# Amazing: cat lives to 12 years **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 2, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052 "2009-08-02T13:11:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/21 "2009-08-02T16:49:44Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > the [oldest cat on record](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creme_Puff) lived to 38… There was also a cat named Baby that won Cat Fancy’s “Oldest Living Cat” contest several times in a row. Baby lived to be either 37 or 38, can’t remember which. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/22 "2009-08-02T17:07:22Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Is this a woosh or something? What do _ **you** _ think? Or maybe it’s just Sunday morning. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/23 "2009-08-02T17:56:00Z")
My cat’s 15, still a babyface and still jumping from a standstill to windowsills. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/24 "2009-08-02T18:13:12Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Schrödinger’s cat still isn’t dead. Or is it? Someone want to look in the box and check? I knew somebody would come up with this, but the last sentence is really funny. Good one! ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/25 "2009-08-02T21:13:45Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Yes my neighbors’ cat lived to be 21. I think veterinarians are now telling us that the correct way to calculate a cat’s age in ‘cat years’ is [fifteen years for the first year, nine for the second, and four for each successive year](http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/agechart.htm). This would make Creme Puff 159 in people years. (Which is something no human has ever achieved that I know of). My imagination is still going wild trying to picture a 38 year old cat. Poor Fluffy made it to 18 and was looking pretty pathetic. I can’t conceive of her going on another 20 years. I’m not sure if I’d like to see a picture or not… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/26 "2009-08-02T21:42:29Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > That just strikes me as so very _British_ to come up with a justification so that no1 is breaking any rules, done with tongue firmly planted in cheek and as straight a face as can be managed. It’s awesome. There’s a great story, probably apocryphal, about a snooty English gentleman’s club that had a rule that no dogs were permitted on the premises, and anybody caught with a dog would be fined by the club. When a blind man wished to join the club, they had to amend their rules: “Any dog leading a blind person shall be deemed to be a cat.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/27 "2009-08-02T21:46:49Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > There’s a great story, probably apocryphal, about a snooty English gentleman’s club that had a rule that no dogs were permitted on the premises, and anybody caught with a dog would be fined by the club. > > When a blind man wished to join the club, they had to amend their rules: “Any dog leading a blind person shall be deemed to be a cat.” 😛 See? See? That’s what I meant: it’s just so _British_ to do something that way! I love it! ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/28 "2009-08-02T22:19:14Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I am 48 years old, with no intentions of dying any time soon. I am a cat. I call BS on this! Everyone knows cats can’t type that well. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/29 "2009-08-02T23:04:22Z")
It would seem that the UK has a positive epidemic of felines interested in utilizing public transit. The adorable story of [Macavity](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-447527/Mystery-cat-takes-regular-bus-shops.html) (the mystery cat!) who regularly takes the bus down to the fish & chip shop. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/30 "2009-08-03T00:02:32Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Am I missing something here? A cat’s average lifespan is about 14 years, and the [oldest cat on record](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creme_Puff) lived to 38… Hey, I used to know that guy in the video, old man Jake, back when I lived in Austin. Haven’t thought about him in…jeez, 10-12 years now. I’d always thought he was just another oddball Austin eccentric; I had no idea he, or one of his cats (other than than the well-known Grandpa), were quasi-famous. I used to work in a small print shop and Jake would come in and have us make calendars, postcards, stickers and all manner of paper products featuring his then-oldest cat, Grandpa. Some of the stuff he’d sell, but most of it he’d give to the cat’s “fan club”. We we’re chatting during one of his visits, and ol’ Jake invited me and my co-worker Philly to drop by his house and meet Grandpa (and his eight zillion other cats). I want to think that the cat was 28-29 at the time. Poor old thing looked like a chihuahua that had been caught in a garbage disposal, but Jake loved it like it was one of his children. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/31 "2009-08-03T00:13:15Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Agreed- very funny! I saw a tv news report the other day about these wolves in Russia that ride the train into the city every morning and back out into the country at night. They commute! How weird. Now I’ve _got_ to know more about this. Is it a freight train they hop onto, or do they just get on at the stop with the other passengers? What do they do once they get into the city? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/32 "2009-08-03T00:24:30Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I call BS on this! Everyone knows cats can’t type that well. Yer right! If a cat typed it, it would like this: > [@](#): > > IM 48 YEERS OLD, WIF NO INTENSHUNS OV DYIN ANY TIEM SOON. IM KAT. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/33 "2009-08-03T00:33:22Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Now I’ve _got_ to know more about this. Is it a freight train they hop onto, or do they just get on at the stop with the other passengers? What do they do once they get into the city? [Here’s](http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/russia-wild-dogs-take-train-to-commute.php) the story. I saw the story first on ABC Nightly News, with video. I guess they’re stray dogs, not wolves. They apparently go into the city during the day to scavenge, and back to the suburbs at night to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/34 "2009-08-03T00:47:45Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I am 48 years old, with no intentions of dying any time soon. I am a cat. In some languages, “cat” can be slang for beautiful man/woman, but I’m not sure if this works for English. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/35 "2009-08-03T01:00:43Z")
I had two cats that went at least 18, maybe 20 years. They were full grown when I got them, not sure how old they were but that’s how long I had them. The cat I have now is 10+ and still acts like a kitten most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/36 "2009-08-03T01:36:14Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I call BS on this! Everyone knows cats can’t type that well. I disagree. Cats can type just fine. The real problems stem from having to use a mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/37 "2009-08-03T01:43:03Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I call BS on this! Everyone knows cats can’t type that well. He’s using Vista with built in voice recognition software. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/38 "2009-08-03T02:17:20Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I call BS on this! Everyone knows cats can’t type that well. a cockroach types for me ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/39 "2009-08-03T03:29:09Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I thought my brother-in-law’s cat was a miracle at 10-1/2 years, but this one takes the cake. Do you know that 12 cat years equals 111 people years? So…this was just a whoosh, right? Fill us in if we all missed the joke! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/40 "2009-08-03T05:09:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > So…this was just a whoosh, right? Fill us in if we all missed the joke! > > 😕 I don’t get it either. I’ve had several cats live way into their teens, and one lived to be 20. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052.md?page=3)