Imagine living to be more than 120 years old — and thriving almost every minute of your life.
Only one human officially holds this distinction. Among our pets, one just bested the human equivalent.
Flossie, the world’s oldest cat, turned an astounding 27 years old last December. As of this writing, she is now older in cat years than the oldest documented human who ever lived.
Born on December 29, 1995, Flossie’s road has been a long, but generally loving one. Rescued as a stray kitten, Flossie has had four pet parents, outliving two of the first three of them. Flossie now lives in her fourth (and final) forever home after parent number three could no longer care for her.
Vicki Green adopted Flossie in August, 2022, from U.K.-based charity Cats Protection. Her hearing and vision have dulled over the years, but that hasn’t quelled her frequent kittenish outbursts.
“I don’t feel like I’m living with a senior,” Green told Guinness on YouTube. “I feel like I’m not sharing my home with the world’s oldest cat. I feel like this is her home and I’m encroaching on her space.”
Flossie was fresh out of the womb when she was found near a hospital and adopted by a healthcare worker. When her first parent died 10 years later, Flossie was in turn adopted by the woman’s sister, who cared for her for 14 years until she also died. The sister’s son gave Flossie a home for the next three years until she arrived at Cats Protection. Despite sensory loss, her health was excellent.
Though she’s no stranger to change, Flossie isn’t the worse for wear. Green, who was set on adopting an older cat, has seen to her relatively smooth transition.
“She was loud for the first few nights, because she can't see in the dark and was a bit confused in her new surroundings, but she sleeps through the night now, snuggled on the bed with me,” Green told the BBC. “She sometimes misses her litter box or needs help grooming herself, but I can help with all of that. We're in this together.”
Flossie’s celebrity status is secondary to her status as a senior cat deserving of the best home possible for her remaining life.
“I don’t think I’ll treat her any differently because she’s broken a world record,” Green continued. “I adopted her on the sort of basis that this is her retirement home and she gets whatever she wants. I just wanna make sure she’s having a good life.”
Animal welfare groups worldwide concur that older cats are among the hardest pet demographic to place and, therefore, comprise a large percentage of shelter residents. Proponents of adopting older cats note that they have more stable temperament, are less likely to scratch the armoire or shred the curtains, cuddle readily and use the litter box reliably.
Vicki Green can personally attest to the fact that the ratio of cuddles to age increases over time.