World's Oldest Cat Birthday

World's oldest cat celebrates 125th birthday
A feline believed to be the world's oldest cat has celebrated his 125th birthday.

And at 27 human years, Mischief is still living up to his name despite "slowing down a little", according to owners Chris and Donna Thorne.

The Guinness World Records has confirmed there is no record holder in the UK at the moment but the previous oldest cat was 29.

Mrs Thorne, 33, of St Austell, Cornwall, said: "It's amazing - he just keeps going on and on."

Mr Thorne, 51, got the black cat from a friend in nearby Launceston as a kitten in 1981.

He still has photographs of Mischief at just a few months old being cuddled at Christmas the same year.

Almost three decades later, he is still a vital part of the Thorne family, and is adored the couple's 20-month-old baby Skye.

"She loves him to bits," said Mrs Thorne. "When he eventually goes we'll have to get another one because she'll be devastated."

She said that despite Mischief's advanced years, he still has a spring in his step.

"His name says it all," she said. "He may be 27 but he still manages to jump over the stair gate and he's round your ankles constantly for food.

"He's an indoor cat now, and he's losing big clumps of fur, but he's still going."

She added: "We'd love to know if there are any older cats in Cornwall. He's lost a couple of his nine lives over the years but it doesn't seem to have affected him."

A spokesman from Guinness World Records said a ginger cat called Spike was the last feline to hold the title of UK's oldest cat but since he died in 2001, there had been no further record holder. He encouraged Mr and Mrs Thorne to get in contact with Guinness World Records.

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

Creme Puff lived with her owner, Jake Perry, in Austin, Texas.

Camilla's 60 birth-day presents for Charles...one 4 every year of his life

Prince Charles has already raised eyebrows by having not one but two birth-day parties, and now his wife Camilla is planning to give him 60 individual gifts - one to mark every year of his life.

The presents, which friends describe as a 'labour of love', include a pair of walking boots, a personalised fly fishing rod and his favourite episodes of The Goon Show.

They will be presented to Charles over his birthday weekend next month.

So far, the celebrations include a lavish State banquet at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Queen and arranged by Charles's former aide, events organiser Michael Fawcett.

The following night, there will be a party for 75 of Charles's closest friends at Highgrove, the Prince's Gloucestershire residence, which will include a five-course dinner followed by dancing.

According to one source who has helped Camilla gather the presents, the idea has taken months to come to fruition and the Duchess of Cornwall is still tracking down a few final items.

'Camilla was at a loss over what to buy for Charles - he is the man with everything. In the end, she decided that she would abandon the idea of buying one huge gift and instead present him with a number of smaller gifts,' a friend said.

'It was as she was sourcing some of his favourite wines and literature that she seized on the idea of presenting him with a gift for every year of his life.

'She has spent months getting all the things together and every item will mean something special to Charles.

'She is also collating a special book, which many of Charles's friends have contributed to, and will present it to him at Highgrove.'

Among the 60 presents that Camilla will give Charles are two rosebushes for his beloved garden at Highgrove bearing Charles's favourite blooms: the Margaret Merrill and the Frederic Mistral, which is so perfectly formed that the flower resembles porcelain.

Camilla, who has overseen plans for the more intimate second birthday party, has also sourced a page from The Times on Charles's date of birth, November 14, 1948.

She has had it framed along with pictures of their wedding, and a collection in antique silver of photographs of Princes William and Harry as children.

A keen chess player, the Duchess has also commissioned a Gloucestershire craftsman to carve a wooden chess set for Charles.

'Camilla has spent weeks getting everything together.

'This hasn't been about expense, it's been about making sure she gets a memory or special token for every year of Charles's life,' the friend added.

'The presents are poignantly all about Charles as a man rather than a Royal and everything Camilla has sourced has a real connection to Charles.'

Camilla, 61, had a drinks specialist in St James's Street, London, seek out a number of bottles for Charles to share with friends including a 1948 Glen Grant vintage whisky, a bottle of Armagnac from the same year and a case of Malvasia, one of the

Prince's favourite organic Madeira wines. She has also had two cases of his favourite Argentinian wine from the Mendosa vineyards flown over.

'Camilla has really taken a lot of time getting everything together --Charles will be very touched,' added the source.
'She has reproduced manuscripts f some of his favourite sonnets and extracts from his favourite Shakespeare plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo And Juliet.

'Probably the most romantic thing she has done is had some of their love letters from over the years bound in a special leather book.'

William and Harry, who have been instrumental in planning Charles's birthday party at Highgrove with Camilla, are also understood to have helped their stepmother with her choice of presents.

It is, of course, unlikely that Charles will wish to part with any of the sentimental presents. In the past, there has been controversy over the fact that Michael Fawcett made a business selling unwanted Royal gifts.

The revelations led to him resigning and being nicknamed Fawcett the Fence.

Last night, a spokesman at Clarence House declined to comment and said: 'The Prince's birthday is a private matter.'