世上最长寿的猫：主人透露秘诀是宠爱

　　VETERAN tabby Nutmeg has outlived all of his nine lives to become the world’s oldest cat at the grand old age of 31.

　　Nutmeg，这只已经活了比九条命还要长的老猫，在31岁的时候成为了当今世界上最长寿的猫。

　　That makes the OAP – old age pussycat – 141 in human years.

　　这只“可以领退休金”的老猫已经相当于人类的141岁了。

　　Despite having just three teeth and being no longer willing to venture outside looking for adventure, Nutmeg is still going strong.

　　虽然只剩下三颗牙齿，也不再愿意去室外探险，Nutmeg还是很健康。

　　He inherits the title from Scooter, a Siamese from Mansfield, Texas, who was named a record breaker at the age of 30 by the Guinness Book Of World Records but died in May.

　　Nutmeg从Scooter手中接过了这个头衔，那是一只来自曼斯菲尔德的暹罗猫，Scooter曾经在30岁的时候打破了吉尼斯世界纪录成为了最长寿的猫，但是在同年五月份去世了。

　　The average lifespan of a cat is about 15 years. However Nutmeg’s owners Liz and Ian Finlay say the secret to their cat’s long life is being spoilt rotten.

　　普通猫咪的寿命大约是15年，但是Nutmeg的主人丽思和伊恩说，他们让宠物猫长寿的秘诀是——溺爱。

　　The couple, from Blaydon, Tyne and Wear, confess to regularly feeding him treats including tuna, cream and hot roast chicken.

　　来自泰恩威尔郡的这对夫妇谈到他们通常喂Nutmeg的食物包括金枪鱼、奶油和烤鸡。

　　Ian, 66, said: “Nutmeg has been very well cared for. He has his own room in the house.

　　66岁的男主人伊恩说：“Nutmeg得到了非常细致认真的照顾，他在这个家中甚至有自己的房间。

　　Nutmeg has accompanied Ian and shop worker Liz, 62, through life as they celebrated landmark wedding anniversaries, moved home and mourned the loss of loved ones.

　　对于伊恩和已经62岁的车间工人丽思来说，Nutmeg一直陪伴在他们身边：无论是庆祝结婚纪念日，搬家，或是当他们沉浸在失去亲人的苦痛中的时候。

　　Liz and Ian gave Nutmeg a home in 1990 after their other cat Spice, who died in the early 2000s, kept bringing home a stray friend.

　　1990年时，丽思和伊恩的另外一只猫Spice总是把一直迷路的小猫带回家，于是他们给了这只小猫一个家。Spice在21世纪初便去世了。

　　The childless couple decided to adopt the tabby and took him to a vet who judged him to be five years old.

　　这对没有子女的老夫妻决定收养这只虎斑猫，并且带它去看了兽医，在那里他们知道这只猫应该是五岁了。

　　Liz added: “Nutmeg is like a lovable old grandpa. He is very gentle."

　　丽思补充道：“Nutmeg像是一位可敬的老爷爷。他非常绅士。”

　　But she admitted: “He has changed as he has got older – just like humans do. He is grumpier now and his meow is more like a growl.

　　随即她也承认：“随着年龄的增加他也在变化——就像人类一样。现在他性格暴躁而且声音更像是在咆哮。”

　　“He had a stroke last year and the vet told us we might want to consider putting him down.

　　“去年他中风了，当时兽医告诉我们可能要考虑渐渐地把他从心头儿上放下了。”

　　We decided that if he was going to die it would be with us at home, but he slowly recovered.”

　　“我们当时想如果他真的要死了，也要在我们的怀中，在家里离世，但是他竟然缓慢的康复了。”