How old did your oldest cat live to be?

Were they male or female, what were they fed, wet or dry or both and were they inside only or in and out? What do you feel was the key to their longevity?

bonepicker said:

Were they male or female, what were they fed, wet or dry or both and were they inside only or in and out? What do you feel was the key to their longevity?

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Both male, wet and dry, indoors, died at 12 and 15, one to cardiomyopathy and the other to mast cell cancer as a complication to severe IBD.

I would say the keys to their lifespans were being indoors, attentive owners, great vet care, decent nutrition and weight control, in that order.  In the end, they both had diseases that were unable to be controlled by vet care.

Both of the kitties that I have now are 12, one female one male.  They are fed a combination of wet and dry and are indoor cats.  One has had IBD since he was 18 months old which so far has been controlled with a steroid though I did recently have to increase his dosage due to weight loss.  He is still on a relatively low dose and has begun gaining weight again.

My female cat hasn't had any major health issues just more of a tendency to gingivitis than what is average.  She has had several teeth removed.

I think being indoors only and also finally after much vet hopping getting good vet care for  them.

My first cat made it to 18.  She got a combination of wet and dry Friskies her whole life and was an indoor/outdoor cat.  Skittles was a great hunter, clear up until about a year before her death.  She ended up with kidney disease.  

I can't really say what the key was to her longevity--her food wasn't great quality and she was outdoors a lot.  Maybe it was all the love and attention--she got plenty of that.  

One of the cats we inherited from our friend lived to be almost 19.  He was 17 when we got him.  He also had been on a wet and dry diet all his life and was a mostly indoor cat, though she said he went outdoors sometimes in her yard.  When he lived with us, he was indoor only.  He also succumbed to kidney disease at the end.

My friend has a 21 year old girl, who goes out, do you think going outside (if you don't get hit by car) adds something to lifespan?

Two senior males - 22 and 17 - are being boarded at the shelter right now. Both get supermarket-quality canned and dry food and are harness-trained for their daily walks. The 22-year-old is a bit frail/bony and has some digestive problems. The 17-year-old has had some teeth extracted but is otherwise very fit.

There was a similar thread back in April, but food and indoor vs. outdoor weren't covered: What is the oldest cat you have ever had?

We did take Travis (the 19 year old) out on walks with a harness/leash, though not every day.  He loved getting out for his walks.

I grew up on a farm and we had a stray that lived to a ripe old age but I don't know exactly how old.  She was strictly outdoor and ate the cheap kibble that she could steal from the dog and what she was able to catch.  I think the vast majority of  what she ate was natural prey.  She hung around close to the house and got to the point that we could pet her.  I assume that at some point she had been spayed because she never had kittens.  I do think being outdoors living the kind of life that a kitty is meant to live does lead to a longer live.   She didn't have heavy traffic as a danger though and by staying close to the house coyotes weren't a concern either.  Where I lived as a kid coyotes didn't come close to houses like they seem to do in cities sometimes.

My oldest cat is still alive - she'll be 18 in November. My longest-lived cats apart from her lived to be 17 and 15. They were all mostly indoors with supervised trips outside. They all ate decent quality (but not too expensive) dry food most of their lives, with wet food as an occasional treat (although my current oldest is now on an all wet food diet). I've only had one cat who did much hunting - the others were content to eat what I gave them, even if they were outdoors. The one who enjoyed hunting was very healthy up until her death, very lean and strong, with white teeth and a glossy coat - but she died at only 7 years old.

The biggest difference I've seen in my own cats is indoor vs outdoor. The cats who were allowed outside unsupervised died young, between 3 months & 7 years. 

These cats were all female except one, a male kitten who only lived 3 months before getting hit by a car.

My oldest cat lived to be 19. He was diagnosed with mild kidney disease at age 12 but refused the prescription diet so ate 1 can of Friskies beef, chicken or turkey per day plus a bit of kibble overnight. He was indoors outdoors for the first 11 years of his life and was strictly indoors after that. He died from a stroke.

12 and indoor only before he passed away due to illness. He was fed mainly dry food for 8 years before developing diabetes. Then he was put on a low carb canned food only diet for the next 4 years. I feel that had I known about the "evils" of dry food long ago and fed my cat only canned food, he would have avoided the diabetes and other medical conditions and have lived much longer than 12 years. My cat had great vet care after he was diagnosed with diabetes (previously only went to a low cost clinic where all they could do was basic exam and shots and referred complicated cases to a full service hospital) and exceptional care when he was ill and had to stay in the ER.

Our oldest cat was 13 years old when she died. She was indoor only except for the balcony (we're on the 3rd floor) so does it even counts for outdoor?... When we adopted her she was only eating Friskies, and we had a hard time changing it because she was a very picky. We finally made it and changed her to vet's dental food to ptotect her gums (she was 5 years old at that time). She was so sweet and beautiful! Her name was Pantoufle (French, meaning slipper) and she really was soft in both ways! She was calm, not excited, and she loved to be cuddle! She slept in my mom's arms every single night, and mom misses it very much. She developed a tumor behind an eye and we didn't realise it until she stop eating. The tumor grew and had reached the back of her mouth. We tried medocs but within a week or so her eye started to push out. She wasn't well at all, always lying there, not wanting to be touched anymore. The tumor had already damaged her brain and she was suffering. So we had to have her put to sleep right away. Mom couldn't bare to see her suffering so much, and even if it was extremely difficult to not bring her back home for a day or two, to take the time to say goodbye, she went to sleep in mom's arms, deeply loved, with a lot of tears falling onto her beautiful tabby coat. Just writing about it makes my heart so painfully sad. Dear Pantoufle, we miss you so much! You brought us so much! Thank you [emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]128575[/emoji][emoji]128150[/emoji][emoji]128151[/emoji][emoji]128148[/emoji]

Here's a picture of our beloved Pantoufle :

Frannie passed away two months ago at the age of 18. She was my first cat and I got her when she was only two weeks old(!). We are a long line of dog-lovers, so she was really my entire family's first cat. She was indoors only, except for a 6 month period when she stayed at my mother's house, which is deep in the country. She ate dry food for the first half of her life, and then we switched to a mainly wet food diet, with dry free feed.

My Frannie-monkey was a tough old girl, and survived being attacked by one of our dogs with a broken jaw (long story- it was accidental and under strange circumstances). That was one expensive surgery! She remained best friends with the dog throughout and after her recovery.

I think the key to her longevity is the same as what StephenQ said: being indoors, attentive owners, great vet care, and weight control. Frannie ruled our house, humans, cats and dogs, with an iron paw and is very deeply missed.

A street cat called gentle, lol, a tabby. Died age 16 of sudden onset kidney disease. Only ate kibble bought from the vet. No wet food. She was dearly loved and had a good vet. One of the most traumatic times of my life was sending her to RB.
I had her from age 6 weeks.

Lotto a fat fluffy cheeky boy. He was with me from 3 months to 20 years. He ate only kibble from the vet. In later life he has arthritis but no medication. Towards the end I had tone hand feed him. He ate recovery. He'd sit on my bed with a serviette round his neck eating from my hand. I think old age was the real killer here.

happybird said:

Frannie passed away two months ago at the age of 18. She was my first cat and I got her when she was only two weeks old(!). We are a long line of dog-lovers, so she was really my entire family's first cat. She was indoors only, except for a 6 month period when she stayed at my mother's house, which is deep in the country. She ate dry food for the first half of her life, and then we switched to a mainly wet food diet, with dry free feed.

My Frannie-monkey was a tough old girl, and survived being attacked by one of our dogs with a broken jaw (long story- it was accidental and under strange circumstances). That was one expensive surgery! She remained best friends with the dog throughout and after her recovery.

I think the key to her longevity is the same as what StephenQ said: being indoors, attentive owners, great vet care, and weight control. Frannie ruled our house, humans, cats and dogs, with an iron paw and is very deeply missed.

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• happybird
• Sep 6, 2015

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She so adorable! Sooooo sad for you [emoji]128148[/emoji]

A calico who I adopted from a foster home at 5 weeks old lived to almost 21. A small cat, indoor/outdoor, wet and dry, grocery store quality food.

My other cats have been 17-18, and usually died from kidney failure. One had cancer.

I think good vet care and being loved was paramount.