Unwanted cat brothers, 21, need 'twilight' Northamptonshire home

Two elderly feline fellows are hoping to find a new owner, at the grand old age of 21.

The cats, Leon and Nikita, are "bonded" brothers, meaning they do everything together, and are very affectionate, the Northamptonshire RSPCA branch said.

The average age a domestic cat lives to is about 14, but the oldest on record lived to an amazing 38 years.

The black cats now need a home to live out their twilight years, as the Northampton Chronicle reported.

"Poor Leon and Nikita find themselves in our care at the grand age of 21," the RSPCA wrote on its branch website.

"They are bonded brothers and were signed over to be rehomed as they were not coping with family life," Michelle Billingham, from the Northamptonshire adoptions team, said.

This "affectionate pair... enjoy chin tickles and human company" and would need a quiet "retirement home" with no children.

The brothers have been together their entire lives, and came into the branch "through no fault of their own", Ms Billingham told the BBC.

Despite their age - which could equate to more than 100 years each in human terms - they are in "fairly good health", although Nikita has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.

"He will need blood tests over the next few weeks or months at our vet's to check how he is responding to medication," said the RSPCA, which will offer support to a new owner within the county.

A report by the Royal Veterinary College states the average life expectancy of a domestic cat in the UK is about 14 years, although many can live far longer.

According to Guinness World Records Creme Puff was the oldest cat on record, and lived to the age of 38.

Creme Puff was born in August 1967 and died in Austin, Texas, USA on 6 August 2005 - three days after her 38th birthday.

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