I’ve had a zillion cats and dogs. Almost none have lived past 12 years old or so.
We have a cat that is a mix. Half American short hair, half Siamese. His name is Bunn E. Kitty (Bunny Kitty).
His name is Bunn E. Kitty because when he was a little kitten one of my sons had a pair of pet rabbits. Both rabbits were pure white with blue eyes, pink ears and pink paws. This kitten also was pure white with blues eyes, pink ears, and pink paws. Originally we named this kitten Snowball (because he was so white). But he would go into the rabbits cage and nestle with them. He even tried to suckle on the female. He would bring them his kitty toys (the ball with the bell in it) and act confused because the rabbits couldn’t care less. So we determined that he was half bunny, but all kitty. So we started calling him Bunny Kitty.
My kids have since grown up, moved out, married, made us grand parents, etc…
Bunn E. turned 19 this week, and he is as spry as ever. He runs around and can easily jump over the 3+ foot gate we have to put up so our grandson doesn’t fall down the steps.
I know it’s not breaking any records or anything like that, but That’s pretty old for a cat, right?
A lot of cats live to about 16 to 18 or so. A cat belonging to a friend of mine just passed away this year at 18. 19 is definitely getting up there though.
It’s a pretty old kitty. It’s well into the years where the vet just shrugs and says “it’s an old cat” when medical stuff comes up.
I lost a male tabby 3 years ago and he was about 20 when he passed. If I knew then what I know now about caring for an older cat with hyperthyroid condition, I think he would have lived quite a bit longer.
My other cat is a female tabby that will be 21 in couple months. She’s blind, mostly deaf and about 1/2 her (chubby) normal adult weight. But she’s as physically fit as you would expect for a cat her size right now. She’s on thyroid and BP meds as well Cosequin supplements for joint issues.
Exceptional cats may live into the 30s. The Guinness record is 38.
He’s pretty old, yeah, and in good shape, too. It’s great that he’s lived this long and that he’s still active.
We have an 18 year old cat (at least, he was full grown when he turned up in 1993). He is very decrepit. While slow, and blind, he does not seem to be suffering so I haven’t taken him to the vet.
But he’s close . . .
Yeah, that’s a bit old. I have a cat that’ll turn 14 this year and he too is just as active as ever. Bunn E. sounds awesome! It’s great when they reach these ages and are still going strong.
A book I had several years ago gave the formula 16 + 8 + 4 + 4 + 4… to get the human equivalent age. That is first year 16, second year 8, each additional year is 4. that makes your 19 year old cat human equivalent 92.
Our wonderful old cat Sal is now 20 or 21. We’re not sure of his exact age, as he came to us from another family who found him as a kitten. He’s still pretty spry, although he’s almost deaf and takes two tiny pills a day for his thyroid.
This isn’t him, although it’s pretty close, but for a little tuft of white under his chin: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NqhdO5sZ4x4/SwMxz9-nDzI/AAAAAAAAHAg/l_HVRN2UoX4/s1600/black-cat.jpg
Our Smudge is a 19-year-old black shorthair. She still gets around really well & can hold her own in a tussle when she needs to. Other than having lost a lot of weight & virtually all of her hearing, she’s in very sound shape.
That’s a pretty good age to still be that active.
My sister’s cat lived to 22, but she wasn’t in great shape at all for the last four or five years.
Out of curiosity, does he know Bun E. Carlos? (Ironically, a Cheap Trick song is on the radio at this very moment…)
My MIL had her FIL’s cat put to sleep when he was 23 years old. He had lost a lot of his teeth, and his fur was starting to fall out. Apparently he also had a stroke, as his hind legs became paralyzed, which is why they finally put him down.
Since the factual question has been answered (“Yep, that’s pretty old for a cat”) and most of the rest of the answers are going to be anecdotal, let’s move this over to MPSIMS.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Most of my cats lived to 18. My oldest, Swipesy lived until 21. My last remaining cat, Shuppy will be 18 in a few days. He’s got diabetes, a bum thyroid, and a heart murmur. He walks on achy legs. But he shows no sign of wanting to die yet. When the time comes, I’ll know it.
But it’s not now.
My aunt’s cat died right after I graduated college. At that point, the cat was 22 and had outlived me by 6 months or so. That always blew my mind.
Both my Siamese cats lived until 21.
19 cat years would be equivalent to 92 human.
My last cat lived to be 20, and was very active until the last 2 months or so.
Pictures, people, pictures!
We had a cat live to be 19 – she was apparently getting a bit senile (it was hard to tell; she was never all that bright to begin with), but doing pretty well until she (as best we can figure) had a stroke. She looked and sounded like a Siamese in a white coat (though not with the usual Siamese brains, as I said); Siamese seem to be among the longer-lived cats.
I’ve heard that some cats have a genetic tendency to have things fall apart on them in late middle age (12 or so), which might explain some of your other cats.
I recall by the time my dog turned 15 (he was a collie/shepherd mix) he lost patches of hair, we took him to the vet as we thought he had the mange but the vet laughed and said, “He’s fine, he’s just really old.”
You forget pets get old and lose teeth, and hair and turn gray etc