Poppy Takes Oldest Living Cat Title at 24

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Guinness World Records has announced that a 24 year old cat named Poppy, from Bournemouth, UK, is the new officially recognized title holder for the “Oldest Cat Currently Living” category.

Poppy was born in February 1990 and lives with Jacqui West and her family at their Bournemouth home. Poppy bounced around a bit in her early days, living with two owners before being adopted by Jacqui’s mother Marguerite Corner when she was 5. At the age of 10, Poppy went with Jacqui when she moved in with her future husband, Andy West.

The West household includes 8 and 11 year old sons Toby and Joe, four other cats, two rabbits and a hamster.

Jacqui said: “People always ask what we put Poppy’s longevity down to and I guess she has a good diet and lots of exercise.

“She keeps herself fit by walking around and she eats a lot. She has biscuits in the morning and tinned food later on. She’s never been a big cat though.

“She is partial to the odd takeaway. We sometimes give her a bit of KFC chicken, Fish and chips and even the odd bit of kebab meat.”

Jacqui wrote to Guinness World Records in February after Poppy turned 24, submitting her for the category of “Oldest Cat Currently Living”. Guinness World Records accepted Poppy’s documentation and confirmed her as the current title holder in her category.

Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with claims for the ‘oldest living cat’, with owners from across the globe making applications on behalf of their cats. Today, though, I’m pleased to confirm that we’re recognising Poppy from Bournemouth in the UK as the world’s oldest living cat, at the age of 24 years. If anyone thinks their cat beats this, and can prove it, then we’d encourage them to get in touch with us.”

Jacqui said: “Poppy is definitely the top cat and she is still quite feisty. If one of the other cats tries to eat her food she will bite them on the ear.

“She’s deaf and blind and meows for everything. We call her stroppy Poppy sometimes.

“She can get up the stairs but we won’t let her walk down. Over the last year her health has gone down and we know the end is near.

“Poppy does seem to be out-living all our other pets too. We unfortunately had a hamster and bunny die on us last year.

“Each time we tell the grandparents we’ve lost an animal, they all assume its Poppy. I’ve said goodbye to her a few times but she keeps on going.”