Just remembered- about ten years ago, my wife had several box turtles. According to the vet, one of the females was at least 60. We had them for a few years, then gave them to some other reptile people when we left San Diego for Idaho.
.
For what it’s worth: Mike, who I mentioned just upthread, was diagnosed with failing kidneys at age 16. Without any special treatment or diet*, he lived another two and a half years, in no apparent distress or discomfort. (We’d kept watch for the inevitable kidney crash; Our vet had assured us it would be obvious, and it was. Before he got sick enough to suffer, we had him euthanized.)
- We tried giving him the appropriate prescription cat chow, but he hated it. Wouldn’t eat it. After two days, we decided that the quality of his remaining life was more important than the length, and put him back on his lifelong regular food. We couldn’t condemn him to a longer life with terrible food.
YES. Same here.
.
I think the Betty cat made it to 17.
Dad, upon seeing the new kitten: “You got a plain black one!? Aw hell, it’ll last forever, the boring-colored ones never die.”
I have a 21 year old ring-neck parrot. He’s not quite as coordinated as he used to be but otherwise is fairly healthy and as destructive as ever.
One of my peach faced lovebirds is 17, which is pretty old for that species and my parents had a cat that lived to be 20 before succumbing to kidney failure.
Little Bear lived to be 20, and PoohBah lived to be 16.
Wow. That’s really old for a dog. What kind of dog…meaning, if not breed, was he large, small?
My kitty Miss Austen is 17… so far. She’s had some health issues, but I’m hopeful now that she might be around for at least another year.
AHA! Reptiles have entered the thread!
Ochosi (a Corn Snake) lived with me nearly 23 years: he was wild-caught in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, he could have been anywhere from four - ten? months old when I got him. I miss him very much… he was remarkably snuggly for a creature from the wild and only bit someone once in all those years. (Don’t reach in there - “Yipe!” …when there’s food in the cage, it confuses him…) He died very much as a wild snake would: the rat won. (I let the rat go.)
Two cats made it to 20, the other was 18.
Golden Retriever made 15
Bernese Mountain Dog 12, not bad for a large breed.
Terrier sized mutt made it to 19
Currently have a 14 year old black lab and a 6 year old Bernese