World’s Oldest Cat “Nutmeg” Dies at 32 (That’s 144 in Feline Years)

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Anyone who owns a pet knows their time on earth is cut short compared to their human companions (typically). Even so, some pets will surprise even doctors, and outlive their usual lifespans and give their owner some bonus time with them. That was the case for Nutmeg, the feline who belonged to Liz and Ian Finlay of the UK. She was brought into the couple’s life 27 years ago and every March, they celebrate his birthday, since that was about the time they got him after their previous cat, Spice died in the early 2000’s. Spice had brought ta stray buddy home multiple times and the Finlay’s eventually adopted him and named him Nutmeg. At the time of adoption, the vet had aged the Tabby at about five years old.

Nutmeg lived a healthy life, they said, despite treatment for an abscess on his neck when they brought him in their home. A healthy life was his, that is, until he suffered a stroke back in 2015. After Nutmeg received treatment from Westway Veterinary Centre in Newcastle for the stroke, he seemed to make a full recovery and bounced back.

The Finlay’s loved him so much, they took very good care of him. They told Mirror U.K. that Nutmeg loved chicken so much and although he only had three teeth left, he would still stand at the refrigerator waiting and wanting to be fed. His other behavior they loved, was the fact that he knew when it was time to go to bed and he would jump in your lap and let you know. The Finlay’s said that they knew Nutmeg was not their cat. They were his humans and maybe it was that, that helped him to live such a long, healthy and happy life.

Unfortunately, Nutmeg’s health began to decline and he took a turn for the worse over this past summer. Then, Nutmeg passed away on August 29. The Finlays say that it feels like their hearts have been ripped out since to them, he was their little boy. They were shocked at how quickly his health deteriorated. They told Metro that he had a bad tooth and rasping breath.They took Nutmeg to the vet, and when they did, they knew that he wasn’t going to be going home.

The Finlays did not have any children, so to them, he was their child, their son. They were asked if they planned to get another cat but they said no. The pain of losing Spice, and now Nutmeg, is enough. They can’t stand the thought of losing another cat.

Nutmeg is remembered for even more than his spirit and character, he is also remembered as one of the greats. While most cats live on average of 15 years, Nutmeg lived well beyond that. He lived to be 32 years, which means that he outlived his typical life span expectancy by over 100 percent.

While the legend of nine lives has always been the saying, now we have Nutmeg’s life which spanned over 18 lives. R.I.P. to a feline legend.

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