Tigerli Dunbar, seen here with her petparents Bill Dunbar and Helen Wreford-Dunbar of Wanaka, was possibly new Zealand’s oldest cat when she passed away last week at the age of 25. Even into her advanced years, Tigerli was, in Helen’s words,”the cat with the most attitude I’ve ever known.” At the time of a 2011 newspaper feature, Tigerli had arthritis, kidney issues and some dementia but was doing well and still going strong. A recent decline since last year’s story had her in worsening health, neglecting her appearance and finally looking old.
Tigerli had been in the running in 2009 when Purina PetCare New Zealand conducted a nationwide search for the country’s oldest cat, but lost out to Smokey, a Burmese from Auckland who was 24 at the time. Purina was unable to confirm when contacted after Tigerli’s passing whether Smokey was still alive.
