The World’s Oldest Cat Is Clearly Living Her Best Life

2 minute read
Tiffany Two, the oldest living cat in the world, at home in San Diego, California.Sharron Voorhees
By Olivia B. Waxman

On March 13, Tiffany Two, the world’s oldest living cat, will turn 27 years old — the equivalent of 125 human years, according to Guinness World Records.

The orange-and-black tortoiseshell spends her days sleeping in the middle of the staircase at her home in San Diego, Calif., where she lives with two other cats, 9 and 10 years old respectively.

On the eve of Tiffany Two’s birthday, owner Sharron Voorhees, 73, reminisces about the day in 1988 when she saw the cat at a pet shop that was going out of business. It was the same breed as her old cat Tiffany, which died of cancer in the early 70s. She drove home, but couldn’t stop thinking about it, so she went back to the pet store and bought the cat.

“I’ve always said that was the best $10 I ever spent,” she tells TIME.

She adds that while the 27 year old is “very docile” nowadays, she has a feisty side. When asked if Tiffany Two has always gotten along with other cats, Voorhees said:

She had sex appeal, man, I tell ya. The boys liked her, even if she was fixed. Once there was a kitten across the street, and he was just smitten with her. She was 13. He would race across the street to see her when they let him out. Man, it was a real Harold and Maude sort of thing.

Voorhees will be throwing a birthday party for Tiffany Two on Saturday, serving up cupcakes with little fish decorations on top, goldfish crackers, liver mousse, plus champagne for the human guests.

She claims the cat, which barely weighs six pounds, is in good health: “We take our blood pressure medications every day together. She’s probably in better shape than I am.”

But why has this cat lived so long? “Oh gosh, I don’t know,” Voorhees says. “She has just been so devoted to me. She would drool when I would stroke her. Sometimes I think she just doesn’t want to leave me.”

Sharron Voorhees, 73, holds her cat Tiffany Two, the oldest living cat in the worldSharron Voorhees

These Are The Oldest Living People in the World

World's Oldest Japanese Woman Turns 116
Misao Okawa, the world's oldest living person, looks on her 116th birthday celebration at Kurenai Nursing Home on March 5, 2014 in Osaka, Japan. Okawa, born in Tenma, Osaka, on March 5, 1898 to a family of Kimono merchants, married in 1919 and had three children, of which a daughter and a son are still alive, and has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Okawa is currently 116 years old.Buddhika Weerasinghe—Getty Images
Gertrude Weaver
Gertrude Weaver holds a flower given to her a day before her 116th birthday, at Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden, Ark., July 3, 2014. The Gerontology Research Group says Weaver is the oldest person in the United States and second-oldest person in the world.Danny Johnston—AP
Oldest American
Jeralean Talley, photographed at 113, sits in her favorite chair in the living room of her home in Inkster, Mich. on April 2, 2013. She is now 115. Kimberly P. Mitchell—AP
Susannah Mushatt Jones in her home in Brooklyn on June 11, 2014, a few weeks before her 115th birthday.Joseph C. Lin for TIME
Bernice Madigan, on the cusp of her 110th birthday, is one of just 25 or so known supercentenarians in the world. She lives in Cheshire, Mass. with her niece, Elaine Daniels, who is throwing her a huge birthday celebration with hundreds of invitees on Saturday, July 25, 2009.
Bernice Madigan, photographed on the cusp of her 110th birthday, is now 115.Dina Rudick—Boston Globe/Getty Images
Emma Morano-Martinuzzi was born on Nov. 29, 1899 and is 114 years old.
Emma Morano-Martinuzzi was born on Nov. 29, 1899 and is 114 years old.Danilo Donadio
Antonia Gerena Rivera May 19, 1900 and is 114 years old.
Antonia Gerena Rivera was born on May 19, 1900 and is now 114 years old.Gerontology Research Group
Ethel Lang celebrates her 107th birthday with her great great grandchildren on Sept. 21 1987 in the Bear Creek Nursing Home. Lang was born on May 27, 1900.
Ethel Lang celebrates her birthday with her great great grandchildren on Sept. 21, 1987 in the Bear Creek Nursing Home. Lang was born on May 27, 1900, and is now 114.John Preito—Denver Post/Getty Images
Nabi Tajima was born on Aug. 4, 1900 and is 114 years old.Kikai Newsletter
Born September 8, 1900, Blanch Arrington Cobb celebrated her 110th birthday in 2010. She lives with her daughter on the Northside in Jacksonville, FL.
Born September 8, 1900, Blanche Arrington Cobb is photographed celebrating her 110th birthday in 2010. Now 113, she has lived with her daughter on the Northside in Jacksonville, FL.Jon M. Fletcher—The Florida Times-Union
Anna Stoehr blew out the 112 candles on her birthday cake with the help of her great grandchildren on Oct. 14, 2012 in Millville, Minn., where about 180 invited guests celebrated Stoehr's birthday. Stoehr is believed to be the oldest independently living person in the world.
Anna Stoehr is photographed blowing out the 112 candles on her birthday cake with the help of her great grandchildren and about 180 guests on Oct. 14, 2012 in Millville, Minn. She is now 113.Richard Tsong—AP
Goldie Steinberg was born on Oct. 30, 1900, and is 113 years old.
Goldie Steinberg was born on Oct. 30, 1900, and is 113 years old.Market Wire
Merle Barwis, 111 years old enjoys a birthday beer with family in Victoria, B.C. December 23, 2011.
Merle Barwis, photographed at 111 years old, enjoys a birthday beer with family in Victoria, B.C. December 23, 2011. She is now 113.Lyle StaffordL—Times Colonist

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com