Owners of a cat in Workington think that she might be the oldest cat in the country, after racking up an impressive 27 years.

Geoff and Olive Taylor, from Corporation Road, got Poppy from Salterbeck, along with her brother Tino, when they were just six-week-old kittens.

They were vaccinated by the vet at six months old, in 1993 and the family still has the record.

Poppy is appropriately named, as her birthday is on November 11, making her a staggering 27 years old.

She shares her house with her owners and three other cats, Scruff, Tia and Twin, but she has outlived several in the household over the years.

Geoff said one of the reasons he thinks that she has lived this long is her love of food.

“She can eat”, he said, adding: “She likes sardines – I picked the one up in tomato sauce by accident the other week and she still ate them.”

In the past Poppy has even received birthday cards and treats off people and Geoff said he is stopped by people who ask about her.

During the last year she has taken to spending all her time upstairs now, as she doesn’t like to stray too far from her favourite accessory – a heated blanket.

Geoff said: “She doesn’t come downstairs and sleep on my knee anymore. She has a little heated blanked on the end of the bed – that’s her bit, but through the winter when it gets colder she normally gets under the covers where it’s warm. She sneaks through.”

Poppy hasn’t needed any further vet treatment over the past year and is still incredibly affectionate with her owners.

Geoff said: “She is a brilliant cat, she has always been clean, she goes in her litter tray.

“She is a very, very affectionate cat, extremely so – only with us. She is spiky with everybody else.”

Geoff and his wife Olive are considering asking the Guinness Book of Records if Poppy is the oldest cat in the country.

Poppy’s age is certainly impressive, as the average lifespan for a cat is 15 years.

One of the oldest living cats in the UK was Rubble, from the Exeter area, who died aged 30, and the oldest cat ever is Creme Puff, from Texas, USA, who was 38 years and three days.

  • Is your cat older than Poppy? Get in touch with us by emailing lynne.wild@newsquest.co.uk