“World’s oldest cat’ Rubble dies aged 31

Rubble was the equivalent of almost 150 human years and had been inseparable with owner Michele Heritage, 52, from Exeter, Devon, after she got him as a kitten as a birthday present

A cat believed to be the oldest in the world has died aged 31 after a wonderful life being pampered by his devoted owner.

Rubble the moggie and ‘mum’ Michele Heritage have been inseparable ever since she received him as a gift on her 20th birthday.

He became the oldest feline in the world after reaching 31 years old in May last year.

Michele, 52, of Exeter, Devon, who put his incredible longevity down to the fact she never had her own children and pampered him like her child, has paid tribute.

She said: “He would have been 32 in May so it was such an achievement.

“He was an amazing companion that I had the pleasure to live with for such a long time.

“I got him just before my 20th birthday when he was a kitten.”

Rubble beat the record of Scooter, a Siamese Texas, who was named as a record-breaker at the age of 30 by the Guinness Book of World before he died in 2016.

The oldest cat ever according to the record books is Creme Puff who was born on August 3, 1967, and lived until August 6, 2005 – an amazing 38 years and three days.

Michele added: “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 last we spend with Rubble. He had started to stop eating and only drank water.

“He became very thin. I went to work as usual and when I got home my husband said Rubble had gone over the road as he did every day and never came back, so we believe he went off to die as cats do.

“He was a creature of habit, had his favourite places to sleep and liked his food so when that stopped happening, we knew.”

Michele said she remembers the exact moment that she first met Rubble and claims to be 100 per cent certain of the dates – because it was her 20th birthday.

She added: “He was part of a litter cat that my sister’s friend had and I had just left home.

“I was lonely living on my own so got him in as a kitten. It was in May 1988.

“I have always treated him like a child – I don’t have any children and had another cat called Meg – who passed at the age of 25.

“If you care about something, no matter what it is, it does last.”

The moggy – who lived to the equivalent of nearly 150 human years – was a great big fluffy Maine Coon type cat.

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This article was originally posted at mirror.co.uk on the 3rd July 2020.