Secret to long life for the country's oldest pub cat, still propping up the bar aged 112? Real ale on tap, her owner claims

By Daily Mail Reporter


Veteran pub moggy Rosie is the cat that got the cream amongst the regulars of her local - after clocking up the equivalent of 112 in human years.

Rosie has been standing at the bar of the Swan with Two Neck in the village of Pendleton near Clitheroe, Lancashire, since the 1980s and has just reached her 25th birthday making her one of the oldest cats in Britain.

Pub landlady Christine Dilworth who owns Rosie believes her long life is down to the real ale fumes going up her nose. Cats normally have a life expectancy of 15 years.

Long drink: Rosie, at 25 years old, is believed to be one of the oldest cats in the country

Christine, 52, said: "She has always had good company and enjoyed time by the open fire and I think the real ale fumes have helped as well.

'She is quite frail and she has always been small, but she is a real character. She is so happy when people are around, because she has grown up in a pub.

'We've had other cats over the years, but Rosie is special. She's a real lady and very gentle and happy even when the children are pulling at her.

'Not a day goes by without anybody asking how she is and lots of people take photographs of her on their phones - I think she secretly enjoys her celebrity status.

Rosie, who has always been mistaken as a kitten because of her petite frame, loves nothing more than being in the thick of the hustle and bustle of the bar.

'She very rarely goes upstairs,' said Christine. 'She loves being stroked by all the customers and lying stretched out in front of the fire. In summer, she'll go out to the benches and lie in the sun.'

Fancy a drink? Owner Christine believes the secret to Rosie's longevity is fumes from the real ale the pub serves

The family got a scare a couple of years ago, when Rosie developed cancer on her ear.

'She had to get part of her ear chopped off - maybe it was down to too much sun-bathing, they do say to rub sun cream on cats' ears.'

Rosie laps up all the attention and has even struck up friendship with regular punters.

Christine said: 'It's just amazing - she'll meow back when they speak to her.

'There was a lady who came in 20-years-ago who would let Rosie lick the cream pot every time she had coffee and she's never forgotten that - whenever anybody has a cream pot, she's expecting a treat.'

'Some cats are nervous, but Rosie is just so lovely with people. She's such a character, in her own little way. Little kids coming in with their parents get excited to see her.'

And the couple's sons Robert, 27 and Michael, 22, could not imagine life without Rosie.

Christine said: 'We had Rosie before Michael was born, so she's a member of our family. She's always been in their lives and they have never known any different.'


Friendly: The elderly cat enjoys the company of the pub's regulars, keeping a close eye on the action

It has also been 25 years since Christine and her husband, who know also have a seven-year-old cat called Raisin, moved to Pendleton to set up family life running the Swan And Two Necks pub, when a local farmer told them of the white kitten and her mischievous ways.

Christine, 52 said: 'He said she was the only kitten of t
he litter to dare go into the milking parlour for a taste. She was so tiny and lovely - I loved her straight away.

'We'll be celebrating 25 years of having the pub on August 25 - it would be great If Rosie was still with us - that would be the icing on the cake.'

Rosie is so famous, she is even featured in the Good Beer Guide.

But it also seems the fluffy white feline, who has had three litters of kitten in her lifetime, may have it in her blood. Christine said: 'I bumped into the owner of one of her kittens and he said she was nearly 18-years-old.'

And the family were sad to say goodbye to her other kitten Maisie, who reached 19-years-old when she died two years ago.

The oldest cat ever recorded by the Guinness Book of Records was Creme Puff a female from Texas which died at age of 38 years and 3 days in August 2005.

But last year a family in South Wales claimed to have the oldest in the world after their pet Lucy reached its 39th birthday.


source:dailymail