World’s oldest cat, who lived in Exeter, dies at the age of 31
Rubble, a Maine Coon cat believed to be the oldest in the world, has died at the age of 31 in his hometown of Exeter, Devon.
The ginger and white feline, who was born in May 1988, passed away shortly before his 32nd birthday.
Owner Michele Heritage, 52, adopted Rubble as a kitten just before her 20th birthday and has described him as “an amazing companion that I had the pleasure to live with for such a long time.”
Rubble’s extraordinary age is roughly equivalent to 145 in human years, and he is thought to be one of the top-ten oldest cats in recorded history.
Michele added that Rubble had aged rapidly towards the end of his life, growing thin and going off his food, until one day he went across the road “and never came back.”
“We believe he went off to die as cats do.”
Rubble’s extraordinary age is roughly equivalent to 145 in human years, and he is thought to be one of the top-ten oldest cats in recorded history. According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest cat to ever live was Creme Puff from Austin, Texas, who died in 2005 at the age of 38 and three days.
We never went down the route of Guinness Book of Records. I didn’t want to do that given his age. The record wasn’t of interest to us.
However, Rubble was never officially named the oldest living cat in the world. Owner Michele explained:
“We never went down the route of Guinness Book of Records. I didn’t want to do that given his age. The record wasn’t of interest to us.
“He grew old very quickly towards the end, I said to my husband at Christmas that I think it would be the last we spend with Rubble.”
Michele attributes Rubble’s long life to the fact that she has no children and has “always treated him like a child.” Michele had another cat called Meg, who passed away at the age of 25.
Rubble celebrated his 30th birthday in 2018 with a party at City Vets in Exeter, where he enjoyed his favourite cat food and a free check-up. Michele revealed that Rubble had grown “a little grumpy in his old age”, and added that his family “would prefer if he was just left to live out his old age in peace.”
Speaking after Rubble’s death, she maintained that “if you care about something, no matter what it is, it does last.”
