# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/41 "2009-08-03T05:10:02Z")
Back in 1984, during the Worlds Fair (in New Orleans), a house down the street from my Aunt’s burned. There was a new litter of kittens in the house and the mother cat died. My Aunt rescued two of them and kept them as pets. The first died about 3 years ago. The second died around 6 months ago. They were very antisocial cats and I never got a good look at the first one. The second one became strangely social about 6 months before she died and actually let me touch her. They were strange cats and I actually doubted their existence for a while. My other aunt had a cat that was around 20 years old. Back around 1992, I worked with my uncle for a summer and I became acquainted with this cat. At that time, she was a large fully grown cat (resembled a Maine Coon) and she’d come running up to me whenever I went to their house. Last year, I stopped by for a visit…I hadn’t been there in a few years…and this hairy bag-of-bones came running up to me. She looked like she was already dead but she didn’t know it or act like it yet. She could still jump from the kitchen table to the counter like a kitten. She died about 6 months ago and they figured her to be somewhere between 20 and 21 years old. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/42 "2009-08-03T05:21:43Z")
Note that an outdoor cat’s life expectancy is ~5 years. So a 10-year-old non-housecat really is quite the marvel. But the 17-year-old indoor cat who’s complaining that I stopped petting her to type this post is not particularly unusual in her longevity … Context is everything! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/43 "2009-08-03T06:27:42Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I disagree. Cats can type just fine. The real problems stem from having to use a mouse. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19adc/32.png) [@I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Am_The_Lorax)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/44 "2009-08-03T11:38:11Z")
I was 20 when my grandma’s cat died; he was older than me. My own cat, Fuzzy, was diagnosed with FIV when he was 5, he lived to be 18. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/45 "2009-08-03T21:41:59Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > Note that an outdoor cat’s life expectancy is ~5 years. So a 10-year-old non-housecat really is quite the marvel. But the 17-year-old indoor cat who’s complaining that I stopped petting her to type this post is not particularly unusual in her longevity … Context is everything! We had an indoor/outdoor (mostly outdoor) cat named Maxie when I was a kid. Hell of a hunter. Anyway, she lived to be a very vocal but mostly deaf 21, when she finally passed away in front of the fire one night. By then, my mom had taken to occasionally leaning over her to yell “Go toward the light, Maxie! Go toward the light!” Maxie outlived her son, Bob, also indoor/outdoor, who died of old age around 18. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/46 "2009-08-03T21:48:13Z")
My cat lived to 108 years old. He spoke three languages and was able to drive all the way up to the very end. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/47 "2009-08-03T21:56:39Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > What do _ **you** _ think? > > Or maybe it’s just Sunday morning. So…was this a joke thread, or what? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/48 "2009-08-03T22:09:59Z")
My oldest cat is 17, and spry as a kitten…just really whiny these days. ---
**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 3, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/49 "2009-08-03T23:19:47Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > So…was this a joke thread, or what? I can assure you that a 12-year-old cat is no surprise to me. I just wanted to compile a list of people who aren’t ashamed to tell the world how old their cats are. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/50 "2009-08-03T23:31:35Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I can assure you that a 12-year-old cat is no surprise to me. I just wanted to compile a list of people who aren’t ashamed to tell the world how old their cats are. WTF? Seriously WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/51 "2009-08-04T00:10:32Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > WTF? > > Seriously > > WTF? Quit with the WTFs already. Isn’t it obvious that he thought the story was pretty cool and that the joke is remarking on the age of the cat rather than the fact it takes the bus around town? But ultimately the point of the thread is to talk about a cat who travels by bus. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/52 "2009-08-04T00:42:54Z")
Hmm, I swear this same article was up in the news 1-2 years ago as well. Is it some annual news recycling thing? Or was that another cat? _googling_ ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/53 "2009-08-04T00:45:37Z")
Yes, there was another cat, see post #29. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/54 "2009-08-04T01:29:24Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Yes, there was another cat, see post #29. :smack: That’s what I get for skimming the thread. Thanks, that’s probably the cat I read about a couple of years ago. ---
**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 4, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/55 "2009-08-04T04:55:59Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I can assure you that a 12-year-old cat is no surprise to me. I just wanted to compile a list of people who aren’t ashamed to tell the world how old their cats are. Ah…ok. :dubious: 😕 ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/56 "2009-08-04T04:59:59Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I can assure you that a 12-year-old cat is no surprise to me. I just wanted to compile a list of people who aren’t ashamed to tell the world how old their cats are. Why the f-- should people be ashamed to tell the world how old their cats are? Whatever you’re taking, **guizot** , stop it, it’s not improving your brain power or judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/57 "2009-08-04T05:01:51Z")
So was the whole point of the thread to provoke people into being, “That’s not so old–my cat was older”? And if so, why? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/58 "2009-08-04T05:31:15Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > Why the f-- should people be ashamed to tell the world how old their cats are? > > Whatever you’re taking, **guizot** , stop it, it’s not improving your brain power or judgment. I still think you’re being wooshed, but only the OP knows for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/59 "2009-08-04T15:52:42Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:51, topic:505052”] Quit with the WTFs already. Isn’t it obvious that he thought the story was pretty cool and that the joke is remarking on the age of the cat rather than the fact it takes the bus around town? But ultimately the point of the thread is to talk about a cat who travels by bus. [/QUOTE] He could have made it a lot more clear. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052/60 "2009-08-04T16:26:31Z")
My cat just got his first invitation to join AARC. He’s so bummed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-cat-lives-to-12-years/505052.md?page=4)