This affable, slow-speaking and polite Texan discovered the unlikely formula for feline longevity. He’s the guy who raised the world’s oldest cat, Creme Puff. Creme Puff lived to 38 years of age. His name is Jake Perry a totally committed cat man. Jake says that about one third of his cats have lived to be at least 30 years old. One third! He has raised a lot of cats too – hundreds, in fact. It is extraordinary. What’s the magic formula?
Creme Puff is a world famous cat. But before Creme Puff Jake got his first Guinness World Record in 1998 for the world’s oldest cat with Granpa Rexs Allen, a Sphynx, Devon Rex cross (see below).
Jake is 85-years-of-age himself (and he has been ill). He believes that he has uncovered the secret for extreme feline longevity. You’ll have to read the article to discover it yourself 🙂 Or perhaps we have to guess it.
Jake is not your typical plumber! He is invariably polite, speaks with a slow Texan drawl and loves cats.
Jake’s Feline Longevity Secrets
His cat diet is (1) commercial dry cat food (nothing different there) and (2) a home-cooked first meal of the day of eggs, turkey bacon, broccoli and coffee with cream! Is this a feline diet? Every other day he gives his cats an ‘eyedropper full’ of red wine. This, he says improves blood circulation (“to circulate the arteries”). My cat wouldn’t eat or drink this – or would he?. And caffeine in coffee is toxic to cats in sufficient quantities as is alcohol. Also human treats should be limited (10% of diet), not part of the main diet. I not sure the diet part is the secret.
So far it sounds implausible You can’t really believe that Jake’s cats of which has had hundreds, had a full English breakfast American-style every day with coffee and the occasional sip of red wine. Can you? It’s true apparently.
Next he ensures his cats are sufficiently stimulated and entertained. Jake converted his garage to a movie theater for cats. He shows nature documentaries! They are not just ordinary nature movies. They are 3-D versions and his cats wear 3-D glasses.
Jake ensures that he gives his cats a lot of love and close friendship. He remembers all their birthdays. He celebrates Easter and New Year with them with treats. At Thanksgiving they have turkey. The cats wear hats on New Year’s Eve.
Perhaps an important feature of Jake’s cat guardianship skills is that his home is given over to his cats. There are high-level climbing tracks around the rooms ‘so that the cats could transit the house like hamsters in tubes’ (Diane Bennett, a former neighor). In short there is a ton of ‘catification’ (a Jackson Galaxy term). Right away I can see a brilliantly friendly and stimulating cat environment.
Of course all the cats are spayed and neutered which we know improves longevity. And the cats appear to be indoor cats with access to an outside enclosure.
His Veterinarian
His veterinarian of fifteen years, Bruce Hardesty, says that the secret could be Jake’s total unconditional love for his cats. Or the coffee! Hardesty has seen 40-50 of Jake’s cats and six of them have reached 30-years-of-age.
As for the coffee theory Hardesty said:
“The kidneys are one of the weaker systems in the cat…If you gave them a little bit of diuretic, which caffeine is, maybe that would help.”
Love
I fancy the secret is a combination of constant stimulation, sterilization, confinement but in a good way, diet (perhaps), and love. But the greatest of these is love.
This Texan discovered the unlikely formula for feline longevity without knowing it. It came naturally to him. It’s part of him, his love for cats.
Source: Atlas Obscura
I agree Rudolph. It can’t be luck. He is doing something that we aren’t doing. Like I said I think it is because he creates an excellent environment for cats. Hope you are well.
Mr Jake .Perry Producing his first “Guiness Book Of Cat Longevity World Records” could be considered lucky or a fluke but consistentle rearing cat’s that cross 30 years of age is unique and unbelievable to the average cat owner.Beside’s he also reared a second Guiness world Longevity Cat “Creme Puff” which is definitely not chance or luck but some “SECRET FORMULAE” and passuion for cat ownership and care .
Yes, and as I recall some other dormant disease are triggered by stress and of course cystitis can be caused by stress. Thanks ME. I wonder whether vets have fully grasped how important a loving home is to cat health. They don’t tend to practice preventative medicine.
It’s fairly well established that stress can trigger an episode of the cat herpes ( cold ). Long term stress is known to trigger chemical changes in humans. Consider that cats are living breathing sensory machines.
Yes, well said. Jane another commenter referred to what she perceived as a totally lack of stress for the cats in Jake’s home because he loves them so much. This could be one of the keys to his success to cat longevity. We should take heed. I wonder if there is more cat stress out there in the millions of homes than we believe or know about. Potentially the human to cat relationship can be stressful for cats.
Stress is an important word for cat owners. As you say I think he creates a very loving home for his cats. No stress = longer life. I think that the average domestic cat might be more stressed than people think.