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‘My best friend Echo might well be Fife’s oldest cat – so she’s getting spoiled this Christmas’

St Andrews customer service assistant Carol Donald reckons her moggie Echo could be the oldest living cat in Fife.

Carol Donald rubs her cat Echo under the chin.
Carol Donald with Echo, who has been around since the late 90s. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson.

I got my cat Echo and her late sister Millie at the tail end of 1999.

That makes Echo 24 years old, and counting.

Echo came home first, and I’d offered to take Millie as well, as they seemed so close.

At first, the owners wanted to keep her. But within a few weeks, they’d called me up asking if I wanted to take Millie too.

They took a while to warm up to one another again, but once they did, the two of them were totally inseparable.

Inseparable: Sisters Echo and Millie.

Millie was timid coming in, but she ended up being the bossier one. And they were both always full of mischief.

We lost Millie in 2023, aged 23. But even now, Echo gets up to all sorts, she can be a wee devil.

Echo’s antics give owner Carol ‘heart failure’

She tries to jump up on top of the living room door, and I’ve got to get to the other side before she falls off on to the floor!

I swear she tries to give me heart failure.

Echo’s an indoor cat, Millie was too. But she escaped for the first time just a few months ago!

I didn’t think she would be able to get out the top of the kitchen window. But cats are like liquid.

Echo is getting on in years but still going strong. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson.

Obviously I was up to high doh, posted on Facebook pages and all the rest. I went all the way around the streets, into everybody’s gardens, into driveways – the lot.

I came back, totally broken hearted, and the next thing this little head pops itself out from around the sofa. It was her! She’d come back in the bathroom window, which I’d left open for her.

She must have decided she didn’t like it out there.

24 years of milestones for cat Echo

In her 24 years she’s been around for a fair few milestones. She was around for my daughter Carmen growing up – she’s 33 now.

But really Millie was Carmen’s best friend. As soon as Carmen came in, Millie would be up on her shoulder like a parrot.

When we lost Millie, Echo was very upset. She started pulling her fur out, poor thing, so she looked like a fluffy lion on top and then bald from her back to her tail.

She was missing her sister.

But she’s settled again now, she’s coping – enough to ask for her smoked salmon every night!

Carol Donald, 66, with Echo at home in St Andrews. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson.

And she follows me around constantly. The minute she hears me crossing the gravel in the front garden, you can hear her behind the glass door, meowing.

And before I can even get my Tesco uniform off, she’s up on me, looking for a bosie. Trying to move her is a nightmare!

What will Echo get for Christmas?

Echo will get her present this Christmas, like every Christmas – a catnip toy. She’s daft for them.

She used to run among all the presents under the tree, having a wee rip here and a wee rip there.

She’s still in good health, the vet isn’t worried about her. They say she might have a touch of dementia, which is not unusual at her age.

I think the secret to her long life is just loads of cuddles, love and attention.

She knows she’s loved, and that she’s safe.

Do you have a remarkable pet or unusual animal? Get in touch to share your Pet Tales at: PetTales@thecourier.co.uk

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