I know when well taken care of, cats can live a pretty long time.
My question is: How old was your cat when it passed/was put down due to “old age”.
I’m not trying to bum anyone out. My own bad boy is 7 years 9 months as of yesterday and it got me thinking.
Share your favorite story or picture if you like.
My mom has had several indoor cats make it to 19 or 20 years old. She also has an outdoor cat who is 18 and still pretty darn hale and hearty. My own indoor/outdoor cat is 14 and still catches rodents and rabbits for fun. **Brynda ** had a Himalayan kitty live to be 16, I think.
Gringo made it to 17, and the last 4 years of his life he was a shootin’ up diabetic. Ming made two weeks past her 18th, and currently Erica just hit 20 years in March. her jaws kind of clack when she yawns, she has a hard time washing herself good, and generally is treated like the Prima Donna she is by us, but shows little sign of giving up the ship anytime soon.
A friend of mine had a pair of Maine Coon Cats, one of which was 25 years old, the other 18 (I think). They were kind of creaky, but still did the usual cat things. And for all I know, they’re still alive. This was three or four years ago that I last saw them.
I was Emerald’s third caretaker. According to the sketchy records we had on her, she was an adult when she was adopted by an elderly lady who had her for 15 years. When the lady passed away, she was adopted by my sister in law, who had her for 4 years. When my sister in law passed away, I adopted Emerald and had her for 4 years until she “crossed the Bridge” in her sleep following a few weeks of weight loss and constant attention to my recliner.
This would have made her at least 23 years old - and she was overweight right up until the end. When I got her and took her in for her vet check-up, he discovered that most of her teeth had been removed due to dental problems. I told her “if you can be fat eating dry cat food with 3 teeth, you go girl!”.
My vet says it’s not unusual for a well-cared-for cat to live 20 years. Most cats that die young are killed by dogs and cars, but there are other hazards.
I lost one at the age of 13 to renal problems and I lost my best guy to sarcoma when he was 16. My brother has the old fellow’s littermate still, she’ll be 19 in August. She’s got a lot of problems, hardly weighs anything anymore, but she’s a rugged gal.
I recently lost Timmy the Cat at the age of about 13 and a half. When I first took him in, the vet said this was considered to be elderly. Not decrepit though. The vet said the old saw about 1 cat year = 7 human years is not accurate.
The first five or so times my eyes passed over this thread title, I thought it said “Cats p**i*ssing due to old age.” I just enjoyed the fact that it still made absolutely perfect sense while missing the point of the thread (almost) entirely.
Miss Mew turned 21 the end of March, and in spite of being treated for chronic renal failure since she was 17, she’s still plugging along as if she’s not ready to give up the ship anytime soon. More pics here.
Thirteen is indeed considered geriatric in the feline world. According to this chart, that would’ve made Timmy about 69 years old. Our kitty is the equivalent of 101 in human years. I sure hope I’m as nimble and active as she is at 101 (if I even make it that far). Go Mew!
My dad had an outdoor cat that was at least 17 years old when she died, but as we never found her body we’re unsure of whether she went somewhere away to die or whether she fell afoul of some other circumstance.
She looked the spitting image of Misnomer’sSmokey, at that age, too.
Catman is ten years old this summer. Here is a photo of him. Wow, I was thinking he was getting old, but seeing how long some of the cats mentioned in the thread are, he’s practically a kitten!