IPSWICH: She’s deaf, partially blind and has only one tooth.

Yet despite her ailments, Fluffy the cat is set to raise a paw to her 22nd birthday next March.

That has made her proud owners wondering whether she could be the oldest puss in Ipswich.

“We have been saying it’s her last year since she was 16, but she just keeps on going,” said Lynn Cobbold, of Raeburn Road.

“Apart from her deafness and blindness, she’s fine!”

Mrs Cobbold, a cleaner at nearby Alderwood Pupil Referral Unit, said the black and white feline’s long life could be down to regularly tucking into chicken, rather than cat food.

The 48-year-old said the tiny moggy also enjoyed a conservative lifestyle, spending most of her days curled up on the sofa.

“She’s never outside at nights and she’s never out in bad weather,” said Mrs Cobbold.

“She snuggles up on the couch most of the time, she’s always done that.”

Fluffy, who was born in February or March 1989, is thought to have outlived her three offspring, as well as her sibling.

“She used to be really active but even then she never strayed beyond our garden,” said Mrs Cobbold.

“She’s so safe, she’s a homely cat, that’s just how she is.”

She said the rest of her family – husband Terry, 27-year-old daughter Amy, and son Joseph, 17 – hope the cat has a few more years left in her yet.

Mrs Cobbold said she had been offered Fluffy by a friend in 1989, who told her if a home couldn’t be found for the kitten, it would be thrown in Ipswich Docks.

As well as being deaf, Fluffy has cataracts in both eyes. She has just one tooth left after a vet removed the rest when they began to rot. She also suffers from arthritis in her back legs and sometimes needs her owner’s help to get up on to the sofa.

Meanwhile, a family cat from Leicestershire, which appeared in the national press this week, is believed to be one of the oldest in the UK at nearly 23.

n Have you got an ancient pet? Call the Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324790 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk