A nearly 27-year-old UK-based cat named Flossie took the title of the world's oldest cat on Thursday, according to The Guinness World Records. Flossie, a street cat who was adopted by local service workers in Orpington, southeast of London, has certainly had a full life that outlived multiple caretakers over the last two decades.
Guinness World Records stated that Flossie's age is something to be celebrated - 26 cat years is equivalent to 120 human years. As she approaches her 27th birthday, Guinness World Records chose to give her the best gift of all: a world record title.
After being taken off of the street and re-homed by two workers at a local hospital, Flossie spent 10 years with her first owner before they passed away. As a result, Flossie had been taken in by her original owner's sister, with whom the cat remained for 14 years before that owner passed away as well.
"She sometimes misses her litter box or needs help grooming herself, but I can help with all of that. We're in this together."
Vicki Green, Flossie the cat's owner
Flossie was once again re-homed with the help of Cats Protection, a cat charity and adoption agency, who discovered her ultimate accomplishment: gracefully aging.
"We were flabbergasted when we saw that Flossie's vet records showed her to be 27 years old," Naomi Rosling of Cats Protection's told Guinness World Records.
New record: Oldest living cat - Flossie aged 26 years and 329 days She's the human equivalent of 120 years old! https://t.co/4dyGE4L0nV pic.twitter.com/JJd9gXSKmV
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) November 23, 2022
New beginnings for an old feline
Flossie found herself in the loving care of her newest owner, Vicki Green, who saved Flossie from what could have been the rest of her days spent in foster care. Green had experience caring for senior animals. Prior to adopting this world-record holder, Green had previously given homes to four other senior felines.
Senior cats and dogs alike are often left in their later years as they are frequently overlooked by adopters. Lucky for Flossie, she found herself the queen of a new castle.
In an interview with Guinness World Records, Green said she didn't realize she would be living with a record-holder. “I feel like I’m not sharing my home with the oldest cat, I feel like this is her home and I’m in her space,” she said.
Flossie suffers from vision and hearing loss in her old age. Still, she's managing to carry on as any other cat would. "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 said.
She still has some age-based struggles, but luckily her new owner knows the name of the game in senior animal care. "She sometimes misses her litter box or needs help grooming herself, but I can help with all of that. We're in this together," she said.
It sounds like a meow-tch made in heaven.