Is Lucy the Llanelli cat, 39, the world's oldest feline?

Purrfectly formed: LucyBy shaun greaney

A LLANELLI councillor is looking forward to the purr-fect Christmas with the world's oldest cat.

Town councillor Bill Thomas believes his cat, lucky Lucy, is aged 39 — a full year older than the oldest recorded cat, a Texan named Creme Puff, which made it to 38 years and three days.

Lucy, described by Bill as "extremely independent", is in remarkable health for her age.

Bill said: "She has been to the vet a couple of times, she has gone deaf and she had some condition in her coat which we took her down for and they gave her an injection and she's okay.

"She has also had ear problems but apart from that she is fine.She's a bit stiff but she gets up for her food.

"Most of the time she lies in her basket and has a sleep. The kids do wake her up and play with her, but she normally wakes up when she wants to."

Mr Thomas believes his pet's independent character is the reason for its old age.

He said: "Lucy was born in Thomas Street in 1971/72. She belonged to my wife's godmother, Maria Lewis, who owned the Thomas Street chip shop, she lived there until the late 1970s when she moved to Gower View.

"When she died we inherited a dog, a cat and a tortoise, the cat being Lucy.

"My wife's aunt, Maria Williams, who worked in the shop for many years remembers the cat and confirmed to us that the cat is almost as old as her son, who, in 1973 when she worked at the shop, was three years old.

"The cat was a large cat then and she confirmed all this to us last year when she visited us, she was surprised that the cat was still alive."

Mr Thomas said Lucy was playful, despite her age. He said: "When she's had enough, she's had enough, but she will grab your finger with her teeth but she won't puncture the skin.

"She's part of the family."

A spokesman for Guinness World Records said there was no entry for Britain's oldest cat.