In 1997, a young mother from the Tyumen region took in a kitten that her neighbor was carrying to the garage – he did not want to keep it at home. Elvira Chanieva, 20, took pity on the kitten and took it in.
At the time, she had a one-year-old child and had no time for a kitten, but she couldn’t leave the animal in the cold garage. First, she took the new family member to the vet, who said the kitten was healthy and didn’t need medical attention.
The health of the cat turned out to be excellent: almost a quarter of a century has passed, but Dashaun, as the girl called her pet, still lives with her mistress in Tyumen, Utyashevo.
Its name is a bit strange because at first Elvira thought it was a cat and called it Dashun. The kitten quickly learned her name, responding enthusiastically to the affectionate « Dashunya. » However, it later turned out to be a cat – so we had to name it Dashun.
At first, the owner fed her cat dry food, but then when more little ones appeared in the family, we had to switch everyone to organic food, it was the most economical option. Since then, Dashaun has lived this way: he likes milk, fresh cream, and fish.
Elvira thinks the cat is now 24, but when she asked to be listed in the Russian Book of Records, Elvira said her age was 21 years and 9 months, the vet said. Today Dashaun is listed in the book as the oldest Siamese cat in Russia.
The truth is that he does not look like a Siamese. It is possible that there were Siamese ancestors in the family, but the cat is clearly not a purebred Siamese.
However, that’s not important, because he’s really, really old by cat standards. The world’s oldest Siamese cat, nicknamed Scooter, lived in America for up to 30 years. Dashaun is now awake and healthy, so he has every chance of breaking the American record.