat is, the more often the sad thought pops up in our heads that the pet is getting old and will one day leave the house. The owner’s optimism can be increased by the thought of cats and long-lived cats who have set records for the longest cat life. By human standards, a cat's life is incredibly short, usually 15 years. Then the cumulative effect of the cat’s quality of life, breed characteristics, and personal aspects comes into play. But it will not be possible to prolong a cat’s life forever, and by the age of 17 the cat usually leaves the family.

But it is reckless to put up with dry statistics. Everyone knows that in addition to good care and maintenance, a cat’s longevity is influenced by its breed. Some breeds of cats do not have longevity at all; they are destroyed by heredity, no matter how much you care for them. But about other breeds, more and more often you can hear how long the pet lived.

Official list of the oldest cats in the world

In Europe and the USA, an official list of all the oldest cats has been compiled. Many of these centenarians had to go through difficult trials.

Cream Puff (translated from English as “cream puff”)

This tabby-mix outbred cat was one of the oldest in the world. It was even included in the Guinness Book of Records (2010 edition). Cream-Puff was born on August 3, 1967, and died on August 6, 2005 - at 38 years old. There lived a cat in the small town of Austin, Texas, in the family of Jake Perry.

The owner developed a special diet for his pet, which consisted of asparagus, eggs, turkey bacon, broccoli and coffee with cream. In addition, once every 2 days the owner gave the cat a dropper of red wine to drink. Jake Perry also supported the physical activity of his pet - the owner built wooden steps into the walls of his house, and built an aviary in the backyard. Jake made a movie theater in the garage and constantly played various documentaries about nature.

Baby

This mongrel black cat from the USA was born in 1970 and died in March 2005 at the age of 35.

Al Paluski found Baby on the street as a kitten when children threw him and firecrackers into the trash can. The fear of children did not leave the unfortunate cat for the rest of his life.

The baby ate regular cat food. He also loved fresh grass and often begged for food from the master’s table: steaks, peas, pasta, corn, cheese.

Throughout his long cat life, the Kid did not go outside. The only exception was a trip to the vet at age 28. This cat did not like other pets, and once even kicked a huge Great Dane out of the house.

Kitty

Another tabby outbred cat with an unusual name lived exactly 36 years and 1 day. Pussycat was born in England on November 28, 1903, and died on November 29, 1939.

Ma

A tabby shorthair cat named Ma was born in Great Britain in 1923. The long-lived cat died at the age of 34 on November 5, 1957 on Guy Fawkes Night.

Granpa Rex Allen

This Devon Rex cat was born on February 1, 1964 in Paris, and died at the age of 34, on April 1, 1998 in the USA. After his death, he was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Granpa lived with a long-living cat named Cream Puff and 17 other cats in Jake Perry's family. According to the owner, Rex Allen ate vegetables, fried foods and other foods that are considered not very healthy for cats. However, this diet helped the cat live a very long time.

Sarah

A mongrel longhaired cat from New Zealand received the title of the oldest cat in this country. Sarah was born in March 1982 and died in September 2015, when she was 33.5 years old.

Mitz Maz

The long-lived Mitz Matz was born in 1979. At first he lived with his owners in Tegerwilen, Switzerland. However, he later ran away and settled at a local railway station, whose employees fed the cat.

According to eyewitnesses, in February 2012, a passer-by saw an elderly Mitz Matz and believed that the cat was very sick. The woman took the centenarian to the nearest veterinary clinic. The veterinarians did not know the animal’s history and euthanized it as a stray. Mitz Matz died at the age of 33. The doctors' actions caused a huge wave of indignation among station employees and local residents.

Nutmeg (Nutmeg)

Another long-lived cat with the unusual nickname Nutmeg lived for 32 years. True, this cat was not included in the Guinness Book of Records, since the owners did not have documents that would confirm the declared age. Nutmeg was born in Great Britain in 1985–1986. The cat wandered into his owners, Ian and Liz Finlay, by accident in 1990.

In 2015, Nutmeg suffered a stroke. Thanks to the timely help of doctors, he was saved. In the last years of his life, the cat only had 3 teeth left. The furry old man did not leave the house at all and spent time in his own room. On August 29, 2017, he began having breathing problems due to heart failure. Despite the efforts of veterinarians, the centenarian died at the age of 31–32 years.

Kitty

Short-haired black cat Kitty was born in July 1957 in the English county of Staffordshire. At 30 years old, she gave birth to 2 kittens and was registered as the oldest female cat mother. Kitty died in June 1989 - just shy of 32 years old, but she was also awarded the title of “long-liver.”

Spike

The long-haired red and white cat Spike was born in May 1970. In the same year, the owners purchased the future centenarian at the market in London for 2 shillings and 6 pence. At the age of 19, the cat was bitten by a fighting dog. Thorn developed blood poisoning, but veterinarians operated on him and saved his life. The cat died in July 2001 in the arms of his owner at the age of 31.

Choice of the year, or Which breed is most in demand?

If Ashers and Maine Coons are the largest cats in the world, then the Singapura cat rightfully has every chance to be called the tiniest. The Singapura is a natural breed, but American breeders participated in its formation, who helped create cats whose weight does not exceed 2-3 kg, and whose size forever remains the same as that of ordinary medium-sized kittens.

At the same time, the smallest cat breed captivates at first sight with its grace and perky disposition, and the eyes of Singapore cats are so delightful and unique that they simply fascinate everyone.

However, these cats still have a competitor who could compete with them in their tinyness. Many believe that the smallest cat in the world is not a Singapura at all, but a Concoda cat.

This is an extremely rare animal that lives in Chile and Argentina and weighs only about 2 kg. The length of the concode does not exceed 50 cm.

However, even this little one is far from the real record holder - one Himalayan-Persian cat who lives in the USA: its length is only 19 cm, and its height is 7 cm at the withers.

According to statistics, this is a Siberian Russian cat. This is a large, strong animal that can withstand severe frosts without harm to its health and has excellent health. During selection, the coat changed from smooth to fluffy and received a wide variety of colors.

Representatives of this breed grow fully late, only by the age of 5. An adult weighs 10-15 kg.

These are the most popular cats throughout Russia, both purebred and half-breed. The rich coat requires grooming and brushing at least once a week.

In spring and summer, the cat can be trimmed. These noble beauties are distinguished by their kind disposition and tender attitude towards their owner.

The child can calmly play with the furry pet. But beware of undeservedly offending a cat - she is no less vindictive than a representative of the Siamese breed.

Siberian cats enjoy bathing, so buy special cosmetics and invite your child to spend an unforgettable time in the bath with your pet.

The oldest cat in Russia (Daniel Yankee and Smoke)

In Russia, there are also long-livers among cats. In 2016, a cat named Daniel Yankee was included in the Russian Book of Records. At that time he was 22 years old.

However, in 2022, another long-liver named Dym was discovered in Tyumen. Now he is over 25 years old. To his owners, the Litkevich family, Dym appeared as a very small kitten when the children brought him from a neighboring entrance. When he was young, a cat chased a bird and jumped from the 9th floor. This fall undermined Dyma's health, but a year later the cat finally recovered. Now the centenarian feels well, but eats very little.

IQ of furry pets

It is quite difficult to objectively measure human intelligence, but with cats it is even more difficult. Of course, for every owner, his pet is the best.

To identify the smartest cat breeds, various experiments are carried out, for example, showing the animal its favorite toy and then hiding it behind a screen. If the pet decides to go there, its intelligence is equated to the development level of a one and a half year old child.

If he continues to look at the owner or meow, demanding the return of the toy, it means that his mental abilities are somewhat lower, or his stubbornness is higher than normal.

Breeds of long-lived cats

Most veterinarians agree that a cat's lifespan is influenced by its origin. Most often, long-livers are found among the following breeds:

1. American Shorthair, Thai and Siamese cats can live up to 20 years.
2. Japanese Bobtail, Devon Rex and Asian Longhair - up to 18 years.
3. Neva Masquerade cat – up to 17 years old.
4. Maine Coon - up to 16 years old.
5. Canadian Sphynx, British, Persian, Scottish and Russian blue cats - up to 15 years.

Of course, every owner wants his furry pet to live a long life. However, to do this you need not only to choose a breed, but also to carefully monitor the cat’s health. But most of all, pets need love, affection and care.

The age of a cat by human standards

For a long time, a simple method was used to calculate the age of a cat in human equivalent: one year of an animal’s life was equivalent to 7 years of human life. This scheme gave quite interesting results:

• a one-year-old kitten was equivalent to a seven-year-old child;
• a two-year-old cat was equivalent to a fourteen-year-old teenager;
• a twelve-year-old cat was considered an almost hundred-year-old old-timer.

In reality, this scheme does not allow us to correctly compare the stages of development of humans and animals. A more correct calculation system is using the compliance coefficient. This coefficient refers to the number of years lived by a person (taking into account the emotional sphere and social intelligence), which correspond to one cat year of life. The information obtained allows the owner to better understand the pet and determine the stages of its maturation.

Table: correlation with a person’s age

It is worth noting that this technique is the most objective and truthful, but does not guarantee reliable results. The thing is that a cat’s psyche is structured differently from a human’s, so it’s not worth perceiving a two-year-old pet as a fully formed personality.

Natmeg - 31 years old

Another representative of the “felines” who lived to be 31 years old. Looking to visit his future owners, he had no idea that he would live here! Nutmeg (translated from English as “Nutmeg”) loved to travel in the company of his friend, the cat, and visit his owners’ house

The family couldn't help but pay attention to the serious cat with a persistent character. It was decided that he would become a member of the family! In recent years, Natmeg had only 3 teeth left and he was no longer happy with adventurous walks... When the cat died of old age - at the age of 31, his owners took the loss very hard - the couple did not have children of their own, and the cat replaced their child