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Possom the cat is 28 years old, which equates to about 130 in human years, most of which she's spent alternately sleeping, eating and biting her owners, Kenny and Mony Bryant, who rescued her days before their wedding in 1982.
"She's part vampire," Kenny said of Possom — this year's Cat Fancy winner for America's oldest cat — who, on Wednesday afternoon, snoozed on the bathroom counter after her latest attack, slashing Mony's arm, a signal she was done being held. The Bryants say Possom is sweet, as long as she wants to be and if you pet her under her chin or between her ears. Touching her hips or tail is often a prelude to pain.
"She just needs her ounce of blood every day," said Kenny, 57.
When Possom entered their lives, Mony worked ground maintenance at an RV park in Holiday, where she dealt with an abundance of feral cats in the area. She trapped more than two dozen and took them to the animal shelter. Possom was a few weeks old when she was snared, barely a pound, hissing, spitting and clawing. But when Mony cradled the kitten, she purred. To Mony, it sounded like a broken chain saw.
"Oh, you're sweet," Mony said, and took her home.
Other than spite and a desire to live, it is unknown why Possom has survived so long. As this year's Cat Fancy winner, her thin face featured in September's issue, Possom beat the competition of Smokey, 26 1/2; William Shakespeare, 26; and Missy Mae, 25 1/2. Susan Logan, editor of Cat Fancy, said the oldest cat from reader submissions came in 2007, with 36-year-old Baby. The most elderly cat ever, according to Guinness World Records, was Creme Puff, a Texan, who passed away in 2005 at 38 years and three days.
Possom's age was verified by Westlake Animal Hospital in Tarpon Springs, where the receptionist is three years her junior. Possom visited the vet once at a few months old — to be spayed — and possibly another time, but the Bryants can't remember. Mony credits Possom's longevity to her genes, described as "part Siamese and part whatever."
As a kitten, Possom was mostly white with a dark undercoat, reminding Mony of an opossum, hence the name. As she aged, her fur darkened, now cream with caramel and brown splotches. Her blue eyes are clear, her vision excellent, as well as her hearing.
She has retained all her teeth.
"She walks a little funny, but you would too at 132," Mony said.
Possom, by her choice, lives in the dark, cool bathroom with Grunt, who, at 16, is the second-oldest cat in the household, shared with five others — Lulu, Squirrel, Bone, Rambo and Pee Wee — and a Rottweiler puppy named Conan. Possom is not particularly fond of them, as she wasn't of their predecessors: three dogs and more than a half dozen cats, their urns displayed in the home.
Mony, 53, who never wanted children, felt like a proud mother when Possom won.
"She's famous," Mony said, petting Possom, who curled beside her on the sofa next to a framed copy of the Cat Fancy story. Done with Mony's attention, Possom snapped and bit her. Several times. Then stalked off.
"Oh, you venomous thing, you," Mony said.
Times researcher Shirl Kennedy contributed to this story. Erin Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6229.
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