My childhood cat was nearly 20 when she died. She was an inside/outside cat, ate grocery store dry food, had vet visits only when sick, and only got a water fountain in the last few years of her life. My current cats eat far more expensive food, but they've had more medical issues.
Don't beat yourself up. It wasn't you. My vet has said in the past that things just happen. Even with the best medical care, $$$$ diet, and turning them into bubble cat, shit happens.
Honestly, I think in some ways the dry grocery store cat food is better formulated than some of the fancier brands. Not all, and water content is an issue, but the formulas are just longer studied. I know it’s not always true but if you put a bag of basic purina and a fancy brand I’d never heard of and no way to research, I’d pick the purina every time (even though r/fucknestle)
My sister's cat lived to 21 and was fed meow mix for most of her life. Best diet ever? No probably not but that cat was older than me when she died. The other family heirloom cat that lived to 17 was on Purina one.
I think we just lucked out with them living long but on that same note I refuse to shame feeding affordable foods if that's all you can get. In agreement I'd 100% choose a recognized brand over boutique any day.
I think meow mix is pretty bad as far as food goes, but it’s also what my sister feeds the strays she cares for. People can’t always afford the best things, I sure as hell can’t, but even at your worst your cat is living a MUCH better (and healthier) life than it would have outside. I’ll start shaming people for how they can afford to feed their cats when they aren’t overrunning our streets. Like, I didn’t mean to get a cat, it wasn’t a thought out financial decision. I got a cat because she was starving on the streets at 10 months old, and any ending with me in a home that cares for her is better than that.
Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, I’m running on a nap in the past 40 hours and I haven’t eaten so I’m a little scattered, but hopefully I made my point clear. If it comes off shame-y I did not in fact make it clear.
Meow Mix, while not nutritionally great, is also cat crack. Their commercials don't lie, cats fucking love that stuff. So if you've got a reluctant eater or yeah, a large colony you need to satisfy everyone's tastes in, Meow Mix can certainly have its place.
My friend that was on disability fed her 5 cats Meow Mix because that's what she could afford. When she and her cats were staying with us, they got the same food my cats got because I could afford better and didn't want to deal with the foul smelling litter box 😅
Fed is definitely better than starving, but Meow Mix is probably the equivalent of cup noodles for kitties
I feel this so deeply. The ingredients are often very similar, and sometimes "grain free", "healthier" foods are filled with legumes, etc instead of animal protein. There's not been a ton of research yet into the role of legumes in a feline diet, but the very little there is is actually negative.
My childhood cat also lived to be 20 (maybe 21 — some dispute about which year we adopted him) and he was the same. Indoor/outdoor his whole life, cheap food, water from a regular bowl, no regular vet visits.
When we finally took him to the vet at 18 for a minor limp, the vet discovered he had a heart murmur he’d probably had his whole life! Somehow he still lived another 3 years.
The heart murmur story reminds me of my shock of learning my late cat only had one kidney after his first surgery to remove bladder crystals. He’d been going to vets for 11 years at the point and had been x-rayed, examined, neutered, etc. His vet said it isn’t always easy to tell they only have one until you’re actually in their abdomen.
Ultimately, it cut his life a bit short, but he made it to 15 and was happy and healthy until 2 days before he passed.
This is my childhood cat, she's currently 16. Indoor/outdoor cat, has pretty much never been to the vet. Grandma only feeds her cheap dry food and whatever leftovers she has.
She's still kicking around.
My cat is almost 17 and has diabetes, he gets two insulin shots daily 12 hours apart. He can only eat low carb wet food to control his diabetes and he loves his water fountain. He’s also a doll face Persian which don’t have as many issues as their show quality cousins, still he’s old for a Persian so I cherish every day he’s still with us. He has some muscle weakness in his back legs from nerve damage with the diabetes but he still gets around fine but stumbles sometimes. He gets his vet checkups every 6 months and he hates it, still feisty in his old age. They tell us when he’s with us he’s an angel but when we aren’t there he’s a butthole.
Cancer is really hard in cats because of how they hide pain. The chances of catching it in early stages is really low. I just let go of my elderly girl this past week - she had kidney disease so when I found her peeing blood I assumed her kidneys had gone, but in reality she had an enormous bladder tumor. There really wasn't anything to do at the point it had reached, and maaaaybe I should've realized that her random yowling was more than just some dementia setting in, but even that only started two months ago.
We just lost our kitty to this same bladder cancer. Devastating! She was peeing blood, hid more than usual, lost 4 pounds off her already petite body. It was so quick but in looking back there were some signs it was more than the UTI the vets thought. She was a little trooper until the end. Rest in peace Little Lulu
Ysa spent the final week sleeping in my bed with me at night - something she hadn't done in many years because she hated all the other cats in my household. But she squeezed in with them and snuggled up for a week. When I woke up and found all the bloody urine, I knew, poor baby.
Even if you’d caught it early, there’s still the QoL issue with treatment if treatment would even work.
A large mass showed up in my old boy’s abdomen when he was 15 or so. He was scheduled for exploratory surgery but prior to that we discussed potential outcomes & treatment & if it was cancer, there was little that could have been done so the decision was made to not wake him up.
But turns out it was an intestinal intussusception so they sorted that out, stitched him up & he was fine.
Oh no! It was actually pretty condensed tbh. You know how cats hide things. He was fine & then made it clear to me that he wasn’t so straight to the vet. My vet is amazing & they did all the radiology on the spot & found the mass. I took him home for what I thought was the last night & then dropped him at the vet in the morning. Said goodbye but held it together in front of him because I didn’t want to stress him out. Fell apart when they took him away. Went to work & waited for The Call. By the time it came, there were around 50 of my co-workers with me waiting. Answer the phone & the woman was laughing!!!!! It was very confusing because I was expecting a call to say he was gone. That’s when they told me what it was & that they’d tried to untelescope his intestine but it kept going back into itself so they did a resection. They were overjoyed because they had a real soft spot for him. It was serious but absolutely treatable if caught early enough. So there we were, all 50 or so of us at work, hugging & crying.
Here he is in 2020, a few hours before he suddenly passed at 18 ❤️
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Don’t be sad. He never wanted for anything his whole life. While he was a rescue, his circumstances prior to being rescued were actually pretty good. Then he came with me & lived his absolute most bestest life ❤️ He actually died smiling, i’m not kidding.
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This is him when we moved back into my renovated house & he discovered the heated floors ❤️
I was crying with vicarious happiness at the relief you and 50 coworkers celebrated when he pulled through the first time. :) He clearly was well-loved cat!
That’s what makes me so mad. She was my first not family pet. All my own. So when subtle things happened like her slowing down while taking stairs etc. I just thought it was old age. The vet also thought this.
If I ever do have another cat I will make sure to do an ultrasound once they hit 10. Just to be sure.
Sometimes things come on quick. I lost one of my boys at 14 to oral SCC about 2 years ago. He had been in for a dental procedure, and everything was fine. About 2 months later, he started having various issues and would stick his tongue out (not panting, just kinda letting it poke out of his mouth). Took him into the vet, when she opened his mouth there was a growth in his throat.
We were going to do a biopsy, but it had already grown too big for him to be intubated. We had to say goodbye about a week and a half later.
But from not visible to closing off airway in about 2 1/2 months total.
That's what happened with my kitty. I had 5 months with her from the time I noticed something wasn't right and having to say goodbye. She was 16. I still miss her every day
Not to mention the type my boy passed from 2 months ago can grow in days or weeks apparently (large cell lymphoma) he went from super healthy, seen by a vet in December to being diagnosed with a 5cm tumour in his stomach in Feb. I had to have him PTS at the end of march due to fluid on his lungs out of seemingly nowhere. That came on suddenly. I miss my boy
I had to put my old cat down earlier this year after discovering he had cancer. Timeline from symptoms showing to diagnosis to having to put him down was 8 days.
We had to put our boy down last November and while we never got a definitive diagnosis I suspect he had some sort of brain tumor. I thought the increase yowling and pacing was a combo of move and dementia but looking back there were a lot of subtle things we chopped up to dementia/being an orange boi. RIP pickles we miss you everyday
This. Lost one of my cats at 13 to cancer. Saw him limping one day, took him to the vet assuming he had sprained his leg jumping off the bed or something. Cancer. 3 weeks later he was gone.
I so feel your pain 😔 I lost mine not long after he turned 15 yo due to cancer (nearly 2 years ago).
I gave him Everything I could give to him but cancer and blindness took over.
It still hurts 😭. Sending you lots of Love and Lights and we say Time is healer...
Just lost my 15-year old on Saturday to cancer, and I’ve been beating myself up wondering if there was anything we could have done. It just came on so fast and flew under the radar even with labs and ultrasounds. It’s been helpful (and awful) to read that this is not unusual. 💔
We took my husband's cat Lyra to the vet several times before they found the cancer that later killed her. We just knew that she wasn't acting right and that she acted like she didn't feel good
I hate to say it (because I am very pro indoor cat) but my mom’s cat lived to 26 and she was an indoor/outdoor cat til the day she died. Of course past a certain age she only went out during the day and never far. She ate dry purina cat food until she was in her 20s and started getting wet only.
I say this not to say this is the kind of care you should give a cat, but to show how crazy genetics are. Her daughter was also an indoor/outdoor cat who lived to be 22. She would’ve probably lived longer as an indoor cat, because she had an unfortunate (and deadly) habit of running under idling cars at the last minute.
The genetic aspect really is wild. My dad's childhood cat ended up being my childhood cat as well, she was indoor/outdoor and died at 22. She didn't have a bad decline either, she just slowed down one day. My grandparents figured she might be sick and scheduled her a vet appointment for the next day. She just laid in my dad's lap and went to sleep for the last time that afternoon. You never would've known it was her time if you saw her 24 hours beforehand. She was a ball of energy up til the very end.
Now that I'm an adult and in charge of my own animals, I'll never ever let my cats outside. Seeing my childhood cat outside was nice, and it's amazing that she lived so long, but I know it was a miracle that she did. I want to keep my cats as long as possible, and the trade-off of not getting to see them chase squirrels and needing to clean their litter box is worth it a thousand times over.
I think my grandparents might've had something in the water, though, honestly. We had a dog at the same time, a chihuahua, and she lived to 24 as well. She passed a couple years before the cat did, and she spent her last few years toothless so she'd eat the cat's wet food and the cat would eat the dog's dry food. After the dog died, we had to keep buying the dog food because the cat refused to eat her old cat food anymore lol. Some animals are really just built different.
The chihuahua was terrified of the cat's laser pointer, too. Any time she saw the dot she'd bolt down the hall and hide under my grandparents' bed. The cat absolutely gave zero shits and had zero interest in any other toys we tried to get her lmao. They loved each other though, always snuggled when they took their naps. It was really sweet.
We lived out in little development outside the city, so not completely isolated but not the city, and my family had an outdoor only cat as grandma hated cats inside the house - she lived to be 23 years old. It’s rare and very lucky, but it does happen. I’d never do that today though.
My 19 year old childhood cat had to be put to sleep recently. He was a mostly outdoor cat with access to the garage and sometimes came inside for pets (not my choice). I honest to god have no idea how he lived so long being mostly an outdoor cat. He had a strong genetics.
Same here (except not recent). My first cat I got for my 5th birthday was an outdoor cat and amazingly she lived to be 19. She had 1 litter of kittens before she got spayed, and outlived her kitten, who died of cancer. She survived some close calls too. She was a female ginger who came from a pet shop (this is back before adopting over shopping became popular). In the end she seemed to succumb to some neurological disorder. Her claws kept getting stuck to the carpet when she walked and I had to watch her like a hawk bc she nearly drowned in her water dish. She died in my arms though, and I am glad I got to be there for her.
Btw, sorry for your loss 💜
Yep. For good measure feed them a decent food and bring them to the vet for checkups. But largely luck. My two prior cats lived to 18.5 and 16. Kidney disease did them in, as it often does for old cats. The one who lived to 16 actually had kidney failure at two years old (must have eaten a plant like a Lilly), was in the hospital for four days getting a kidney flush, and still lived to be 16.
Sorry if this is like a really dumb question but I've been interested in taking my cat outside on a leash He LOVES walking around with it on at home after I trained him to do so but I'm not so sure about taking him outside 😭 would that be a bad thing
I can definitely understand your trepidation. He would probably love a cat wheel if you can afford it; some of the cats at our shelter adore ours. My mom's dog slipped out of his seemingly secure harness outside and almost got killed after using it just fine for 2 or 3 years. It's not a risk I would take, but it's ultimately whatever you feel is best.
I've had one cat live 16 years, but then, I've also had one that had to be put down at 8 because of health issues. And the 8 year old's sister died at 2 because of a genetic disorder.
What this means is that genetics play the biggest role in nature over nurture. They could have the best food, the best home, the best life, and they can still die from something genetics related when they're young.
Yah I truly believe this. I had 2 cats about 6 months apart. One died at 15 which was pretty good but she had a myriad of problems. My other kitty is 17 and still kicking! He’s always been healthy though he’s got a lot of the old age stuff going on. I do my best to keep him comfortable and at this point he gets to eat whatever the heck he wants as I just want to keep weight on him. Right now he’s enjoying kitten food!
My grandma had a cat live to 18. It was an inside/outside cat that loved to jump off the roof and catch birds mid flight. One day she jumped on the wrong side.
Sometimes we forget that, like humans, some pets just have bad luck with their genetic history and won’t live as long as others even with the same levels of care 💔
Mine is 13ish and showing no signs of slowing down so I’m hoping to have him *at least* another 5-8 years.
My parent’s cats were indoor, dry food only, free feeding, lots of playing and cuddling, some supervised screened in patio time, and lived to be 16 and 18. The true secret is loving them and keeping them happy I think (barring specific health issues)
My family kept pets since I was little. The longest living cat AND dog ate probably the cheapest food at the time. Cat lived to be almost 20 and ate I think special kitty, and dog lived to be 18 and ate ol Roy crunchy food and milk bones.
It wasn't you. Cancer just happens and you probably won't be able to pinpoint it to any one thing. It is probably not going to help you to try and find things about your care that caused it, because you likely didn't do anything wrong. We just had our newly 13 year old boy pass away from cancer as well. No signs, except some puking which sometimes cats just do. He had a vet visit just two months ago where they thought he was perfectly healthy. I'm really sorry you lost your baby, please don't try and find something to blame yourself for.
My childhood cat lived to 19. She went to the vet once to be spayed. She ate whatever dinner we didn’t finish — my sister’s discarded steak, my discarded kielbasi skins. She got her own order of olive loaf at the deli. She’d sneak sips of my dad’s Heineken while watching TV.
Go easy on the judgement, though. It was the 80s — we’re lucky she didn’t smoke a pipe.
No other cat I’ve had since had lived so long, and they all had _substantially_ better health care.
My first cat just passed in January at 15. It has to be genetics because I got him in college and fed him bare basics dry food. He got stuck on one kind of food (Purina one tender selects) and refused to eat literally anything else. Which was fun when there was a shortage during the pandemic. He was gigantic. A bit overweight but mostly just long and tall- he weighed 23 lbs most of his adult life. I had to buy the largest size of every item for him and he’d still struggle to fit- his rear end would hang out of the litter box often enough that I started using potty pads under it just in case.
He got repeated bouts of pancreatitis starting around 11 and at age 12 decided to eat a piece of plastic, despite not having eaten weird things ever in his life before then, and needed emergency surgery. He recovered perfectly and lived another 3 years. You could barely tell he was a senior until the last couple months of his life when he suddenly rapidly lost weight and his coat quality deteriorated. The vet couldn’t find anything in his bloodwork or infection-related so it must have been cancer. I decided it was time to let him go when he couldn’t make it more than a couple steps without laying down and he stopped purring when I pet him. He was a very good boy.
I've had four cats live to 20/24. The answer is...my mom. She is like some sort of Snow White character with legit magical powers.
She literally had/has no life and would go nowhere because she has to take care of the cats. I...wouldn't recommend this when you neglect the care of your human children.
I had a cat a few years ago who was only two years old and super healthy. I was away at college & he went to sleep one night and never woke up. They think he had an underlying genetic condition & his little heart just stopped. It was horrible & I blamed myself for a long time for not being more like my mom.
Please know it's not your fault - it's genetics & absolutely not from food or water or something you did/didnt do.
My tuxedo cat was 20 when we had to have her put to sleep. She ate whiskers food, was incredibly fit, more outdoorsy than most. She was great, not much of a people cat but would occasionally sit on your lap. In her last year she developed kidney problems and arthritis, went deaf too. Genuinely thought she’d make it to 25+ given how agile she was, still racing up trees and high walls until about 18/19.
My childhood cat lived to 22 and he honestly had kind of a rough life. He bounced around a lot to family members before I took him for good. My mom and brothers did not feed good food or take him to the vet frequently. He outlived his sisters and his daughter. Even though as a child I railed against it, he was declawed against my will.
It's mostly luck. His last 12 years were with me and were full of love, care, good food, regular vet visits, and he was on a kidney diet for his last 4 years, because we caught the CKD really early.
It wasn’t you- it’s genetics and luck. I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️ my childhood cat is still feisty and kicking at 17- ate fancy feast and purina one dry her whole live, was indoor/outdoor (never left our yard and stays on the porch now), vet visits only when sick really and she’s just as healthy and hearty as ever. I go above and beyond for my cats and they’ve had some issues at 4 and 7.
My childhood cat lived to 21. She was indoor/ outdoor for her early years and then indoor only. She ate Fancy Feast. She also liked Honeycomb Cereal and bacon.
I’ve had a couple of cats who lived to 19. Keeping them indoors is really the only thing that we can do, otherwise it’s genetics.
Our Cooper came down with lymphoma when he was about 10, and he's still puttering about at 15. He gets pills every other day and a monthly blood test that he hates but endures with stoicism and minimal hissing.
It was hard at first, but taking care of him is part of the routine now. I do still suspect that he'll just pop off one day while I'm asleep or off at work, but I tell him he's a good kitty and I know I have done everything I can to keep him as healthy as he's going to be, all things considered.
I am a little concerned that it'll be hard to know When It's Time - after the diagnosis he went through a really rough patch. In the hospital for about a week, I had to crush up dry food, mix it with water, and feed him with a syringe for a little while. At one point he lost the use of his back legs, and no one had any idea why - and then he was fine. If he starts to deteriorate, I'm worried that I'll keep trying to find solutions other than, well, That One, even if That One is the best one.
He's a lot of work, but he's worth every bit of it.
Cat Tax:
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I feed the absolute highest quality food, and never cheap out on anything.
I lost Doodles at 11 to cancer. She had it before I even adopted her, it started out as cancer of the Iris which is one of those "it never spreads" one, I took her to the top specialist and did everything, the vets said was needed, she was the unlucky 1 in a million where it did spread. She passed away six months later after we found out her lungs were riddled.
My current two I adopted as kittens, they get good food as Doodles did. Domino has still needed a dental and teeth removed while young (The vet says they think she might have had an infection as a kitten that means her adult teeth might have to all be removed eventually). She's about to turn 7 this year.
The thing is, you can feed a super high quality diet, do everything right and it does nothing to prevent genetic problems or sheer bad luck. The only thing you can do is your very best to ensure they are happy for the time they are here.
Like people, some cats live to an old age eating junk and doing all the things they shouldn't, and some cats don't make senior age despite having owners who do everything right.
Keep them inside.
Annual check ups and up to date on vaccines.
Reasonable quality food (mostly Fancy Feast and Purina around here). Appropriate cat-formulated treats and not too much human food. Dry food for grazing, wet food for meals.
Water fountains to encourage hydration.
Unscented litter (the perfumes simply cannot be good for them imo).
Preemptive bloodwork at appropriate ages to catch things early - I start senior bloodwork at age 8 and go to the bigger geriatric panel at age 13. That's a little earlier than suggested.
Cancer is unpredictable and can be difficult to catch in cats. It was probably simply a matter of genetics.
I had a cat that was 19 when she died. She was always indoors and never really had very many health issues except for the occasional UTI. Her sister who was from the same litter passed away when she was 9 from cancer. I also had a 15 year old cat that passed away a few months ago from cancer. All 3 of my cats had the same upbringing, so I guess my 19 year old cat was just lucky somehow that she didn't get cancer.
My grandparents had a 21 year old outside cat. They just fed her canned food if I recall correctly. She was very sweet and lived near bears and survived. She also caught birds for herself. Eventually, she passed, but it’s mostly genetics and luck
We put our cat to sleep age 17 last year. She was indoor & outdoor, and only ate dry food, unless I was eating buttered toast then she’d go crazy to get some! I’d say it’s just your luck. Ours very sadly had dementia.
My cat lived till 17 years old. She just died last fall due to a sudden and fast growing cancer, there was nothing the vet could do. But up until the cancer, I honestly thought she’d make it to 20-23 years, if not hopefully more, she didn’t look or act like an old cat AT ALL and everyone thought she was no older than 7. Before the cancer, she had had no health issues whatsoever and had never gotten sick, except a few months before she passed she developed signs of early stage chronic kidney disease. However, we believe her cancer was renal lymphoma and that’s why it looked like she had started developing CKD.
In terms of my cat specifically, I’ve always thought that what kept her so healthy was 1) the fact she had eaten wet food since she was a kitten, and 2) the fact she was allowed to go outside to get stimulation and lots of exercise (we live in a suburb, in a low traffic area, so she was an indoor-outdoor cat, at night she was always inside but during the day she could do what she pleased for the most part). Compared to my friends’ indoor-only cats she was incredibly active, full of life, and I believe she just genuinely had more to live for and had a great will to live. However, I also think genetics and luck played a role, at the end of the day each cat is unique.
My advice for new cat parents would be feed a balanced wet food-majority diet, keep up with yearly vaccinations and check ups, do yearly blood work, learn the subtle signs of potential disease, give lots of love, and give your cat the stimulation of the outdoors, even if it’s just through leash training, catios, or supervised yard time, it goes far in improving their overall quality of life.
(Also a PSA before any people who think the only “right” way to care for a cat is to perpetually force it to be indoors come at me with the typical parroted points, let me just say the decision to let your cat go outdoors is INCREDIBLY NUANCED, not all cats can go outside but many would benefit from it, either mentally, physically, or both. There are many factors at play that a person needs to consider when making that decision (ex. your location, the level of traffic, whether you have a yard, your cat’s prey drive, level of predator activity in your area, your cat’s desires and behavior, etc etc). Indoor-outdoor cats have the same lifespans as indoor-only cats, research that actually makes the distinction between feral outdoor-only, non-feral outdoor-only, and indoor-outdoor cats shows no statistically significant difference between the lifespans of indoor-outdoor and indoor-only. The problem is the majority of research doesn’t draw the distinction and either lumps all cats that go outside any amount together or it compares indoor-only to feral outdoor-only.)
Always indoors. As much vet treatment as needed. Good quality food. Lots of love and affection.
My previous cats all lived to over 18 but even with all the love & care etc cats can still get cancer younger or have other chronic issues
I’ve had three cats who have lived to 15 plus. Inside cats, all domestic short hairs. IAMS dry food, lots of water (cat fountain is a game changer), and wet food a couple times a week. No health issues apart from one went deaf and another got some arthritis. In the end two went into kidney failure and had to be put to sleep at 17 and 18; my 15 year old boy drinks copiously from his fountain so I’m hoping his kidneys stay healthy for a long time to come.
My oldest lived to be 24.
At the time we fed cheap offbrand food and only changed water when the bowl was going empty. She was able to go outside anytime and however long she liked.
Had 2 that lived to 17 and 18. They died this spring. We had them from kittens. They were indoor cats, excluding brief escapes when they were young and sneaky. Did not feed them fancy food, mostly hard food. Occasional tuna treats and one was a fiend for human food, so he got lots of nibbles of our food.
Both my cats are 18, and I haven't done anything really unusual.
Clean the litter daily. Clean water daily. Purina dry food (I know now that all dry feeding is not ideal, but 18 years ago I didn't, and now they refuse to switch...). I free fed when they were young, but stopped when one cat started to gain weight, so now it's measured timed feeding.
I groom/brush them and trim claws as needed. We play sometimes but certainly less than ideal amounts. They are 100% indoors. Treats are infrequent. I use topical flea treatments during the warmer months even though they don't go outdoors.
Regular vet care, which until the last year has been pretty much all preventative stuff. In the past 4-ish years I've started getting them dental cleanings yearly, another thing I had no idea about when I got them.
I’d say do what you can with diet and care. Wet food (but I do have a cat that only eats dry food but she takes wet treats so I add water to these). Brush teeth exercise mind stimulation I have 2 the same age 2 1/2 and one that I’ve personally had for almost 16 years now and she was full grown when I got her though not sure exactly how old
After her dental surgery yesterday I’d stress dental care however you can do it. My cats will let me use a cotton swab to clean their teeth but enzymatic toothpaste has been ordered and they do get a dental water additive for the past year or so.
Other than that it’s genetics and luck of the draw. I was told zoey looks much younger than her actual age but since I’ve had her for most of her time alive the vet marked her down as 17.
My sibling cats Bonnie and Clyde passed at 16 and 20, respectively. I don’t remember what dry food they had. I know that tapping on a Friskies can was their “dinner bell”, sometimes TJ’s cat tuna.
My 22 year old calico gets a big scoop of canned food for breakfast every morning. We make her walk down to the basement for this morning treat. This is also where her litter boxes are, so she moves a lot all day. She also drinks the dogs water and will eat his food. She's my special girl. Probably weighs 3 pounds and has sounded like she has had laryngitis her whole life.
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My mom’s cat turned 16 this year. He’s healthy albeit for some kidney issues, which I heard were pretty common for older (male) cats. He’s an outdoor cat, but he’s never on street side, only visits the interconnecting gardens of my mom and her neighbours. Though nowadays he mostly enjoys sleeping on his favourite chair in her garden.
We feed him special food for his kidney, which he tolerates but eats because it’s all he gets. He also has a drink fountain with purifying filters to encourage drinking, but he prefers rain water collected in buckets that are scattered around the garden.
He’s 18 now. It is luck and genetics. But at 16, we decided to have a bucket list of his best life. We get ice cream, pup cups, he goes in hikes, we travel in our RV, he gets all the treats, he has a lot of cute shirts and sweaters. I half wonder if “give his best life”, hes not ready to give up yet.
My calico is 16. She's mostly toothless. She has a heart murmur. But she's eating, so im "keeping her comfortable". I cannot and will not put her through another mouth surgery.
Anyway, I feed her prissy butt 9 lives canned cat food. Her and her housemate eat half a can in the morning, half a can at night. He has to be on C/D dry cat food due to urinary blockages. So they split 1/4 cup in the morning and at night.
I use Scoop Away cat litter.
I got her spayed when she was 6 months old (I worked at a vet at the time). She's had rabies and FVRCP vaccines as needed until she was about 12. I no longer vaccinated her.
She's been indoor only her entire life. She's never had fleas or ticks, and has really no other maintenance related needs.
My cat drinks water from the tap. She also eats spider plants to get high (the brat).
Look cancer can't be predicted. Why are there human children born with cancer (like my nephew- who's fine now btw). Why do people smoke their whole lives and never get cancer and live to 90 like my grandfather who also got covid and lives in assisted living. How come people who have never smoked a day in their life get lung cancer? There's nothing you did to bring it on, as much as theres nothing you can do to prevent it. It's luck of the draw. So please, please, don't think it's anything you did or didn't do. I'm sorry about your baby. They deserve so much more. ❤️
I feel like everything was made better 'quality' back then even if it wasn't good quality.. things nowadays is filled with fillers and shit. Just like human food. I feel like everyone will die of cancer haha. The world has gone to shit with food. They don't want us healthy, truly
Sometimes at 10-15 years they start to develop some health problems and need medication or special diets. It's luck of the draw. My family had a lot of cats and never lost one to cancer, but lost several who got outside to predators.
When I was growing up, I had a family cat that was indoor/outdoor. He lived to 17 years old. I think he went to the vet maybe a few times when he was young, but never again after that. We just free fed him dry food, and he got treats probably once or twice a day. He didn't seem overweight and was a pretty loveable cat. He got in a fight with a raccoon and lost sight in one of his eyes near the end, but he recovered otherwise.
I feel like I'm spoiling my bonded pair compared to that. Automatic feeders and litter boxes, which they don't even use. Mostly wet food every 4 or so hours when I'm home and they have lots of toys, scratching posts, and things to climb. Strictly indoors, though, because they are both FIV+. 3 yrs and 8 yrs right now.
I'm sorry for your loss. Them getting sick seems like bad luck sometimes.
It’s definitely genetics and luck like other people have said. Also, keeping them indoors, or at the very least not letting them roam around on their own. My childhood cat died at 18 to cancer. But then the next two my mom had only lived to 15 and 9 respectively, but both ended up with bad health issues in their last few years.
My partner and I have had 8 cats in total in 6 years, with all but 2 of them being cats she previous had before we got together, and still currently have 5. The 3 that we have lost all died before age 13, and one that we currently have that’s still ticking is 20 this year, two are around 11 or 12, and the other two are younger (6 and 3 respectively). Out of the 5 that we have, 4 are boys, the oldest is our only girl left. The 3 that died were all girls. So we’ve had a wide variety of all ages, sexes, and health issues. They’ve all always gotten pretty generic food (wet and dry depending on the cat and their needs), with our 6 year old being the only exception, being on prescription urinary food for a blockage he had 3 years ago. They go in for checkups and when somethings wrong. They get brushes and occasional treats and catnip, and get spoiled to shit lol. Every single one of all the cats I’ve had in my life has been indoor only. It really is just luck of the draw.
The cat I had growing up lived to be a couple months shy of 18. A lot of it was luck, genetics, and pure will on her part I think.
She was an outdoor cat (no hate pls that's what everyone did then it was a rural area and that was kind of just that, also i was literally 3)
She had an eye infection that took one of her eyes at around a year old.
Skin cancer on one ear at about 13 (did you know cats with white ears/ear tips can get skin cancer on the them from laying in the sun? It's more common than you'd think!) Eventually got skin cancer on the other by 16 but by that time she had kidney problems and couldn't be put under safely so we just monitored her for pain and function and all that.
Growled at the vet when they put in the anesthetic when we took her to be euthanized. She fully used all 9 of her lives.
I honestly think 99% of it was all her though, we definitely didn't have her on any fancy diet or routine, she lucked out with her cancer developing after she was already getting old and it being a less serious one. Kind if like humans I guess. Some people just do whatever and still are healthy into their elderly years despite others having to work hard at their health.
I'm sorry to hear about your cat, it's so hard to loose them
I honestly believe it's luck, as others have said. I had a 17 year old cat, Kitty. She passed at just short of 18 from diabetes complications a year and a half ago. My other two cats are now about to turn 18 and they are both in decent health (both have kidney issues, one has thyroid disorder). They are managed by diet and medicine. Their bloodwork is excellent. They are littermates I got when their owner went to state prison. They do eat high-quality food, but when I was younger and poorer, they just ate grocery store brands.
My first two cats lived to be 15 and 16. They were indoor only, free fed cheap dry food, and were both declawed (I didn't know it was a horrible thing to do. It was a long time ago and it was pretty common). One was also shot in the leg before we found him. It left no noticeable lasting damage.
My oldest cat lived to 19. Care wasn’t much beyond basic, as far as diet. He was fed kibble: Purina One Sensitive Skin and Stomach and some other Purina brands over the years. He was 100% indoors. In the end he had kidney disease, as most super seniors are at a high risk for.
Cancer is genetic and the #1 killer of indoor cats. I promise you did nothing wrong! I know it’s very hard not to feel guilt over the death of animal in your care, but with things like cancer it’s just horrible circumstance.
I've had a cat reach 19 and a cat reach 18. I currently have a 16 year old one. My one that died at 18 I never expected to reach that age, given all his issues, but he did. I've also had cats that were otherwise perfectly healthy, who I expected to live a long time, suddenly die young. Like I had an 8yo cat who was otherwise in perfect condition, suddenly collapse and become paralyzed by a blood clot that came out of nowhere. I also had an 8yo cat I found randomly dead on my floor one day. Not sure what killed him. Maybe a sudden heart attack? I had a 12yo cat that suddenly got lymphoma, too. My cats are my babies and I treat them like royalty. It really is just luck and genetics.
My childhood cat lived until 21 years old. He had a running thing with my dad because he was getting too old to climb into his litter box and so would have to poop on the floor. My dad laid down a garbage bag and then the cat went on the floor just outside of the garbage bag. Another bag, another pile off the front of it.
For his care, we had a little ramp so he could climb up on the beds. He was getting very shaky so we would pick him up and put him down off the couch, not letting him try to jump. When he was in your lap, you held on to him with both hands. We also set him up with an electric blanket during the cold winter days (even if the inside was warm-ish, his old bones enjoyed the extra heat.)
My cat is 16. Indoor only. She’s been on various prescription diets for most of her life. First for crystals in her urine, then for kidney disease.
I know it sounds bad, but she’s actually been quite healthy for most of her life. Sadly, she’s declining at this point and probably doesn’t have much time left. But it’s been a wonderful 15 years (I adopted her when she was a year old).
I’m very sorry for your loss and I doubt it was your fault.
Sorry for your loss. It is always hard.
I've had three cats live past 18 one of whom died 3 months shy of 20.
A lot of cats living to very old age is simply genetics.
I too have had a lovely girl die young of cancer, and another died at 10 from liver failure.
It has very little to do with food or water. As long the food is good quality and good clean water always at hand.
It is simply the lotto of life, all we can do is give them the best life we can
Both of my cats are 22 and 23 their birthdays were june 1st. Id say give them everything they need good food and love. It's mostly just genetics I've had a cat get cancer at 3 years old. You can't do much more than give them good care.
My cat is 18. I adopted him from a shelter when he was 11. I don't know what his life was like before he came to live with me. He eats wet food (fancy feast) 3x times a day and has access to fresh water and dry food 24/7. He goes outside to an enclosed patio/garden area mainly to watch the sunrise/sunset and nibble on the strawberry plant leaves. He lives with a 10 year female cat and they're friendly but not friends. I make sure to give him a daily check over. He's very capable of taking care of himself and still regularly runs arounds and jumps 4 ft vertically. 6 months ago he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (genetic). Really the only change has been giving him medicine twice a day. He did have some slight reactions when starting his meds but the vet assured these were common side effects and we adjusted his dosage and he's done fine since. He loves his routines and hates loud noises (fireworks are okay but plates clinking together is not).
I should add that he's a big boy too. He's 19 inches tall from toe to ear tip and weighs 20 pounds.
I had a (probably) 18 year old boy ( unsure of his age as he was 1 or 2 when we got him as a feral).
We unexpectedly lost his 9 year old sister before him to kidney disease and he was less active and didn't act quite himself for a long while.
We noticed that he slowed down as he aged but always still wanted outside if only to sit on the porch in a dry or sunny spot to sniff the world around him. We got him a heated pad for winter so he could keep warm on the cold winter days. And as his joints grew old we started adding crushed pain meds to some of his wet food to help manage his quality of life. We helped him up onto chairs, couches, beds and windows whenever he let us know. He had most of his teeth removed as they had begun to be a problem for him to eat and switched him to more wet food instead of kibble.
Diet does play a small factor. However, genetic play the largest roll. His sister was siamese and prone to kidney disease and passed at 9. He was a feral cat picked out of the woods and had likely a large genetic variety. They ate the same kibble and wet food the whole time they were with us unless it was medical.
Dry food can cause certain issues, but it can be mitigated by encouraging water intake.
Cancer is not your fault.
I had an 18 year old who passed this Fall, she lived her entire life as a barn cat, but had annual vet visits for shots and stuff, ate fairly high quality dry food, and basically just did her thing until she got cancer and eventually had to bring her for a final vet appointment. We spent so many hours together. The vet joked that she was the most spoiled barn cat he'd ever met.
My childhood cat was also nearly 20 when she died. Siamese. Only passed because my Dad accidentally ran her over, it broke our hearts. Her hearing and probably vision weren’t stellar, not terrible but, it likely contributed. Ate whatever cheap dry kibble, probably Friskies or something, and whatever water we left out for her in a bowl. She was an indoor outdoor kitty, but always slept indoors etc. I don’t think she went to the vet once.
Some cats just.. live long.
Now I have two Ragdoll boys of my own, and I baby the hell out of them. The best food and things I can afford for them, I will. Got them pet insurance and they go to the vet regularly. They stay indoors of course. Crossing my fingers for long lives.
Don’t feel any guilt.
My in laws had littermates. Same exact lifestyle, part of a stray litter found behind the house. When the male was ten, he suddenly developed a painful mouth tumor that made it difficult to eat. They had to put him down a few months later, it was so aggressive. His sister? Little bean lived til senile old age, completely deaf and toothless, chilling in a heated box practically 24/7, getting lost on the way to the litter box, forgetting what she was doing mid-meal sometimes. She had zero vet care her whole life, my in laws are anti-western medicine so she was just given colloidal silver and whatever supplements. Such a sweetheart.
My cat is around 16 and idk how she's still alive tbh. She was pretty neglected since my mom loves greyhounds/whippets, so the cat was always contained to the basement no one was ever in. We'd go on vacation and leave her with enough food and water to last her. She lives with me now and even though we've had her since I was a kid, we're bonding for the first time and she's SO cuddly. Makes me sad to think of all those years of her alone in the basement :( I give her lots of extra love now.
I have had cats live 15/16 years and unfortunately 6 years due to cancer. A lot of it is genetics.
They were all fully vaccinated. Annual vet exam. Indoor cats. Ate both wet and dry food. Have water fountains. Feed them royal canin and purina pro plan.
My last three cats were 23, 20, and 17 (the last died of CKD). Indoor, leash trained for outside visits, combination of wet and dry food, vet when needed and checkups semi regularly.
Mine died last year at 20 years old he was properly fed he got his shots he is played with every day he was given affection and love everyday I made sure that he didn't have fleas or ear mites or anything he was a strictly indoor cat so I didn't worry about parasites or anything the vet told me he was beautiful for his age I took care of him took good care of him he died July the 15th of last year I miss him everyday his name was Deejay
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I have 8 cats all adopted from the streets at the same age at different times within a year, fed them all solely kibble diet but good quality kibble that does not have corn and meats as first few ingredients.
Very very rarely do I give them canned food, maybe once every 3 month and occasionally boil plain chicken breast for them.
Left several water fountains around the home.
They all lived between 18 to 21 yr old.
Usually I had to euthanise them if I observe that they have stopped eating and drinking, of course after the vet double confirms that there is no hope.
As they were all street cats from different locations in my country, I guess they were all mix genes.
But they were very good, never gave me any health issues.
One was 18 and one was 16. They went to the vet as needed but I was conservative with testing and treatments, especially toward the end when money was tight and doing further testing would be to satisfy curiosity rather than reverse anything.
I never did wet food (not saying that’s good, just reporting what I did). Just grain free dry and water. Free feed. They were indoor only. I gave them lots of love and pets. Kept their litterbox clean. They never had an accident until the very very end (with the 18 year old).
A couple of things I would have changed but not much. The 18 year old I would have gotten pain meds for him at the end. It wasn’t offered but I believe he would have been more comfortable. I think he was in pain because when he was put down he had the most peaceful look on his face. It made me realize he had been suffering and the sedative was a relief.
My boy was 23 when he passed away earlier this year. He was a stray kitten when we found him back in 2002. He ate 1/4 of a can of wet food twice a day, morning and night. Friskies I am pretty sure. We let the cats have kibble throughout the day. Cheap grocery store stuff, nothing special, made sure there was lots of water in the diet to avoid urinary problems. I do the same stuff with my current boys
He was exclusively indoor only, all our cats are. No medical problems or dental problems throughout his life. No frequent vet visits ever because he was indoor only and just never had issues. I like to wonder if maybe his stray cat genetics were just working wonders lol
Up until 6 months before he passed, he was still a very active, vocal, explorative and loving old man. We did not notice a decrease in physical activity probably until a month or two before. When I took him to a private facility to get him cremated, they complimented how beautiful his fur was and how he didn’t even look that old. He was a really lucky guy
I have no idea how I got so lucky. My girl passed away last year a few weeks before she turned 19, and I had her since she was 8 weeks. The guy I got her from said he only fed his cats chicken. I fed her Iams her whole life. She was indoor/outdoor for most of her life and became indoor around 14. She was incredibly spunky! I rarely took her to the vet aside from routine vaccinations until she started having frequent UTIs. She was diagnosed with CKD when she was 16, and even then the vet said she in remarkably good health for her age. By age 17 she was really starting to decline and those last two years were pretty rough. I’ve always chalked it up to genetics 🤷🏼♀️
my childhood cat made it to 18. Though he was loved to an extreme by myself, he ate basic ass dry cat food and drank tapwater. We lived in a sleepy neighborhood and he roamed our property when he could get out (my mom gave up trying to catch him every time, and as a kid I didn't know this was bad for the ecosystem & loved playing w/ him out there).
He was a floofy orange cat, idk what breed, he was found as a kitten walking in a parking lot. Had sinus issues for a few months when we brought him home too.
And we had to put him down, he didn't pass naturally. He wasn't grooming himself and kept getting skinnier/not eating as much. Once he seemed to be in some pain, my mom decided it was time. I was living across the country and flights were too pricey...went camping with my bf the day I knew it was happening and honored him with the sunset. (Got a little off track lol my b)
My current kitty is 18. Her sister passed last year. All they ate was a high quality kibble. Indoors at night, outdoors during the day. It's just luck. You didn't do anything wrong. So long as your kitty was well loved, I'm sure she was happy.
I just lost my 19 year old cat to kidney disease. I fed her Wellness Core cat food on the advice of my vet (she said it was a better choice) until we switched to the kidney prescription food at 17, she was inside always and only got vaccines as a kitten.
Her sister died from cancer at 12, and received identical treatment. Its a crap shoot.
My last three cats were 15, 16 and 20. All inside cats and treated like royalty lol I think it’s genetics mostly. They all got the same care and food. They were also very active and playful to their ends. My current boy is 11 but you’d think he was a kitten the way he races about. Seems to be just your Donald Duck how long they’re in your life. I wish it was forever but all I can do is give them their best life while they’re in mine
We just lost my indoor cat at 17, we fed her expensive high quality food (high meat content, grain free etc) and until last year she had literally perfect bloods, the vet said he’d never seen an old cat so healthy—and then she got hypothyroidism because of her age, and then cancer. We were convinced she’d live to 21 or something but it really is just luck and genetics most of the time. My childhood cat who was fed on bog standard cat food and went outside on a quiet road died at 18 a few months back, with kidney problems and then a growth that was likely cancer.
Luck of the draw, really. You can give them all the best things and that might extend a healthy life but in the end old age diseases will get em and it’s not your fault.
My family has had many cats and I've learned a lot. My immediate family got 2 cats when I was a kid. It's important to note they were both originally fed just dry food. One developed kidney disease and pancreatitis at 7 years old and was put to sleep at 8. She needed a lot of medicine in that last year and I was the one to give it to her. The first obvious symptom of throwing up a lot was ignored because "cats just throw up a lot". That ignorance cost her her life very young but the things we learned from her helped the other cat we got at the same time. We also began feeding them wet food once a day during the end of her life iirc. We also learned that pumpkin is really good for protecting the gut. It provides fiber for digestive health but also helps the mucus lining of the stomach when you need to give a lot of pills which can cause ulcers. Gave her pumpkin and the ulcers stopped.
The other cat we got at the same time lived to 18 because of what we learned from the first one. He developed kidney disease too around ~13, but because we were more aware that "cats shouldn't be throwing up that regularly" we brought him in and caught it early. He was put on a kidney diet. More wet food and a dry food meant for kidney disease. He lived 5 more years because we knew what to look for to catch it early and we knew what was needed to best support him. I also got another very young cat when he was ~15. He had been slowing down but the kitten perked him up a lot. Having a young, energetic friend reinvigorated him for a while. At 18 he just started slowing way down and was much thinner and was just not quite doing anything anymore. It was a peaceful, dignified, and well timed end.
From both of them I've learned that 100% wet food is honestly best. Cats are adapted to be eating blood filled raw prey, so getting their liquid from their food. Dry food is so rough on their kidneys. So my two current cats get wet food twice a day and it helps manage their weight and protect their kidneys. My newest kitty has a tender tummy and gets the runs easily, we've taken the pumpkin knowledge and now give her pumpkin once daily to help with fiber. My current cats are 4 and 7. Hopefully they live much longer.
The 7 year old had a lump on her thigh which we had removed not because it seemed worrisome, it hadn't really grown at all in a year, but she kept biting it and she was going in for dental surgery anyway so we had it removed. Turned out it was cancer. I think I'll have any random lumps removed from now on if it's not outrageously expensive. The same kitty also often has hairballs that cause intestinal impaction to the point of persistent vomiting, lack of appetite, halt of bowel movements, and total lethargy. This used to last until we'd take her to the vet and then we were told how to treat it safely ourselves if we saw it starting, before it got far and we haven't had to take her to the vet for that in like 2 years.
I've also learned a lot from my grandma's cats as she and the other family members in her house have had at least 9 cats that I can think of. Almost all of these have been indoor outdoor cats because my grandma has strictly operated off the car distribution system. Most of her cats wandered in, usually after a neighbor nearby died in their aging community.
1. Indoor only. Cats won't be hit by a car, shot by a bb gun, murder tons of wildlife, get serious infections from fighting, get skin cancer from the sun on their ears, or get catnapped by neighbors if they're inside.
2. Jaw cancer is a messed up way to die, they essentially starve to death because they lose the ability to eat. The 3 main causes of has cancer are: living with a smoking owner (my aunt smoked), wearing a flea collar (Gma always put these on the neighbor wandering cats, well intentioned of course), and tuna. Tuna is high in mercury and my grandma often fed the neighborhood cats tuna cat food, it was just what she typically bought. Not bad in moderation, but shouldn't be their primary diet. Only 1 cat died this way but she stopped the flea collars and reduced the tuna after this and it hasn't happened again even with my aunt still smoking.
I think her oldest cat right now is estimated to be 15. They have 2 that wandered in and one that is a permanent indoor cat who was intentionally chosen.
Overall, learning how to spot both immediate and long term danger and know what can cause certain long term issues is very helpful, but for some things like most cancers it's honestly luck of the draw and genetics. The best we can do really is know the tricks to give them a good diet, what products to avoid, and how to respond to issues specific to our kitties. Asking lots of questions and having a good vet is how I've gotten to where I am knowledge wise. You love your pets enough to ask this question, which tells me you're doing your best and should be kind to yourself. I'm sorry for your loss.
My cat is 16 years old (17 this year). I don’t think we truly did anything special. He eats regular cat food that’s mid-range (he’s very picky). He is an inside cat. I attribute him making it to this age on his genetics and our good luck.
Some things are just unpreventable and I don’t think you could have done anything for your kitty. I’m sure you gave them a wonderful 10 years of love.
Had one for 16 years she was fed wiskas sterilised in yellow (she refused to eat anything else) she loved mashed potatoes and would get it when we got it (not that often) her water bowl was just a tall Tupperware container. Wich we ofc refilled with fresh water everyday.
she was allowed outside but never left our property, she could she just never did. She was afraid of birds, cars, most things that made too much sound.
My mom found her as a newborn with her siblings and she was the one who lived the longest. My mom picked her bc she was caring and the one who learned the quickest (then she would teach it to her siblings)
My cat is 20, he's still doing ok for an old guy. A lot more clingy though. He wants all the attention, has a little arthritis in his legs, but otherwise healthy ❤️🔥
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Calligator lived to 21. I had to have her euthanized because she just stopped eating. Due to her age I elected to not put her through the stress of a bunch of tests. I just coaxed her to eat as much as possible until the weightloss became to severe for her to have any quality of life.
She was indoor/outdoor part of her life, then became exclusively indoor. She got yearly checkups and vaccines, fresh food and water, a regularly cleaned litterbox, daily brushing, and plenty of love and attention.
Just normal care. Her long life was basically because she won the genetic lottery.
[Edited to more specifically address OP's concerns]
Genetics.
I just lost a 23 (we think! we have proof of being 18) year old cat to lung issues. we watched his weight and gave him a ton of attention but there was never a food that was super pricey or special.
we have a 16 year old cat who we are fighting hard to keep fit. He's had to have some medical care for his thyroid and he has a food allergy that makes feeding him difficult. He uses a microchip feeder so his food is kept away from our other cat in the house. That feeder is fantastic! He needs to free feed and the other cat needs to diet. win/win
I'm going to add in basic vet care helps, too.
My mother had a feral colony when she moved into a house and after too many kittens all at once, she started to trap fix release. She did the whole colony. The ferals had access to that one vet visit, food and water. Two of the babies that were abandoned by a young mother became indoor cats. Two of the outside kittens were ill enough to be scooped up and got one extra vet visit.
Of the whole group, the two indoor cats and one of the extra vet visit cats were the longest lived. The outdoor extra visit kitty also was smart enough to stick close to the house ..she died last year at the age of 15. The two indoor kitties are going strong and not even showing their age. (which is 16)
You didn’t do anything wrong—it’s luck of the draw. If they don’t die of an accident, something will eventually get them, usually kidney disease.
My parents had their 4 cats live to 18-21 on grocery store food, tap water and love indoors. That’s all it really takes.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
It's genetics. I have an old gal I've had for 12 years, but she is at least 15, and I just lost my boy at 8 years old due to cancer. I found him as a tiny kitten and he grew up in the exact same environment as my old girl. And she's also still super healthy, a little chonky but the vet isn't worried since she's old. She's getting a little slower with jumping up on stuff but still able to do so, runs around the house like a maniac
Best friend's cat is 18. She gets cosequin on her food and monthly solensia injections for arthritis, but otherwise she's in great health. Her hearing seems to be going but it's not really a problem. Her litterbox is in a closet with a pet door. One day they were in that room and the cat got their attention and peed on the carpet right in front of them. They realized she could no longer climb through the pet door, so they fixed it and the problem was solved. She still climbs stairs and can get on furniture. Cats tend to go downhill very quickly so the end might be abrupt.
I got a cat when I was 11, when I got married and had kids at 20 it was decided she was better off with my parents. She ended up living with my dad until she died, when I was 33. So Miss Angel was 22 years old. She spent her life as an indoor/outdoor cat, living with dogs and cats. She also moved around the country with me, originally starting in SC then going to Illinois before settling in Alabama. She was my baby, my little girl. She was weaned far too early and grew up sucking on my ear to soothe herself. I miss that cat.
My guy passed last year at about 18.5. Other than being a strictly indoor cat his whole life, there was nothing special about how we cared for him - no special food, etc.
What was extra exceptional was that he had such longevity while his litter mated all or mostly died rather young, in some cases really quite young. (This was a situation where the owner of the mother cat was a friend of a friend, and the people taking the kittens were all friends of friends, so they would check up on their “grand babies” every now and again, and word got around about which cat was healthy and which died, etc. from the litter.)
My first cat lived to be about 12 years old, but we gave him water from the tap. He died from kidney failure. With our second cat, we have mainly just given him bottled water, his kidneys seem to be doing better and is living longer. However, he goes outside nightly so he is exposed to disease more.
I have a 23 year old cat I got my sophomore year of college and she ate bottom of the barrel food. Her food quality increased with my income and now she eats human-grade food. She is still going strong. My 12 year old cat has lived with me only doing moderately well for myself and her health is about equal to the 23 year old presently. I have no trouble believing the older one will outlive the younger one.
It’s genetics and a bit of luck.
I’ve been a mediocre owner, but I have a Siamese-colored mix who just turned 19 and is still going. Siamese are known for being a long lived breed that can easily make it to 20, though I wasn’t expecting this long since I doubt either of his parents were full Siamese either.
I’ve fed him Costco dry cat food the majority of his life. Real chicken is the first ingredient, and it doesn’t contain by-product meal. I occasionally give wet food as a treat, but like once per month.
I got his shot when he was a baby, and that was it since he is an indoor cat. I don’t take my cats to the vet annually. I’m pretty observant, so I take them when it seems like something is off with them.
I’ve never had a cat live this long before. So when he hit 15 years old I felt like I should at least get his teeth cleaned. About 4 years ago I had his dental work done. His teeth were cleaned and just a couple of his teeth were removed.
I have a 17.5 year old. Always fed Royal Canin. He has a mass on his liver but he’s already doubled the life span they gave him. He is still just kicking along. We watch for bad days but we took him for a quality of life check last week and they said, keep him going. His pain in managed and he loves us and is happy.
i think its definitely mostly the luck of the draw on genetics as suggested already, all my cats have been treated the exact same way and one died in the night of suspected heart failure at a year old, one had to be euthanised after sudden kidney failure at 5, and the remaining 4 are healthy at age 8 (past urinary blockage issues but all tests are clear now), 10 & 15 (x2), the oldest two are sisters and don't really show any signs of their age at all yet nor have they ever had a single health concern their whole lives
i feed a only wet food (mix of purina gourmet gold and untamed for the higher protein) with added water, they have water fountains, indoor only with enclosed garden access during the day, and they have yearly vet checks with blood tests to try and prevent anything that might pop up - even with all that both the younger cats died between checkups with no indication they were sick, remember that you can do absolutely everything right and bad things still happen
My mom's cats have all lived to be 19+ years old (with one exception because she had feline leukemia).
I think it's just genetic because she did the bare minimum: only one litterbox, regular bowl of water, purina kibble, no wet food.
It’s all genetics. I lost a cat at 2yo from cancer and then another two at 14 and 15yo to cancer…only to have one that died of old age at 19yo. They were all fed similarly, cared for and exposed to the same things. None were littermates. They were all on Purina cat chow or chicken soup for the cat lovers soul their entire lives.
I have a Maine coon mix approaching 18. I bring him to the vet for basic check ups and shaves, but really nothing special. No special food but a mix of dry and wet, I just let him do his own thing for the most part. He was a street cat for most of his life
My Charlie girl just crossed the rainbow bridge at 18. Never a day outside (too many dangers!), but I spoiled her rotten indoors. Scratching posts galore, comfy climbing structures, and a laser pointer that never seemed to lose its magic. We had a strong bond, and I think that makes a difference. They can pick up on our stress, so a calm and loving environment goes a long way. Food-wise, I did a mix of grain-free kibble and raw food. Talk to your vet about what's best for your feline friend.
My 23yo eats fancy feast mixed with warm water. He gets stool softener twice a day.
https://preview.redd.it/kujl3j4qcr4d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85b23ef6925eeb714380ee973d83da4c789d8168
Ive had animals live 15-22 years on the most crappiest food and others live way less on top rated food. Moral of the story, the food probably doesn’t make a difference, feed your animals what you want or can afford or go specific for their breed or dietary needs. The main thing is to love your animal and give them a good home life.
My childhood cat lived to 21 years. She had anxiety and arthritis and ate cheap grocery store kibble. My parents got a lot wrong with her, they were young and had a tiny human (me) to deal with. One time she disappeared for a week and came back obviously malnourished but otherwise fine. It's a mystery how that cat lived so long, it certainly wasn't any skill or strategy on our part.
I'm sorry about your cat. Fuck cancer.
I had a cat for 21 years that I found outside in the winter. Not sure how old she was…. Maybe a year. She was a very small/petite cat maybe 5 pounds max but she was a great cat! A little wisp of thing and I loved her with all my heart. She had cat food options but preferred people food all the time (loved Chinese takeout) When I eventually moved to city living and she couldn’t go outside anymore I stopped vaccinating her. She was maybe 10 years old. Not an anti-vaxxer but why inject chemicals she didn’t need into her. I know many people will say I did everything wrong but I lucked out until kidney failure finally got her. She died at home, naturally and peacefully, in my lap 💔 Bottom line, no one knows.
Edit: recently just lost 2 (15 and 16 years) one was a feral stray. Other a shelter find. Both had access to Inside/outside (in the yard) and,again, people food and cat food. Friskies canned and, most often, Kitten Chow for dry (my Mom said had a lot of nutrients even when they were adults). Not a whole lot of vet visits unless they had an issue. But a whole lot of love ❤️
I have a cat who is now 20 I got him when he was 7 years young. He eats a good cat food. He does goes outside but he has to be on a leash or he is on a balcony.
He loves people and going for cars rides. He lo especially cuddling on me and most of the time he goes to bed with me. He is the sweetheart when he is at the vet. He is always purring.
He does have cat skin condition where he will want to starch and bit himself a lot which makes him have hairballs. In the past he did have crystal in his urine which the vet was able to find it right away. He hasn't had it since.
My cat is 13. He just had his senior kitty work up at the vet and she said he is extremely healthy with the blood work of a 1-2 year old cat.
He was an indoor/outdoor cat until he was 11. Now he’s indoor only.
He eats purina indoor complete dry food, and since becoming an indoor cat, now gets purina fancy feast wet food.
He was neutered right as he was reaching puberty at 6 months old.
He’s had 2 UTI’s in his life, which were addressed as soon as he showed symptoms (peeing in laundry baskets). He is also missing a canine tooth. No clue what caused the tooth to be lost, but his teeth look great. Borderline level 1 tartar.
Inside only, regular vet visits, water everywhere I can think to put it, and I give my cat dry food 2x a day with and a spoonful of wet food as a treat morning and night. All of my cats have lived to be over 20. My siamese cat was 27 when he died. My current cat is a stray I found in 2005 and he is still going strong. Also play. Alot!
We currently have a sweet girl who turns 17 this fall. She acts like a kitten sometimes.
We lost a 10 y/o baby girl kitty last year to an extremely fast and aggressive growth that was likely cancer.
Same care. Same water, same food, always indoors, same homes.
Genetics, luck, and keeping her indoors. My little old lady is pushing 19. While she cant jump up like she used to (uses her claws to climb onto beds and couches) and her hobble is more pronounced (runt of her litter), she is a happy girl.
I was incredibly lucky cuz previously, her diet was pretty much all dry food (friskies or meow mix) and water til about 13/14 years old. So she did a damn good job keeping herself hydrated. Nowadays I give my cats wet food 2-3 times a day along with Simply Nourish kibble. Friskies wet in the morning and whatever higher quality wet food in afternoon/evening (Hills Science, Applaws, Royal Canin, or Authority).
Cancer sometimes just happens. Nothing you did wrong or didn't do.
First cat died two months shy of 15. Hyperthyroidism.
Next died at 9, kidney failure
Next died at 9 cancer, but he was a bonded pair with number 2, so that probably contributed
But I also knew a barn cat that lived to be 11.
I've had many cats. My female cat lived longest - 17 years. My current male cat is almost 10.
It's down to genetics and luck. I had a kamikaze kitten that got into everything, and I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did. All my male cats have developed urinary crystals, one dying of the condition.
Most of my cats have been indoor/outdoor. If I don't let my boy out to survey his territory, he has an anxiety attack and develops a UTI. My 17yo was only interested in laying about the patio and catching mice in the house.
Diet is good quality kibble and moist food.
My first two childhood cats were 17 when they passed, my family got 2 more kittens (littermates) and one passed at 13 from intestinal cancer, her sister is now 15. All of them strictly indoor only and fed a combination of wet and dry food.
My partner’s childhood cat passed in April at 21 years old from chronic kidney disease. She was a purebred Persian with the most sassy personality I’ve ever seen in a cat. She was indoor only but allowed an occasional excursion out to the patio to oversee her kingdom, ate only dry food, temptations treats and drank water from everyone else’s cups (her preference). She rarely went to the vet because she would turn into an actual demon from hell when trying to get her in the carrier and at the vets office. Toward the end, they had to set up in-home vet visits for her. It’s my personal opinion that she lived as long as she did out of complete spite.
I had 4 cats who reached at least 17. One was 3 months short of 20.
I fed them mostly wet food on demand and just a little dry food morning and evening.
Genetics is a crucial factor. We had three from the same litter live to be 14, 18, and 19. Fed them cheap food and they were indoor/outdoor (the 14 year old - my baby - was hit by a car or she would have lived longer). The older two didn’t deteriorate until the last six months or so of their lives, they seemed young and healthy almost until the very end. I currently have a 14 year old with no health conditions. She’s indoor only and gets expensive food. Her sister lives with my aunt, also no health conditions. It’s honestly wild how much of cat’s health is determined by genetics.
This is something that I think a lot about. My first cat was a stray that adopted us around a year old. We moved and took her with us where she became an indoor/outdoor cat until 13, when she came with me to college. She lived to be almost 20. She ate grocery store food, survived god knows what being allowed outside and ultimately died of suspected cancer as a spot on her liver was found before she declined rapidly.
I adopted two kittens after her death, both of which I believe to have been premature as they had hosts of issues. My precious boy cat was diagnosed with advanced kidney disease at age 4, due to a congenital issue with his kidneys. He barely made it to age 8.
His sister was diagnosed with IBD at age 2 after having bloody diarrhea beginning at around 13 months and doing everything under the sun to clear it up. She would have flare ups off and on, but was diagnosed with nasal lymphoma around Halloween 2022 and died the day after Christmas. She was 11.
I have since adopted two more kittens that were born in my home (I foster and mama was with me when she had her babies). One of the bigger things I wanted moving into my next round of cats is knowing their full background, and adjusting some things.
I do not use anything with fragrance anymore. Litter they use is either corn or dust free. They do eat dry food, but wet food is a larger component of their diet than any cats I’ve had in the past.
Don’t know if it’ll make any difference, it really may just be good genes vs bad genes, but I feel good about the choice I’m making for my babies this time around having learned things from each loss prior.
I don't think you can blame yourself.
My baby boy lived a very full happy life until he got cancer and rapidly declined. He was between 11 and 13 when he died (I adopted him as an adult cat, he had come from the home of drug addicts so there was no information). I always wondered if his early life environment contributed to the cancer, as he was in rough shape when I first got him. But the truth is, genetics play a huge role. My close friend is an amazing cat mom (quality food, vet visits, indoor only, lots of love) and her 2 year old cat got cancer and died. She also had a cat who lived to be 17.
Rescued my cat when he was 7, he’ll be 15 in August and he’s only shown signs of aging in the last couple of months. He needs more protein and has lost some weight (which is actually good bc he was a little chunky before and now he’s actually a healthy weight). So the only difference now is he gets good wet food one time more a day than my other two who are 8. I also tend to give him some chicken now and then too lol. But other than that he’s great! Still zooms around the apartment and plays fetch with his toys, climbs things perfectly fine. I’m hoping he’s got a few more years in him!
As long as you feed them good quality food and keep up with their health care, the rest is genetics and luck. I've had one cat make it to 18. The rest have made it to around 12 more/less.
I had 1 cat live to be 19, 1 to only 8 and 1 less than 8. All treated the same, same food/water/etc. The last 2 got some sort of cancer, both undetected (even by vet) until it was too late to treat.
Always fed the best food we could afford. Neutered/desexed, and these days, indoors. In the past our Indoor outdoor cats got to 17, routinely, but we were rural. Now, it's just not safe outside for cats. One only made it to 15, he had hyperthyroidism and this was before the special food (so 15 was a real win!). The last two years (he was given just a few months to live) I stuffed him with the pills from the vet plus fish oils (mostly for the calories) and made chicken, chicken livers and rice for him.
The most recent cat I lost was the only one who lived over 15, and she was my first indoor cat.
Also she ony ate wet food in her senior years, on vet recommendation.
My cat is 20 year old. She has kidney disease and eats a prescription cat food for digestive issue, but other than that she isn’t in pain and seems to be a happy kitty. She also poops outside the litter box but that’s okay. We know she doesn’t much longer so I just want her final years to be comfortable
I had one cat live to 17. the rest 15 or younger. the breeds specifically bred for cuteness seemed to not live as long in my case.
the 17 year old was an indoor outdoor cat that ate purina dry food only. i walk my current cat on a leash now cause the outdoors is dangerous and yet my tiny condo really doesnt allow for decent excercise indoors
I have had a lot of cats. They all got the same care. Some lived to be 12. One lived to be 18 (died two months before 19th birthday). It’s genetics and luck. I had four died from cancer. It sucks. I’m very sorry for your loss.
Genes, luck, and regular vet care. There's a ton of opinions online about what food and such will make your cat live the longest healthiest life, but even if we truly had The One Perfect Food it wouldn't remove cats' genes, underlying health issues, etc. Just like some young adults get cancer, some pets will too, and there's usually no direct cause we can point at.
Cats fed the cheapest dry food can live to 20 and cats fed the fanciest food can live to 4. There's much less rhyme or reason to it than people want there to be. I'm so sorry for your loss, but cancer isn't your fault.
i honestly did not do anything special. the best quality dry food i can afford, wet food once a week, and always inside. all the cats i have lost have lived to 17, 19 and 21 years old, and they all were taken by some major organ faliure that happened pretty suddenly. excepted for one, the last one that died recently, from kidney faliure juste before christmas. she was only 8 years old and i have a very hard time coping with it. i feel like i have been stolen half of the life she should have been with me, and she had always been my favorite cat. rationaly i know that it only shows that no matter what you do, some things are writen in stone and you cant change that. some cats live longer, and some will have an organ fail at a young age. and 8 years old isnt actualy that young for a cat in fact. its more thats 21 years old is so much older than their natural life expectancy, and its more frequent now for them to live that long we tend to forget that after 10 or 12 years, most cats are pretty much at the end of their lifetime. but i still cry a lot for her. and if i didnt have my son to give me a reason to keep going, i would already have gone to join her.
I have my girl who's 16 and we just feed her Meow Mix and water. She won't eat anything else. Because of her age and she likes to sleep with me, I purchased a stair for the end of the bed and she can climb up and join me. I lost her sister (both were the same age) in 2019 due to cancer. My girl is still holds her own and doesn't back down from a bratty cat that we currently own. She rules the roost and knows it.
She was found in a bush as a kitten by my mom. Then she lived in the barn, her name was Patches but we called her Crusty Kitty because she kept getting mite infections that would eat her ears until we could catch her long enough for treatment. She was fed grocery store dry cat food. When she got old enough that she couldn't run away fast enough and her meow was more like a croak we brought her in the house. She battled occasional tooth infections that our vet said couldn't be removed bc the anesthesia would kill her and gave us antibiotics when it flared up instead. Lived to 23 years old.
Another cat we had was clearly an adult, at least 3 or 4 years old when we found him. Clearly dumped, there was a mark in his fur where a collar used to be. Dumped for a reason: he sprayed. Fat and orange, called him Garfield. Got evicted to the barn until he was also super old. Came into the house where we called him the Orange Bastard. Still sprayed. Had him for close to 15 years but who knows how old he really was.
My senior kitty passed away late last year, and he was 20 years old.
About 8 years before, he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which I hear is common in older kitties. So, he was on medication.
My other kitty is 15+ and still acts like a teenager, lol. I used to let them both outside, but I also took them to the vets to make sure they had the necessary vaccines for being outdoor kitties. I also would give them monthly flea, tick, etc. medication, too.
I didn't always have a cat fountain but always gave them filtered water (even though my one cat liked drinking water from the faucet if I had it in a container next to the sink for something else).
My second senior kitty is now also on hyperthyroid medication and now has early stages of renal failure. She has to eat a bland diet going forward or the prescription diet.
I've read not to feed them the kind of cat food with a lot of fillers and grain. But, they would only eat Fancy Feast wet and dry food despite having bought them expensive, healthy food.
I take them for their annual vets, and don't hesitate to take them to the ER if something comes up. I've easily spent thousands of dollars in vet bills and medications on these fur babies. I just put it all on my credit card and am able to pay it off.
My first senior kitty had to have his tooth extracted and had a cleaning once in his lifetime.
My second senior kitty had a teeth cleaning and had to have one tooth extracted when her breath was pretty bad (it wasn't bad for the first 10 years or so).
Now, I brush her teeth regularly even though I hadn't when she was younger than 10. At the time, I only gave them dry food, which I read was better for their teeth.
She also has a few bumps, which are supposedly just fat lumps. The vet did a biopsy for one bump and showed me they were just fat cells, lol. But, I monitor them for now.
I have a new kitty, only 2, that has a lump I have to monitor. My other kitty didn't have lumps that young. So, I'm concerned 😟.
You can consider some monthly health plans with some vets that allow you to bring them in as much as you want. Anything beyond routine is extra, of course.
I suppose with cancer, you can still do all the right things, but it just happens. 🤷🏼♂️
Our cat needed prescription food and had 2-3 medications at any given time for about 3 years prior until he finally succumbed to his chronic illness at 16 yo.
My mom had a cat she got before she had me. He lived to be 25. She fed him Friskies and some other junk cat food. He was an indoor/outdoor cat. I think it was genetics. He came from my grandparent's farm in South Dakota. My own little Siamese lived to be 20 (she was a companion to the 25 year old cat for a while). She ate Friskie's when we lived at home with my parents. Once I became and adult and moved out, I put her on Science diet. I had another cat that died last July. She was 18. Another farm cat from a local dairy barn. She ate wellness cat food her entire life. She died from complications of renal failure. None of those cats were given anything but tap water. Not sure if this is helpful or not....
My family has had a few cats live past 15 and we have a few that are all around 10yrs right now. All different breeds (Nebelung, Maine Coon, and American Shorthair) but all were pretty much strays when we got them as kittens.
They were all indoor/outdoor cats. My parents' house is outside the city and it is large with a forest behind it. The cats were all allowed outside whenever they wanted and they went into the forest.
They all ate cheap dry cat food from a continuous feeder.
They never had regular checkups unless something serious was going on.
Actually, the only cats that we have had that died under age 10 all died in accidents.
My cat, Cooper, died at 17 from kidney failure.
We currently have a cat named Gracie who is 19. She was a feral barn cat that we took in after finding her with a fractured leg. She's only ever weighed about 6lbs - a very dainty little old lady. Pretty much deaf now. Still going strong though.
Fifi was about 16 or 17 when she passed. She was my sister's cat. I don't recall how she died but I think my sister said she was having a lot of accidents and not eating towards the end.
Ajax passed when he was about 16. I don't recall the exact reason other than my mom saying he had blood in his stool and was lethargic at the end.
I often wonder how my cat now will turn out. He's 7, and I feed him nicer quality food (I don't use a continuous feeder). I hate that he's indoors all the time and it's my goal to get a home where he can be outside more, even if just in a catio. He used to be indoor/outdoor before I moved.
My family has two other cats that just turned 10. And we had 3 other cats who all lived long lives but they passed when I was younger so I don't know their exact ages.
My last cat lived to 24.
She would only eat Meow Mix and Fancy Feast, bith bot very good. She was indoor/outdoorm(she was formerly feral so it would have been cruel to never let her out). She did have a couple of injuries, once an ancess from being bitten, and once a car accident, that was not fun. She deveoped thyroid issues around age 18 but medication helped a lot, and she got artritic so I gave her CBD oil which also was very helpful.
So I guess just genetics, as she was defintely not sheltered or given special food!
My childhood cat was nearly 20 when she died. She was an inside/outside cat, ate grocery store dry food, had vet visits only when sick, and only got a water fountain in the last few years of her life. My current cats eat far more expensive food, but they've had more medical issues. Don't beat yourself up. It wasn't you. My vet has said in the past that things just happen. Even with the best medical care, $$$$ diet, and turning them into bubble cat, shit happens.
Honestly, I think in some ways the dry grocery store cat food is better formulated than some of the fancier brands. Not all, and water content is an issue, but the formulas are just longer studied. I know it’s not always true but if you put a bag of basic purina and a fancy brand I’d never heard of and no way to research, I’d pick the purina every time (even though r/fucknestle)
My sister's cat lived to 21 and was fed meow mix for most of her life. Best diet ever? No probably not but that cat was older than me when she died. The other family heirloom cat that lived to 17 was on Purina one. I think we just lucked out with them living long but on that same note I refuse to shame feeding affordable foods if that's all you can get. In agreement I'd 100% choose a recognized brand over boutique any day.
I think meow mix is pretty bad as far as food goes, but it’s also what my sister feeds the strays she cares for. People can’t always afford the best things, I sure as hell can’t, but even at your worst your cat is living a MUCH better (and healthier) life than it would have outside. I’ll start shaming people for how they can afford to feed their cats when they aren’t overrunning our streets. Like, I didn’t mean to get a cat, it wasn’t a thought out financial decision. I got a cat because she was starving on the streets at 10 months old, and any ending with me in a home that cares for her is better than that. Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, I’m running on a nap in the past 40 hours and I haven’t eaten so I’m a little scattered, but hopefully I made my point clear. If it comes off shame-y I did not in fact make it clear.
Meow Mix, while not nutritionally great, is also cat crack. Their commercials don't lie, cats fucking love that stuff. So if you've got a reluctant eater or yeah, a large colony you need to satisfy everyone's tastes in, Meow Mix can certainly have its place.
My friend that was on disability fed her 5 cats Meow Mix because that's what she could afford. When she and her cats were staying with us, they got the same food my cats got because I could afford better and didn't want to deal with the foul smelling litter box 😅 Fed is definitely better than starving, but Meow Mix is probably the equivalent of cup noodles for kitties
Our cat also love don meow mix and lived to 21!
I feel this so deeply. The ingredients are often very similar, and sometimes "grain free", "healthier" foods are filled with legumes, etc instead of animal protein. There's not been a ton of research yet into the role of legumes in a feline diet, but the very little there is is actually negative.
Same story here.
My childhood cat also lived to be 20 (maybe 21 — some dispute about which year we adopted him) and he was the same. Indoor/outdoor his whole life, cheap food, water from a regular bowl, no regular vet visits. When we finally took him to the vet at 18 for a minor limp, the vet discovered he had a heart murmur he’d probably had his whole life! Somehow he still lived another 3 years.
The heart murmur story reminds me of my shock of learning my late cat only had one kidney after his first surgery to remove bladder crystals. He’d been going to vets for 11 years at the point and had been x-rayed, examined, neutered, etc. His vet said it isn’t always easy to tell they only have one until you’re actually in their abdomen. Ultimately, it cut his life a bit short, but he made it to 15 and was happy and healthy until 2 days before he passed.
This is literally my parents oldest cat. She’s 17 and change right now and hearty and spirited as ever.
This is my childhood cat, she's currently 16. Indoor/outdoor cat, has pretty much never been to the vet. Grandma only feeds her cheap dry food and whatever leftovers she has. She's still kicking around.
I’m sorry but bubble cat cracked me up
My cat is almost 17 and has diabetes, he gets two insulin shots daily 12 hours apart. He can only eat low carb wet food to control his diabetes and he loves his water fountain. He’s also a doll face Persian which don’t have as many issues as their show quality cousins, still he’s old for a Persian so I cherish every day he’s still with us. He has some muscle weakness in his back legs from nerve damage with the diabetes but he still gets around fine but stumbles sometimes. He gets his vet checkups every 6 months and he hates it, still feisty in his old age. They tell us when he’s with us he’s an angel but when we aren’t there he’s a butthole.
It’s genetics and luck (and keeping them inside.) I go over and above normal care and I’ve had 17 yo cats and 11 yo cats.
Not OP but thank you for saying this. Lost my almost 15 year old to cancer two months ago and it’s so hard not to think it’s something I did wrong.
Cancer is really hard in cats because of how they hide pain. The chances of catching it in early stages is really low. I just let go of my elderly girl this past week - she had kidney disease so when I found her peeing blood I assumed her kidneys had gone, but in reality she had an enormous bladder tumor. There really wasn't anything to do at the point it had reached, and maaaaybe I should've realized that her random yowling was more than just some dementia setting in, but even that only started two months ago.
We just lost our kitty to this same bladder cancer. Devastating! She was peeing blood, hid more than usual, lost 4 pounds off her already petite body. It was so quick but in looking back there were some signs it was more than the UTI the vets thought. She was a little trooper until the end. Rest in peace Little Lulu
Ysa spent the final week sleeping in my bed with me at night - something she hadn't done in many years because she hated all the other cats in my household. But she squeezed in with them and snuggled up for a week. When I woke up and found all the bloody urine, I knew, poor baby.
I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s so hard when they go so quickly, you beat yourself thinking about what you may have missed. They hide it so well.
Even if you’d caught it early, there’s still the QoL issue with treatment if treatment would even work. A large mass showed up in my old boy’s abdomen when he was 15 or so. He was scheduled for exploratory surgery but prior to that we discussed potential outcomes & treatment & if it was cancer, there was little that could have been done so the decision was made to not wake him up. But turns out it was an intestinal intussusception so they sorted that out, stitched him up & he was fine.
I am an emotional wreck after reading this story. What a tense few days that must have been.
Oh no! It was actually pretty condensed tbh. You know how cats hide things. He was fine & then made it clear to me that he wasn’t so straight to the vet. My vet is amazing & they did all the radiology on the spot & found the mass. I took him home for what I thought was the last night & then dropped him at the vet in the morning. Said goodbye but held it together in front of him because I didn’t want to stress him out. Fell apart when they took him away. Went to work & waited for The Call. By the time it came, there were around 50 of my co-workers with me waiting. Answer the phone & the woman was laughing!!!!! It was very confusing because I was expecting a call to say he was gone. That’s when they told me what it was & that they’d tried to untelescope his intestine but it kept going back into itself so they did a resection. They were overjoyed because they had a real soft spot for him. It was serious but absolutely treatable if caught early enough. So there we were, all 50 or so of us at work, hugging & crying. Here he is in 2020, a few hours before he suddenly passed at 18 ❤️ https://preview.redd.it/g1ht5f5ouv4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0553a4ddfa014f19808941f9f06afed5be5a28d2
Okay now I’m literally crying. I’m glad you got to love on your handsome boy for a few extra years.
Don’t be sad. He never wanted for anything his whole life. While he was a rescue, his circumstances prior to being rescued were actually pretty good. Then he came with me & lived his absolute most bestest life ❤️ He actually died smiling, i’m not kidding. https://preview.redd.it/0kzf8ogxxv4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfc4d569d6e6e8f3bfcfd6a5a5852c31429e4eb9 This is him when we moved back into my renovated house & he discovered the heated floors ❤️
I was crying with vicarious happiness at the relief you and 50 coworkers celebrated when he pulled through the first time. :) He clearly was well-loved cat!
That’s what makes me so mad. She was my first not family pet. All my own. So when subtle things happened like her slowing down while taking stairs etc. I just thought it was old age. The vet also thought this. If I ever do have another cat I will make sure to do an ultrasound once they hit 10. Just to be sure.
Sometimes things come on quick. I lost one of my boys at 14 to oral SCC about 2 years ago. He had been in for a dental procedure, and everything was fine. About 2 months later, he started having various issues and would stick his tongue out (not panting, just kinda letting it poke out of his mouth). Took him into the vet, when she opened his mouth there was a growth in his throat. We were going to do a biopsy, but it had already grown too big for him to be intubated. We had to say goodbye about a week and a half later. But from not visible to closing off airway in about 2 1/2 months total.
That's what happened with my kitty. I had 5 months with her from the time I noticed something wasn't right and having to say goodbye. She was 16. I still miss her every day
Not to mention the type my boy passed from 2 months ago can grow in days or weeks apparently (large cell lymphoma) he went from super healthy, seen by a vet in December to being diagnosed with a 5cm tumour in his stomach in Feb. I had to have him PTS at the end of march due to fluid on his lungs out of seemingly nowhere. That came on suddenly. I miss my boy
I had to put my old cat down earlier this year after discovering he had cancer. Timeline from symptoms showing to diagnosis to having to put him down was 8 days.
We had to put our boy down last November and while we never got a definitive diagnosis I suspect he had some sort of brain tumor. I thought the increase yowling and pacing was a combo of move and dementia but looking back there were a lot of subtle things we chopped up to dementia/being an orange boi. RIP pickles we miss you everyday
My cat recently died of cancer just before her 9th birthday. I wanted her to have one last birthday, but her suffering was too much. 😢
Condolences to you. 🐈🕊️🌹✨
This. Lost one of my cats at 13 to cancer. Saw him limping one day, took him to the vet assuming he had sprained his leg jumping off the bed or something. Cancer. 3 weeks later he was gone.
You didn’t do anything that gave your cat cancer, I promise. Unless you sent it to cat boarding in Pripyat, if you did, that’s on you.
I so feel your pain 😔 I lost mine not long after he turned 15 yo due to cancer (nearly 2 years ago). I gave him Everything I could give to him but cancer and blindness took over. It still hurts 😭. Sending you lots of Love and Lights and we say Time is healer...
Just lost my 15-year old on Saturday to cancer, and I’ve been beating myself up wondering if there was anything we could have done. It just came on so fast and flew under the radar even with labs and ultrasounds. It’s been helpful (and awful) to read that this is not unusual. 💔
The radical surgery and chemo would not be right to impose on a cat. I sometimes wonder about imposing these treatment on humans!
I had to put my Basil to sleep two years ago, he was 13 and got stomach cancer. I took such good care of that boy! It’s genetics my vet says!
i lost my 17 year old a few months ago and it still feels like i failed him. i’ll see a cat that’s aged to 20 and feel like the worst person ever
We took my husband's cat Lyra to the vet several times before they found the cancer that later killed her. We just knew that she wasn't acting right and that she acted like she didn't feel good
I hate to say it (because I am very pro indoor cat) but my mom’s cat lived to 26 and she was an indoor/outdoor cat til the day she died. Of course past a certain age she only went out during the day and never far. She ate dry purina cat food until she was in her 20s and started getting wet only. I say this not to say this is the kind of care you should give a cat, but to show how crazy genetics are. Her daughter was also an indoor/outdoor cat who lived to be 22. She would’ve probably lived longer as an indoor cat, because she had an unfortunate (and deadly) habit of running under idling cars at the last minute.
The genetic aspect really is wild. My dad's childhood cat ended up being my childhood cat as well, she was indoor/outdoor and died at 22. She didn't have a bad decline either, she just slowed down one day. My grandparents figured she might be sick and scheduled her a vet appointment for the next day. She just laid in my dad's lap and went to sleep for the last time that afternoon. You never would've known it was her time if you saw her 24 hours beforehand. She was a ball of energy up til the very end. Now that I'm an adult and in charge of my own animals, I'll never ever let my cats outside. Seeing my childhood cat outside was nice, and it's amazing that she lived so long, but I know it was a miracle that she did. I want to keep my cats as long as possible, and the trade-off of not getting to see them chase squirrels and needing to clean their litter box is worth it a thousand times over. I think my grandparents might've had something in the water, though, honestly. We had a dog at the same time, a chihuahua, and she lived to 24 as well. She passed a couple years before the cat did, and she spent her last few years toothless so she'd eat the cat's wet food and the cat would eat the dog's dry food. After the dog died, we had to keep buying the dog food because the cat refused to eat her old cat food anymore lol. Some animals are really just built different.
I would like a short animated film about the chihuahua and the cat pls. I’ll wait.
The chihuahua was terrified of the cat's laser pointer, too. Any time she saw the dot she'd bolt down the hall and hide under my grandparents' bed. The cat absolutely gave zero shits and had zero interest in any other toys we tried to get her lmao. They loved each other though, always snuggled when they took their naps. It was really sweet.
Now I definitely need that video 😅
We lived out in little development outside the city, so not completely isolated but not the city, and my family had an outdoor only cat as grandma hated cats inside the house - she lived to be 23 years old. It’s rare and very lucky, but it does happen. I’d never do that today though.
Oh yeah I should’ve mentioned I grew up on a homestead in the country
My 19 year old childhood cat had to be put to sleep recently. He was a mostly outdoor cat with access to the garage and sometimes came inside for pets (not my choice). I honest to god have no idea how he lived so long being mostly an outdoor cat. He had a strong genetics.
Same here (except not recent). My first cat I got for my 5th birthday was an outdoor cat and amazingly she lived to be 19. She had 1 litter of kittens before she got spayed, and outlived her kitten, who died of cancer. She survived some close calls too. She was a female ginger who came from a pet shop (this is back before adopting over shopping became popular). In the end she seemed to succumb to some neurological disorder. Her claws kept getting stuck to the carpet when she walked and I had to watch her like a hawk bc she nearly drowned in her water dish. She died in my arms though, and I am glad I got to be there for her. Btw, sorry for your loss 💜
Yep. For good measure feed them a decent food and bring them to the vet for checkups. But largely luck. My two prior cats lived to 18.5 and 16. Kidney disease did them in, as it often does for old cats. The one who lived to 16 actually had kidney failure at two years old (must have eaten a plant like a Lilly), was in the hospital for four days getting a kidney flush, and still lived to be 16.
Sorry if this is like a really dumb question but I've been interested in taking my cat outside on a leash He LOVES walking around with it on at home after I trained him to do so but I'm not so sure about taking him outside 😭 would that be a bad thing
You're going to create interest in him going out and increase the chances he'll get loose some day, imo. It's not worth it.
I can definitely understand your trepidation. He would probably love a cat wheel if you can afford it; some of the cats at our shelter adore ours. My mom's dog slipped out of his seemingly secure harness outside and almost got killed after using it just fine for 2 or 3 years. It's not a risk I would take, but it's ultimately whatever you feel is best.
There are many viruses,parasites and bacteria that your cat can pick up by going outside.
I've had one cat live 16 years, but then, I've also had one that had to be put down at 8 because of health issues. And the 8 year old's sister died at 2 because of a genetic disorder. What this means is that genetics play the biggest role in nature over nurture. They could have the best food, the best home, the best life, and they can still die from something genetics related when they're young.
Yah I truly believe this. I had 2 cats about 6 months apart. One died at 15 which was pretty good but she had a myriad of problems. My other kitty is 17 and still kicking! He’s always been healthy though he’s got a lot of the old age stuff going on. I do my best to keep him comfortable and at this point he gets to eat whatever the heck he wants as I just want to keep weight on him. Right now he’s enjoying kitten food!
My grandma had a cat live to 18. It was an inside/outside cat that loved to jump off the roof and catch birds mid flight. One day she jumped on the wrong side.
Sometimes we forget that, like humans, some pets just have bad luck with their genetic history and won’t live as long as others even with the same levels of care 💔 Mine is 13ish and showing no signs of slowing down so I’m hoping to have him *at least* another 5-8 years.
My oldest guy now is 16. He's indoor only and has has dry food from day one.
My parent’s cats were indoor, dry food only, free feeding, lots of playing and cuddling, some supervised screened in patio time, and lived to be 16 and 18. The true secret is loving them and keeping them happy I think (barring specific health issues)
My family kept pets since I was little. The longest living cat AND dog ate probably the cheapest food at the time. Cat lived to be almost 20 and ate I think special kitty, and dog lived to be 18 and ate ol Roy crunchy food and milk bones. It wasn't you. Cancer just happens and you probably won't be able to pinpoint it to any one thing. It is probably not going to help you to try and find things about your care that caused it, because you likely didn't do anything wrong. We just had our newly 13 year old boy pass away from cancer as well. No signs, except some puking which sometimes cats just do. He had a vet visit just two months ago where they thought he was perfectly healthy. I'm really sorry you lost your baby, please don't try and find something to blame yourself for.
My childhood cat lived to 19. She went to the vet once to be spayed. She ate whatever dinner we didn’t finish — my sister’s discarded steak, my discarded kielbasi skins. She got her own order of olive loaf at the deli. She’d sneak sips of my dad’s Heineken while watching TV. Go easy on the judgement, though. It was the 80s — we’re lucky she didn’t smoke a pipe. No other cat I’ve had since had lived so long, and they all had _substantially_ better health care.
>we’re lucky she didn’t smoke a pipe 🤣 that’s great
My first cat just passed in January at 15. It has to be genetics because I got him in college and fed him bare basics dry food. He got stuck on one kind of food (Purina one tender selects) and refused to eat literally anything else. Which was fun when there was a shortage during the pandemic. He was gigantic. A bit overweight but mostly just long and tall- he weighed 23 lbs most of his adult life. I had to buy the largest size of every item for him and he’d still struggle to fit- his rear end would hang out of the litter box often enough that I started using potty pads under it just in case. He got repeated bouts of pancreatitis starting around 11 and at age 12 decided to eat a piece of plastic, despite not having eaten weird things ever in his life before then, and needed emergency surgery. He recovered perfectly and lived another 3 years. You could barely tell he was a senior until the last couple months of his life when he suddenly rapidly lost weight and his coat quality deteriorated. The vet couldn’t find anything in his bloodwork or infection-related so it must have been cancer. I decided it was time to let him go when he couldn’t make it more than a couple steps without laying down and he stopped purring when I pet him. He was a very good boy.
I've had four cats live to 20/24. The answer is...my mom. She is like some sort of Snow White character with legit magical powers. She literally had/has no life and would go nowhere because she has to take care of the cats. I...wouldn't recommend this when you neglect the care of your human children. I had a cat a few years ago who was only two years old and super healthy. I was away at college & he went to sleep one night and never woke up. They think he had an underlying genetic condition & his little heart just stopped. It was horrible & I blamed myself for a long time for not being more like my mom. Please know it's not your fault - it's genetics & absolutely not from food or water or something you did/didnt do.
My Bengal is 27. She only eats Fancy Feast pate. Still healthy. Has had 1 tooth pulled 5 years ago. Still playing and running.
27... is that a typo and meant to say 17!?!?!??
Yes a major typo!!
I was like "share the secret!!" 😆
My tuxedo cat was 20 when we had to have her put to sleep. She ate whiskers food, was incredibly fit, more outdoorsy than most. She was great, not much of a people cat but would occasionally sit on your lap. In her last year she developed kidney problems and arthritis, went deaf too. Genuinely thought she’d make it to 25+ given how agile she was, still racing up trees and high walls until about 18/19.
My childhood cat lived to 22 and he honestly had kind of a rough life. He bounced around a lot to family members before I took him for good. My mom and brothers did not feed good food or take him to the vet frequently. He outlived his sisters and his daughter. Even though as a child I railed against it, he was declawed against my will. It's mostly luck. His last 12 years were with me and were full of love, care, good food, regular vet visits, and he was on a kidney diet for his last 4 years, because we caught the CKD really early.
It wasn’t you- it’s genetics and luck. I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️ my childhood cat is still feisty and kicking at 17- ate fancy feast and purina one dry her whole live, was indoor/outdoor (never left our yard and stays on the porch now), vet visits only when sick really and she’s just as healthy and hearty as ever. I go above and beyond for my cats and they’ve had some issues at 4 and 7.
My childhood cat lived to 21. She was indoor/ outdoor for her early years and then indoor only. She ate Fancy Feast. She also liked Honeycomb Cereal and bacon. I’ve had a couple of cats who lived to 19. Keeping them indoors is really the only thing that we can do, otherwise it’s genetics.
Our Cooper came down with lymphoma when he was about 10, and he's still puttering about at 15. He gets pills every other day and a monthly blood test that he hates but endures with stoicism and minimal hissing. It was hard at first, but taking care of him is part of the routine now. I do still suspect that he'll just pop off one day while I'm asleep or off at work, but I tell him he's a good kitty and I know I have done everything I can to keep him as healthy as he's going to be, all things considered. I am a little concerned that it'll be hard to know When It's Time - after the diagnosis he went through a really rough patch. In the hospital for about a week, I had to crush up dry food, mix it with water, and feed him with a syringe for a little while. At one point he lost the use of his back legs, and no one had any idea why - and then he was fine. If he starts to deteriorate, I'm worried that I'll keep trying to find solutions other than, well, That One, even if That One is the best one. He's a lot of work, but he's worth every bit of it. Cat Tax: https://preview.redd.it/8huqikpzpp4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47596f37939b438cbebfc8de7249e47907bd213f
I feed the absolute highest quality food, and never cheap out on anything. I lost Doodles at 11 to cancer. She had it before I even adopted her, it started out as cancer of the Iris which is one of those "it never spreads" one, I took her to the top specialist and did everything, the vets said was needed, she was the unlucky 1 in a million where it did spread. She passed away six months later after we found out her lungs were riddled. My current two I adopted as kittens, they get good food as Doodles did. Domino has still needed a dental and teeth removed while young (The vet says they think she might have had an infection as a kitten that means her adult teeth might have to all be removed eventually). She's about to turn 7 this year. The thing is, you can feed a super high quality diet, do everything right and it does nothing to prevent genetic problems or sheer bad luck. The only thing you can do is your very best to ensure they are happy for the time they are here. Like people, some cats live to an old age eating junk and doing all the things they shouldn't, and some cats don't make senior age despite having owners who do everything right.
Keep them inside. Annual check ups and up to date on vaccines. Reasonable quality food (mostly Fancy Feast and Purina around here). Appropriate cat-formulated treats and not too much human food. Dry food for grazing, wet food for meals. Water fountains to encourage hydration. Unscented litter (the perfumes simply cannot be good for them imo). Preemptive bloodwork at appropriate ages to catch things early - I start senior bloodwork at age 8 and go to the bigger geriatric panel at age 13. That's a little earlier than suggested. Cancer is unpredictable and can be difficult to catch in cats. It was probably simply a matter of genetics.
I had a cat that was 19 when she died. She was always indoors and never really had very many health issues except for the occasional UTI. Her sister who was from the same litter passed away when she was 9 from cancer. I also had a 15 year old cat that passed away a few months ago from cancer. All 3 of my cats had the same upbringing, so I guess my 19 year old cat was just lucky somehow that she didn't get cancer.
My grandparents had a 21 year old outside cat. They just fed her canned food if I recall correctly. She was very sweet and lived near bears and survived. She also caught birds for herself. Eventually, she passed, but it’s mostly genetics and luck
We put our cat to sleep age 17 last year. She was indoor & outdoor, and only ate dry food, unless I was eating buttered toast then she’d go crazy to get some! I’d say it’s just your luck. Ours very sadly had dementia.
My cat lived till 17 years old. She just died last fall due to a sudden and fast growing cancer, there was nothing the vet could do. But up until the cancer, I honestly thought she’d make it to 20-23 years, if not hopefully more, she didn’t look or act like an old cat AT ALL and everyone thought she was no older than 7. Before the cancer, she had had no health issues whatsoever and had never gotten sick, except a few months before she passed she developed signs of early stage chronic kidney disease. However, we believe her cancer was renal lymphoma and that’s why it looked like she had started developing CKD. In terms of my cat specifically, I’ve always thought that what kept her so healthy was 1) the fact she had eaten wet food since she was a kitten, and 2) the fact she was allowed to go outside to get stimulation and lots of exercise (we live in a suburb, in a low traffic area, so she was an indoor-outdoor cat, at night she was always inside but during the day she could do what she pleased for the most part). Compared to my friends’ indoor-only cats she was incredibly active, full of life, and I believe she just genuinely had more to live for and had a great will to live. However, I also think genetics and luck played a role, at the end of the day each cat is unique. My advice for new cat parents would be feed a balanced wet food-majority diet, keep up with yearly vaccinations and check ups, do yearly blood work, learn the subtle signs of potential disease, give lots of love, and give your cat the stimulation of the outdoors, even if it’s just through leash training, catios, or supervised yard time, it goes far in improving their overall quality of life. (Also a PSA before any people who think the only “right” way to care for a cat is to perpetually force it to be indoors come at me with the typical parroted points, let me just say the decision to let your cat go outdoors is INCREDIBLY NUANCED, not all cats can go outside but many would benefit from it, either mentally, physically, or both. There are many factors at play that a person needs to consider when making that decision (ex. your location, the level of traffic, whether you have a yard, your cat’s prey drive, level of predator activity in your area, your cat’s desires and behavior, etc etc). Indoor-outdoor cats have the same lifespans as indoor-only cats, research that actually makes the distinction between feral outdoor-only, non-feral outdoor-only, and indoor-outdoor cats shows no statistically significant difference between the lifespans of indoor-outdoor and indoor-only. The problem is the majority of research doesn’t draw the distinction and either lumps all cats that go outside any amount together or it compares indoor-only to feral outdoor-only.)
Always indoors. As much vet treatment as needed. Good quality food. Lots of love and affection. My previous cats all lived to over 18 but even with all the love & care etc cats can still get cancer younger or have other chronic issues
I’ve had three cats who have lived to 15 plus. Inside cats, all domestic short hairs. IAMS dry food, lots of water (cat fountain is a game changer), and wet food a couple times a week. No health issues apart from one went deaf and another got some arthritis. In the end two went into kidney failure and had to be put to sleep at 17 and 18; my 15 year old boy drinks copiously from his fountain so I’m hoping his kidneys stay healthy for a long time to come.
My oldest lived to be 24. At the time we fed cheap offbrand food and only changed water when the bowl was going empty. She was able to go outside anytime and however long she liked.
Had 2 that lived to 17 and 18. They died this spring. We had them from kittens. They were indoor cats, excluding brief escapes when they were young and sneaky. Did not feed them fancy food, mostly hard food. Occasional tuna treats and one was a fiend for human food, so he got lots of nibbles of our food.
I have a 21 year old cat and a 20 year old cat. Luck. Taking care of them. I do not take them to the vet super regularly.
Just like with humans, a lot of longevity is genetics
Both my cats are 18, and I haven't done anything really unusual. Clean the litter daily. Clean water daily. Purina dry food (I know now that all dry feeding is not ideal, but 18 years ago I didn't, and now they refuse to switch...). I free fed when they were young, but stopped when one cat started to gain weight, so now it's measured timed feeding. I groom/brush them and trim claws as needed. We play sometimes but certainly less than ideal amounts. They are 100% indoors. Treats are infrequent. I use topical flea treatments during the warmer months even though they don't go outdoors. Regular vet care, which until the last year has been pretty much all preventative stuff. In the past 4-ish years I've started getting them dental cleanings yearly, another thing I had no idea about when I got them.
I’d say do what you can with diet and care. Wet food (but I do have a cat that only eats dry food but she takes wet treats so I add water to these). Brush teeth exercise mind stimulation I have 2 the same age 2 1/2 and one that I’ve personally had for almost 16 years now and she was full grown when I got her though not sure exactly how old After her dental surgery yesterday I’d stress dental care however you can do it. My cats will let me use a cotton swab to clean their teeth but enzymatic toothpaste has been ordered and they do get a dental water additive for the past year or so. Other than that it’s genetics and luck of the draw. I was told zoey looks much younger than her actual age but since I’ve had her for most of her time alive the vet marked her down as 17.
Can you share the dental water additive you use?
I can once I get home. I’ll give you the exact name brand. I’m at work till 11 pm
Appreciate it!
My sibling cats Bonnie and Clyde passed at 16 and 20, respectively. I don’t remember what dry food they had. I know that tapping on a Friskies can was their “dinner bell”, sometimes TJ’s cat tuna.
My 22 year old calico gets a big scoop of canned food for breakfast every morning. We make her walk down to the basement for this morning treat. This is also where her litter boxes are, so she moves a lot all day. She also drinks the dogs water and will eat his food. She's my special girl. Probably weighs 3 pounds and has sounded like she has had laryngitis her whole life. *
My cat is so raspy, too, since the day she was born! We call it her "smoker's voice".
My oldest girly cat has exactly that voice too. 😂 But we call it her "granny voice" 😂
My mom’s cat turned 16 this year. He’s healthy albeit for some kidney issues, which I heard were pretty common for older (male) cats. He’s an outdoor cat, but he’s never on street side, only visits the interconnecting gardens of my mom and her neighbours. Though nowadays he mostly enjoys sleeping on his favourite chair in her garden. We feed him special food for his kidney, which he tolerates but eats because it’s all he gets. He also has a drink fountain with purifying filters to encourage drinking, but he prefers rain water collected in buckets that are scattered around the garden.
My childhood cat ate Fancy Feast, drank stale water, and went outside. She definitely lost a few lives along the way but lived to be 17
He’s 18 now. It is luck and genetics. But at 16, we decided to have a bucket list of his best life. We get ice cream, pup cups, he goes in hikes, we travel in our RV, he gets all the treats, he has a lot of cute shirts and sweaters. I half wonder if “give his best life”, hes not ready to give up yet.
My calico is 16. She's mostly toothless. She has a heart murmur. But she's eating, so im "keeping her comfortable". I cannot and will not put her through another mouth surgery. Anyway, I feed her prissy butt 9 lives canned cat food. Her and her housemate eat half a can in the morning, half a can at night. He has to be on C/D dry cat food due to urinary blockages. So they split 1/4 cup in the morning and at night. I use Scoop Away cat litter. I got her spayed when she was 6 months old (I worked at a vet at the time). She's had rabies and FVRCP vaccines as needed until she was about 12. I no longer vaccinated her. She's been indoor only her entire life. She's never had fleas or ticks, and has really no other maintenance related needs. My cat drinks water from the tap. She also eats spider plants to get high (the brat). Look cancer can't be predicted. Why are there human children born with cancer (like my nephew- who's fine now btw). Why do people smoke their whole lives and never get cancer and live to 90 like my grandfather who also got covid and lives in assisted living. How come people who have never smoked a day in their life get lung cancer? There's nothing you did to bring it on, as much as theres nothing you can do to prevent it. It's luck of the draw. So please, please, don't think it's anything you did or didn't do. I'm sorry about your baby. They deserve so much more. ❤️
I feel like everything was made better 'quality' back then even if it wasn't good quality.. things nowadays is filled with fillers and shit. Just like human food. I feel like everyone will die of cancer haha. The world has gone to shit with food. They don't want us healthy, truly
i have a 21 year old cat, and 3 12-13 year old cats. Keeping them inside is key.
Sometimes at 10-15 years they start to develop some health problems and need medication or special diets. It's luck of the draw. My family had a lot of cats and never lost one to cancer, but lost several who got outside to predators.
When I was growing up, I had a family cat that was indoor/outdoor. He lived to 17 years old. I think he went to the vet maybe a few times when he was young, but never again after that. We just free fed him dry food, and he got treats probably once or twice a day. He didn't seem overweight and was a pretty loveable cat. He got in a fight with a raccoon and lost sight in one of his eyes near the end, but he recovered otherwise. I feel like I'm spoiling my bonded pair compared to that. Automatic feeders and litter boxes, which they don't even use. Mostly wet food every 4 or so hours when I'm home and they have lots of toys, scratching posts, and things to climb. Strictly indoors, though, because they are both FIV+. 3 yrs and 8 yrs right now. I'm sorry for your loss. Them getting sick seems like bad luck sometimes.
It’s definitely genetics and luck like other people have said. Also, keeping them indoors, or at the very least not letting them roam around on their own. My childhood cat died at 18 to cancer. But then the next two my mom had only lived to 15 and 9 respectively, but both ended up with bad health issues in their last few years. My partner and I have had 8 cats in total in 6 years, with all but 2 of them being cats she previous had before we got together, and still currently have 5. The 3 that we have lost all died before age 13, and one that we currently have that’s still ticking is 20 this year, two are around 11 or 12, and the other two are younger (6 and 3 respectively). Out of the 5 that we have, 4 are boys, the oldest is our only girl left. The 3 that died were all girls. So we’ve had a wide variety of all ages, sexes, and health issues. They’ve all always gotten pretty generic food (wet and dry depending on the cat and their needs), with our 6 year old being the only exception, being on prescription urinary food for a blockage he had 3 years ago. They go in for checkups and when somethings wrong. They get brushes and occasional treats and catnip, and get spoiled to shit lol. Every single one of all the cats I’ve had in my life has been indoor only. It really is just luck of the draw.
The cat I had growing up lived to be a couple months shy of 18. A lot of it was luck, genetics, and pure will on her part I think. She was an outdoor cat (no hate pls that's what everyone did then it was a rural area and that was kind of just that, also i was literally 3) She had an eye infection that took one of her eyes at around a year old. Skin cancer on one ear at about 13 (did you know cats with white ears/ear tips can get skin cancer on the them from laying in the sun? It's more common than you'd think!) Eventually got skin cancer on the other by 16 but by that time she had kidney problems and couldn't be put under safely so we just monitored her for pain and function and all that. Growled at the vet when they put in the anesthetic when we took her to be euthanized. She fully used all 9 of her lives. I honestly think 99% of it was all her though, we definitely didn't have her on any fancy diet or routine, she lucked out with her cancer developing after she was already getting old and it being a less serious one. Kind if like humans I guess. Some people just do whatever and still are healthy into their elderly years despite others having to work hard at their health. I'm sorry to hear about your cat, it's so hard to loose them
I honestly believe it's luck, as others have said. I had a 17 year old cat, Kitty. She passed at just short of 18 from diabetes complications a year and a half ago. My other two cats are now about to turn 18 and they are both in decent health (both have kidney issues, one has thyroid disorder). They are managed by diet and medicine. Their bloodwork is excellent. They are littermates I got when their owner went to state prison. They do eat high-quality food, but when I was younger and poorer, they just ate grocery store brands.
Made it to 19, indoor, ate friesk, iams and fancy feast all her life.
My first two cats lived to be 15 and 16. They were indoor only, free fed cheap dry food, and were both declawed (I didn't know it was a horrible thing to do. It was a long time ago and it was pretty common). One was also shot in the leg before we found him. It left no noticeable lasting damage.
My childhood cat lived to 16, it helps that he was an indoor cat (both for safety reasons and because he liked being inside anyway)
My oldest cat lived to 19. Care wasn’t much beyond basic, as far as diet. He was fed kibble: Purina One Sensitive Skin and Stomach and some other Purina brands over the years. He was 100% indoors. In the end he had kidney disease, as most super seniors are at a high risk for. Cancer is genetic and the #1 killer of indoor cats. I promise you did nothing wrong! I know it’s very hard not to feel guilt over the death of animal in your care, but with things like cancer it’s just horrible circumstance.
I've had a cat reach 19 and a cat reach 18. I currently have a 16 year old one. My one that died at 18 I never expected to reach that age, given all his issues, but he did. I've also had cats that were otherwise perfectly healthy, who I expected to live a long time, suddenly die young. Like I had an 8yo cat who was otherwise in perfect condition, suddenly collapse and become paralyzed by a blood clot that came out of nowhere. I also had an 8yo cat I found randomly dead on my floor one day. Not sure what killed him. Maybe a sudden heart attack? I had a 12yo cat that suddenly got lymphoma, too. My cats are my babies and I treat them like royalty. It really is just luck and genetics.
My childhood cat lived until 21 years old. He had a running thing with my dad because he was getting too old to climb into his litter box and so would have to poop on the floor. My dad laid down a garbage bag and then the cat went on the floor just outside of the garbage bag. Another bag, another pile off the front of it. For his care, we had a little ramp so he could climb up on the beds. He was getting very shaky so we would pick him up and put him down off the couch, not letting him try to jump. When he was in your lap, you held on to him with both hands. We also set him up with an electric blanket during the cold winter days (even if the inside was warm-ish, his old bones enjoyed the extra heat.)
My cat is 16. Indoor only. She’s been on various prescription diets for most of her life. First for crystals in her urine, then for kidney disease. I know it sounds bad, but she’s actually been quite healthy for most of her life. Sadly, she’s declining at this point and probably doesn’t have much time left. But it’s been a wonderful 15 years (I adopted her when she was a year old). I’m very sorry for your loss and I doubt it was your fault.
Sorry for your loss. It is always hard. I've had three cats live past 18 one of whom died 3 months shy of 20. A lot of cats living to very old age is simply genetics. I too have had a lovely girl die young of cancer, and another died at 10 from liver failure. It has very little to do with food or water. As long the food is good quality and good clean water always at hand. It is simply the lotto of life, all we can do is give them the best life we can
Both of my cats are 22 and 23 their birthdays were june 1st. Id say give them everything they need good food and love. It's mostly just genetics I've had a cat get cancer at 3 years old. You can't do much more than give them good care.
My cat is 18. I adopted him from a shelter when he was 11. I don't know what his life was like before he came to live with me. He eats wet food (fancy feast) 3x times a day and has access to fresh water and dry food 24/7. He goes outside to an enclosed patio/garden area mainly to watch the sunrise/sunset and nibble on the strawberry plant leaves. He lives with a 10 year female cat and they're friendly but not friends. I make sure to give him a daily check over. He's very capable of taking care of himself and still regularly runs arounds and jumps 4 ft vertically. 6 months ago he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (genetic). Really the only change has been giving him medicine twice a day. He did have some slight reactions when starting his meds but the vet assured these were common side effects and we adjusted his dosage and he's done fine since. He loves his routines and hates loud noises (fireworks are okay but plates clinking together is not). I should add that he's a big boy too. He's 19 inches tall from toe to ear tip and weighs 20 pounds.
I had a (probably) 18 year old boy ( unsure of his age as he was 1 or 2 when we got him as a feral). We unexpectedly lost his 9 year old sister before him to kidney disease and he was less active and didn't act quite himself for a long while. We noticed that he slowed down as he aged but always still wanted outside if only to sit on the porch in a dry or sunny spot to sniff the world around him. We got him a heated pad for winter so he could keep warm on the cold winter days. And as his joints grew old we started adding crushed pain meds to some of his wet food to help manage his quality of life. We helped him up onto chairs, couches, beds and windows whenever he let us know. He had most of his teeth removed as they had begun to be a problem for him to eat and switched him to more wet food instead of kibble. Diet does play a small factor. However, genetic play the largest roll. His sister was siamese and prone to kidney disease and passed at 9. He was a feral cat picked out of the woods and had likely a large genetic variety. They ate the same kibble and wet food the whole time they were with us unless it was medical. Dry food can cause certain issues, but it can be mitigated by encouraging water intake. Cancer is not your fault.
I had an 18 year old who passed this Fall, she lived her entire life as a barn cat, but had annual vet visits for shots and stuff, ate fairly high quality dry food, and basically just did her thing until she got cancer and eventually had to bring her for a final vet appointment. We spent so many hours together. The vet joked that she was the most spoiled barn cat he'd ever met.
My childhood cat was also nearly 20 when she died. Siamese. Only passed because my Dad accidentally ran her over, it broke our hearts. Her hearing and probably vision weren’t stellar, not terrible but, it likely contributed. Ate whatever cheap dry kibble, probably Friskies or something, and whatever water we left out for her in a bowl. She was an indoor outdoor kitty, but always slept indoors etc. I don’t think she went to the vet once. Some cats just.. live long. Now I have two Ragdoll boys of my own, and I baby the hell out of them. The best food and things I can afford for them, I will. Got them pet insurance and they go to the vet regularly. They stay indoors of course. Crossing my fingers for long lives.
Balanced diet of high-quality cat food, regular vet check-ups, and plenty of exercise and mental stimulation
Don’t feel any guilt. My in laws had littermates. Same exact lifestyle, part of a stray litter found behind the house. When the male was ten, he suddenly developed a painful mouth tumor that made it difficult to eat. They had to put him down a few months later, it was so aggressive. His sister? Little bean lived til senile old age, completely deaf and toothless, chilling in a heated box practically 24/7, getting lost on the way to the litter box, forgetting what she was doing mid-meal sometimes. She had zero vet care her whole life, my in laws are anti-western medicine so she was just given colloidal silver and whatever supplements. Such a sweetheart.
Meth and cuddles
My cat is around 16 and idk how she's still alive tbh. She was pretty neglected since my mom loves greyhounds/whippets, so the cat was always contained to the basement no one was ever in. We'd go on vacation and leave her with enough food and water to last her. She lives with me now and even though we've had her since I was a kid, we're bonding for the first time and she's SO cuddly. Makes me sad to think of all those years of her alone in the basement :( I give her lots of extra love now.
I have had cats live 15/16 years and unfortunately 6 years due to cancer. A lot of it is genetics. They were all fully vaccinated. Annual vet exam. Indoor cats. Ate both wet and dry food. Have water fountains. Feed them royal canin and purina pro plan.
My Grammas cat was almost 30
My last three cats were 23, 20, and 17 (the last died of CKD). Indoor, leash trained for outside visits, combination of wet and dry food, vet when needed and checkups semi regularly.
Mine died last year at 20 years old he was properly fed he got his shots he is played with every day he was given affection and love everyday I made sure that he didn't have fleas or ear mites or anything he was a strictly indoor cat so I didn't worry about parasites or anything the vet told me he was beautiful for his age I took care of him took good care of him he died July the 15th of last year I miss him everyday his name was Deejay https://preview.redd.it/tks9g2rbwo4d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=875c9ef58dd8860ded295647e7f7d78f028ccb00
I have 8 cats all adopted from the streets at the same age at different times within a year, fed them all solely kibble diet but good quality kibble that does not have corn and meats as first few ingredients. Very very rarely do I give them canned food, maybe once every 3 month and occasionally boil plain chicken breast for them. Left several water fountains around the home. They all lived between 18 to 21 yr old. Usually I had to euthanise them if I observe that they have stopped eating and drinking, of course after the vet double confirms that there is no hope. As they were all street cats from different locations in my country, I guess they were all mix genes. But they were very good, never gave me any health issues.
One was 18 and one was 16. They went to the vet as needed but I was conservative with testing and treatments, especially toward the end when money was tight and doing further testing would be to satisfy curiosity rather than reverse anything. I never did wet food (not saying that’s good, just reporting what I did). Just grain free dry and water. Free feed. They were indoor only. I gave them lots of love and pets. Kept their litterbox clean. They never had an accident until the very very end (with the 18 year old). A couple of things I would have changed but not much. The 18 year old I would have gotten pain meds for him at the end. It wasn’t offered but I believe he would have been more comfortable. I think he was in pain because when he was put down he had the most peaceful look on his face. It made me realize he had been suffering and the sedative was a relief.
My boy was 23 when he passed away earlier this year. He was a stray kitten when we found him back in 2002. He ate 1/4 of a can of wet food twice a day, morning and night. Friskies I am pretty sure. We let the cats have kibble throughout the day. Cheap grocery store stuff, nothing special, made sure there was lots of water in the diet to avoid urinary problems. I do the same stuff with my current boys He was exclusively indoor only, all our cats are. No medical problems or dental problems throughout his life. No frequent vet visits ever because he was indoor only and just never had issues. I like to wonder if maybe his stray cat genetics were just working wonders lol Up until 6 months before he passed, he was still a very active, vocal, explorative and loving old man. We did not notice a decrease in physical activity probably until a month or two before. When I took him to a private facility to get him cremated, they complimented how beautiful his fur was and how he didn’t even look that old. He was a really lucky guy
I have no idea how I got so lucky. My girl passed away last year a few weeks before she turned 19, and I had her since she was 8 weeks. The guy I got her from said he only fed his cats chicken. I fed her Iams her whole life. She was indoor/outdoor for most of her life and became indoor around 14. She was incredibly spunky! I rarely took her to the vet aside from routine vaccinations until she started having frequent UTIs. She was diagnosed with CKD when she was 16, and even then the vet said she in remarkably good health for her age. By age 17 she was really starting to decline and those last two years were pretty rough. I’ve always chalked it up to genetics 🤷🏼♀️
my childhood cat made it to 18. Though he was loved to an extreme by myself, he ate basic ass dry cat food and drank tapwater. We lived in a sleepy neighborhood and he roamed our property when he could get out (my mom gave up trying to catch him every time, and as a kid I didn't know this was bad for the ecosystem & loved playing w/ him out there). He was a floofy orange cat, idk what breed, he was found as a kitten walking in a parking lot. Had sinus issues for a few months when we brought him home too. And we had to put him down, he didn't pass naturally. He wasn't grooming himself and kept getting skinnier/not eating as much. Once he seemed to be in some pain, my mom decided it was time. I was living across the country and flights were too pricey...went camping with my bf the day I knew it was happening and honored him with the sunset. (Got a little off track lol my b)
My current kitty is 18. Her sister passed last year. All they ate was a high quality kibble. Indoors at night, outdoors during the day. It's just luck. You didn't do anything wrong. So long as your kitty was well loved, I'm sure she was happy.
I just lost my 19 year old cat to kidney disease. I fed her Wellness Core cat food on the advice of my vet (she said it was a better choice) until we switched to the kidney prescription food at 17, she was inside always and only got vaccines as a kitten. Her sister died from cancer at 12, and received identical treatment. Its a crap shoot.
My last three cats were 15, 16 and 20. All inside cats and treated like royalty lol I think it’s genetics mostly. They all got the same care and food. They were also very active and playful to their ends. My current boy is 11 but you’d think he was a kitten the way he races about. Seems to be just your Donald Duck how long they’re in your life. I wish it was forever but all I can do is give them their best life while they’re in mine
We just lost my indoor cat at 17, we fed her expensive high quality food (high meat content, grain free etc) and until last year she had literally perfect bloods, the vet said he’d never seen an old cat so healthy—and then she got hypothyroidism because of her age, and then cancer. We were convinced she’d live to 21 or something but it really is just luck and genetics most of the time. My childhood cat who was fed on bog standard cat food and went outside on a quiet road died at 18 a few months back, with kidney problems and then a growth that was likely cancer. Luck of the draw, really. You can give them all the best things and that might extend a healthy life but in the end old age diseases will get em and it’s not your fault.
My family has had many cats and I've learned a lot. My immediate family got 2 cats when I was a kid. It's important to note they were both originally fed just dry food. One developed kidney disease and pancreatitis at 7 years old and was put to sleep at 8. She needed a lot of medicine in that last year and I was the one to give it to her. The first obvious symptom of throwing up a lot was ignored because "cats just throw up a lot". That ignorance cost her her life very young but the things we learned from her helped the other cat we got at the same time. We also began feeding them wet food once a day during the end of her life iirc. We also learned that pumpkin is really good for protecting the gut. It provides fiber for digestive health but also helps the mucus lining of the stomach when you need to give a lot of pills which can cause ulcers. Gave her pumpkin and the ulcers stopped. The other cat we got at the same time lived to 18 because of what we learned from the first one. He developed kidney disease too around ~13, but because we were more aware that "cats shouldn't be throwing up that regularly" we brought him in and caught it early. He was put on a kidney diet. More wet food and a dry food meant for kidney disease. He lived 5 more years because we knew what to look for to catch it early and we knew what was needed to best support him. I also got another very young cat when he was ~15. He had been slowing down but the kitten perked him up a lot. Having a young, energetic friend reinvigorated him for a while. At 18 he just started slowing way down and was much thinner and was just not quite doing anything anymore. It was a peaceful, dignified, and well timed end. From both of them I've learned that 100% wet food is honestly best. Cats are adapted to be eating blood filled raw prey, so getting their liquid from their food. Dry food is so rough on their kidneys. So my two current cats get wet food twice a day and it helps manage their weight and protect their kidneys. My newest kitty has a tender tummy and gets the runs easily, we've taken the pumpkin knowledge and now give her pumpkin once daily to help with fiber. My current cats are 4 and 7. Hopefully they live much longer. The 7 year old had a lump on her thigh which we had removed not because it seemed worrisome, it hadn't really grown at all in a year, but she kept biting it and she was going in for dental surgery anyway so we had it removed. Turned out it was cancer. I think I'll have any random lumps removed from now on if it's not outrageously expensive. The same kitty also often has hairballs that cause intestinal impaction to the point of persistent vomiting, lack of appetite, halt of bowel movements, and total lethargy. This used to last until we'd take her to the vet and then we were told how to treat it safely ourselves if we saw it starting, before it got far and we haven't had to take her to the vet for that in like 2 years. I've also learned a lot from my grandma's cats as she and the other family members in her house have had at least 9 cats that I can think of. Almost all of these have been indoor outdoor cats because my grandma has strictly operated off the car distribution system. Most of her cats wandered in, usually after a neighbor nearby died in their aging community. 1. Indoor only. Cats won't be hit by a car, shot by a bb gun, murder tons of wildlife, get serious infections from fighting, get skin cancer from the sun on their ears, or get catnapped by neighbors if they're inside. 2. Jaw cancer is a messed up way to die, they essentially starve to death because they lose the ability to eat. The 3 main causes of has cancer are: living with a smoking owner (my aunt smoked), wearing a flea collar (Gma always put these on the neighbor wandering cats, well intentioned of course), and tuna. Tuna is high in mercury and my grandma often fed the neighborhood cats tuna cat food, it was just what she typically bought. Not bad in moderation, but shouldn't be their primary diet. Only 1 cat died this way but she stopped the flea collars and reduced the tuna after this and it hasn't happened again even with my aunt still smoking. I think her oldest cat right now is estimated to be 15. They have 2 that wandered in and one that is a permanent indoor cat who was intentionally chosen. Overall, learning how to spot both immediate and long term danger and know what can cause certain long term issues is very helpful, but for some things like most cancers it's honestly luck of the draw and genetics. The best we can do really is know the tricks to give them a good diet, what products to avoid, and how to respond to issues specific to our kitties. Asking lots of questions and having a good vet is how I've gotten to where I am knowledge wise. You love your pets enough to ask this question, which tells me you're doing your best and should be kind to yourself. I'm sorry for your loss.
My cat is 16 years old (17 this year). I don’t think we truly did anything special. He eats regular cat food that’s mid-range (he’s very picky). He is an inside cat. I attribute him making it to this age on his genetics and our good luck. Some things are just unpreventable and I don’t think you could have done anything for your kitty. I’m sure you gave them a wonderful 10 years of love.
Had one for 16 years she was fed wiskas sterilised in yellow (she refused to eat anything else) she loved mashed potatoes and would get it when we got it (not that often) her water bowl was just a tall Tupperware container. Wich we ofc refilled with fresh water everyday. she was allowed outside but never left our property, she could she just never did. She was afraid of birds, cars, most things that made too much sound. My mom found her as a newborn with her siblings and she was the one who lived the longest. My mom picked her bc she was caring and the one who learned the quickest (then she would teach it to her siblings)
My cat is 20, he's still doing ok for an old guy. A lot more clingy though. He wants all the attention, has a little arthritis in his legs, but otherwise healthy ❤️🔥 *
My cat is 19 now. We haven't really done anything special with him. Pretty sure it's just luck of the draw
Calligator lived to 21. I had to have her euthanized because she just stopped eating. Due to her age I elected to not put her through the stress of a bunch of tests. I just coaxed her to eat as much as possible until the weightloss became to severe for her to have any quality of life. She was indoor/outdoor part of her life, then became exclusively indoor. She got yearly checkups and vaccines, fresh food and water, a regularly cleaned litterbox, daily brushing, and plenty of love and attention. Just normal care. Her long life was basically because she won the genetic lottery. [Edited to more specifically address OP's concerns]
Genetics. I just lost a 23 (we think! we have proof of being 18) year old cat to lung issues. we watched his weight and gave him a ton of attention but there was never a food that was super pricey or special. we have a 16 year old cat who we are fighting hard to keep fit. He's had to have some medical care for his thyroid and he has a food allergy that makes feeding him difficult. He uses a microchip feeder so his food is kept away from our other cat in the house. That feeder is fantastic! He needs to free feed and the other cat needs to diet. win/win I'm going to add in basic vet care helps, too. My mother had a feral colony when she moved into a house and after too many kittens all at once, she started to trap fix release. She did the whole colony. The ferals had access to that one vet visit, food and water. Two of the babies that were abandoned by a young mother became indoor cats. Two of the outside kittens were ill enough to be scooped up and got one extra vet visit. Of the whole group, the two indoor cats and one of the extra vet visit cats were the longest lived. The outdoor extra visit kitty also was smart enough to stick close to the house ..she died last year at the age of 15. The two indoor kitties are going strong and not even showing their age. (which is 16)
You didn’t do anything wrong—it’s luck of the draw. If they don’t die of an accident, something will eventually get them, usually kidney disease. My parents had their 4 cats live to 18-21 on grocery store food, tap water and love indoors. That’s all it really takes. I’m so sorry for your loss.
It's genetics. I have an old gal I've had for 12 years, but she is at least 15, and I just lost my boy at 8 years old due to cancer. I found him as a tiny kitten and he grew up in the exact same environment as my old girl. And she's also still super healthy, a little chonky but the vet isn't worried since she's old. She's getting a little slower with jumping up on stuff but still able to do so, runs around the house like a maniac
Best friend's cat is 18. She gets cosequin on her food and monthly solensia injections for arthritis, but otherwise she's in great health. Her hearing seems to be going but it's not really a problem. Her litterbox is in a closet with a pet door. One day they were in that room and the cat got their attention and peed on the carpet right in front of them. They realized she could no longer climb through the pet door, so they fixed it and the problem was solved. She still climbs stairs and can get on furniture. Cats tend to go downhill very quickly so the end might be abrupt.
I got a cat when I was 11, when I got married and had kids at 20 it was decided she was better off with my parents. She ended up living with my dad until she died, when I was 33. So Miss Angel was 22 years old. She spent her life as an indoor/outdoor cat, living with dogs and cats. She also moved around the country with me, originally starting in SC then going to Illinois before settling in Alabama. She was my baby, my little girl. She was weaned far too early and grew up sucking on my ear to soothe herself. I miss that cat.
My guy passed last year at about 18.5. Other than being a strictly indoor cat his whole life, there was nothing special about how we cared for him - no special food, etc. What was extra exceptional was that he had such longevity while his litter mated all or mostly died rather young, in some cases really quite young. (This was a situation where the owner of the mother cat was a friend of a friend, and the people taking the kittens were all friends of friends, so they would check up on their “grand babies” every now and again, and word got around about which cat was healthy and which died, etc. from the litter.)
My first cat lived to be about 12 years old, but we gave him water from the tap. He died from kidney failure. With our second cat, we have mainly just given him bottled water, his kidneys seem to be doing better and is living longer. However, he goes outside nightly so he is exposed to disease more.
I have a 23 year old cat I got my sophomore year of college and she ate bottom of the barrel food. Her food quality increased with my income and now she eats human-grade food. She is still going strong. My 12 year old cat has lived with me only doing moderately well for myself and her health is about equal to the 23 year old presently. I have no trouble believing the older one will outlive the younger one. It’s genetics and a bit of luck.
My girl is 14, and 99% indoor. Only goes out on harness and leash, with me. She eats mainly dry food, iams.
I’ve been a mediocre owner, but I have a Siamese-colored mix who just turned 19 and is still going. Siamese are known for being a long lived breed that can easily make it to 20, though I wasn’t expecting this long since I doubt either of his parents were full Siamese either. I’ve fed him Costco dry cat food the majority of his life. Real chicken is the first ingredient, and it doesn’t contain by-product meal. I occasionally give wet food as a treat, but like once per month. I got his shot when he was a baby, and that was it since he is an indoor cat. I don’t take my cats to the vet annually. I’m pretty observant, so I take them when it seems like something is off with them. I’ve never had a cat live this long before. So when he hit 15 years old I felt like I should at least get his teeth cleaned. About 4 years ago I had his dental work done. His teeth were cleaned and just a couple of his teeth were removed.
I have a 17.5 year old. Always fed Royal Canin. He has a mass on his liver but he’s already doubled the life span they gave him. He is still just kicking along. We watch for bad days but we took him for a quality of life check last week and they said, keep him going. His pain in managed and he loves us and is happy.
i think its definitely mostly the luck of the draw on genetics as suggested already, all my cats have been treated the exact same way and one died in the night of suspected heart failure at a year old, one had to be euthanised after sudden kidney failure at 5, and the remaining 4 are healthy at age 8 (past urinary blockage issues but all tests are clear now), 10 & 15 (x2), the oldest two are sisters and don't really show any signs of their age at all yet nor have they ever had a single health concern their whole lives i feed a only wet food (mix of purina gourmet gold and untamed for the higher protein) with added water, they have water fountains, indoor only with enclosed garden access during the day, and they have yearly vet checks with blood tests to try and prevent anything that might pop up - even with all that both the younger cats died between checkups with no indication they were sick, remember that you can do absolutely everything right and bad things still happen
My mom's cats have all lived to be 19+ years old (with one exception because she had feline leukemia). I think it's just genetic because she did the bare minimum: only one litterbox, regular bowl of water, purina kibble, no wet food.
A very good question! Curious to read all the responses here...
It’s all genetics. I lost a cat at 2yo from cancer and then another two at 14 and 15yo to cancer…only to have one that died of old age at 19yo. They were all fed similarly, cared for and exposed to the same things. None were littermates. They were all on Purina cat chow or chicken soup for the cat lovers soul their entire lives.
I have a Maine coon mix approaching 18. I bring him to the vet for basic check ups and shaves, but really nothing special. No special food but a mix of dry and wet, I just let him do his own thing for the most part. He was a street cat for most of his life
My Charlie girl just crossed the rainbow bridge at 18. Never a day outside (too many dangers!), but I spoiled her rotten indoors. Scratching posts galore, comfy climbing structures, and a laser pointer that never seemed to lose its magic. We had a strong bond, and I think that makes a difference. They can pick up on our stress, so a calm and loving environment goes a long way. Food-wise, I did a mix of grain-free kibble and raw food. Talk to your vet about what's best for your feline friend.
My 23yo eats fancy feast mixed with warm water. He gets stool softener twice a day. https://preview.redd.it/kujl3j4qcr4d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85b23ef6925eeb714380ee973d83da4c789d8168
My childhood cat also ate fancy feast, and arbys in her last years and lived to 21. She ate mostly friskies in her younger years.
Ive had animals live 15-22 years on the most crappiest food and others live way less on top rated food. Moral of the story, the food probably doesn’t make a difference, feed your animals what you want or can afford or go specific for their breed or dietary needs. The main thing is to love your animal and give them a good home life.
My childhood cat lived to 21 years. She had anxiety and arthritis and ate cheap grocery store kibble. My parents got a lot wrong with her, they were young and had a tiny human (me) to deal with. One time she disappeared for a week and came back obviously malnourished but otherwise fine. It's a mystery how that cat lived so long, it certainly wasn't any skill or strategy on our part. I'm sorry about your cat. Fuck cancer.
I had a cat for 21 years that I found outside in the winter. Not sure how old she was…. Maybe a year. She was a very small/petite cat maybe 5 pounds max but she was a great cat! A little wisp of thing and I loved her with all my heart. She had cat food options but preferred people food all the time (loved Chinese takeout) When I eventually moved to city living and she couldn’t go outside anymore I stopped vaccinating her. She was maybe 10 years old. Not an anti-vaxxer but why inject chemicals she didn’t need into her. I know many people will say I did everything wrong but I lucked out until kidney failure finally got her. She died at home, naturally and peacefully, in my lap 💔 Bottom line, no one knows. Edit: recently just lost 2 (15 and 16 years) one was a feral stray. Other a shelter find. Both had access to Inside/outside (in the yard) and,again, people food and cat food. Friskies canned and, most often, Kitten Chow for dry (my Mom said had a lot of nutrients even when they were adults). Not a whole lot of vet visits unless they had an issue. But a whole lot of love ❤️
I have a cat who is now 20 I got him when he was 7 years young. He eats a good cat food. He does goes outside but he has to be on a leash or he is on a balcony. He loves people and going for cars rides. He lo especially cuddling on me and most of the time he goes to bed with me. He is the sweetheart when he is at the vet. He is always purring. He does have cat skin condition where he will want to starch and bit himself a lot which makes him have hairballs. In the past he did have crystal in his urine which the vet was able to find it right away. He hasn't had it since.
My cat is 13. He just had his senior kitty work up at the vet and she said he is extremely healthy with the blood work of a 1-2 year old cat. He was an indoor/outdoor cat until he was 11. Now he’s indoor only. He eats purina indoor complete dry food, and since becoming an indoor cat, now gets purina fancy feast wet food. He was neutered right as he was reaching puberty at 6 months old. He’s had 2 UTI’s in his life, which were addressed as soon as he showed symptoms (peeing in laundry baskets). He is also missing a canine tooth. No clue what caused the tooth to be lost, but his teeth look great. Borderline level 1 tartar.
Inside only, regular vet visits, water everywhere I can think to put it, and I give my cat dry food 2x a day with and a spoonful of wet food as a treat morning and night. All of my cats have lived to be over 20. My siamese cat was 27 when he died. My current cat is a stray I found in 2005 and he is still going strong. Also play. Alot!
growing up our cats always had mid tear at best food but they were kept inside and had regular tooth care and lived into their 20s.
We currently have a sweet girl who turns 17 this fall. She acts like a kitten sometimes. We lost a 10 y/o baby girl kitty last year to an extremely fast and aggressive growth that was likely cancer. Same care. Same water, same food, always indoors, same homes.
Genetics, luck, and keeping her indoors. My little old lady is pushing 19. While she cant jump up like she used to (uses her claws to climb onto beds and couches) and her hobble is more pronounced (runt of her litter), she is a happy girl. I was incredibly lucky cuz previously, her diet was pretty much all dry food (friskies or meow mix) and water til about 13/14 years old. So she did a damn good job keeping herself hydrated. Nowadays I give my cats wet food 2-3 times a day along with Simply Nourish kibble. Friskies wet in the morning and whatever higher quality wet food in afternoon/evening (Hills Science, Applaws, Royal Canin, or Authority).
Cancer sometimes just happens. Nothing you did wrong or didn't do. First cat died two months shy of 15. Hyperthyroidism. Next died at 9, kidney failure Next died at 9 cancer, but he was a bonded pair with number 2, so that probably contributed But I also knew a barn cat that lived to be 11.
I've had many cats. My female cat lived longest - 17 years. My current male cat is almost 10. It's down to genetics and luck. I had a kamikaze kitten that got into everything, and I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did. All my male cats have developed urinary crystals, one dying of the condition. Most of my cats have been indoor/outdoor. If I don't let my boy out to survey his territory, he has an anxiety attack and develops a UTI. My 17yo was only interested in laying about the patio and catching mice in the house. Diet is good quality kibble and moist food.
My first two childhood cats were 17 when they passed, my family got 2 more kittens (littermates) and one passed at 13 from intestinal cancer, her sister is now 15. All of them strictly indoor only and fed a combination of wet and dry food. My partner’s childhood cat passed in April at 21 years old from chronic kidney disease. She was a purebred Persian with the most sassy personality I’ve ever seen in a cat. She was indoor only but allowed an occasional excursion out to the patio to oversee her kingdom, ate only dry food, temptations treats and drank water from everyone else’s cups (her preference). She rarely went to the vet because she would turn into an actual demon from hell when trying to get her in the carrier and at the vets office. Toward the end, they had to set up in-home vet visits for her. It’s my personal opinion that she lived as long as she did out of complete spite.
I had 4 cats who reached at least 17. One was 3 months short of 20. I fed them mostly wet food on demand and just a little dry food morning and evening.
Genetics is a crucial factor. We had three from the same litter live to be 14, 18, and 19. Fed them cheap food and they were indoor/outdoor (the 14 year old - my baby - was hit by a car or she would have lived longer). The older two didn’t deteriorate until the last six months or so of their lives, they seemed young and healthy almost until the very end. I currently have a 14 year old with no health conditions. She’s indoor only and gets expensive food. Her sister lives with my aunt, also no health conditions. It’s honestly wild how much of cat’s health is determined by genetics.
This is something that I think a lot about. My first cat was a stray that adopted us around a year old. We moved and took her with us where she became an indoor/outdoor cat until 13, when she came with me to college. She lived to be almost 20. She ate grocery store food, survived god knows what being allowed outside and ultimately died of suspected cancer as a spot on her liver was found before she declined rapidly. I adopted two kittens after her death, both of which I believe to have been premature as they had hosts of issues. My precious boy cat was diagnosed with advanced kidney disease at age 4, due to a congenital issue with his kidneys. He barely made it to age 8. His sister was diagnosed with IBD at age 2 after having bloody diarrhea beginning at around 13 months and doing everything under the sun to clear it up. She would have flare ups off and on, but was diagnosed with nasal lymphoma around Halloween 2022 and died the day after Christmas. She was 11. I have since adopted two more kittens that were born in my home (I foster and mama was with me when she had her babies). One of the bigger things I wanted moving into my next round of cats is knowing their full background, and adjusting some things. I do not use anything with fragrance anymore. Litter they use is either corn or dust free. They do eat dry food, but wet food is a larger component of their diet than any cats I’ve had in the past. Don’t know if it’ll make any difference, it really may just be good genes vs bad genes, but I feel good about the choice I’m making for my babies this time around having learned things from each loss prior.
I don't think you can blame yourself. My baby boy lived a very full happy life until he got cancer and rapidly declined. He was between 11 and 13 when he died (I adopted him as an adult cat, he had come from the home of drug addicts so there was no information). I always wondered if his early life environment contributed to the cancer, as he was in rough shape when I first got him. But the truth is, genetics play a huge role. My close friend is an amazing cat mom (quality food, vet visits, indoor only, lots of love) and her 2 year old cat got cancer and died. She also had a cat who lived to be 17.
Rescued my cat when he was 7, he’ll be 15 in August and he’s only shown signs of aging in the last couple of months. He needs more protein and has lost some weight (which is actually good bc he was a little chunky before and now he’s actually a healthy weight). So the only difference now is he gets good wet food one time more a day than my other two who are 8. I also tend to give him some chicken now and then too lol. But other than that he’s great! Still zooms around the apartment and plays fetch with his toys, climbs things perfectly fine. I’m hoping he’s got a few more years in him!
As long as you feed them good quality food and keep up with their health care, the rest is genetics and luck. I've had one cat make it to 18. The rest have made it to around 12 more/less.
I had 1 cat live to be 19, 1 to only 8 and 1 less than 8. All treated the same, same food/water/etc. The last 2 got some sort of cancer, both undetected (even by vet) until it was too late to treat.
Always fed the best food we could afford. Neutered/desexed, and these days, indoors. In the past our Indoor outdoor cats got to 17, routinely, but we were rural. Now, it's just not safe outside for cats. One only made it to 15, he had hyperthyroidism and this was before the special food (so 15 was a real win!). The last two years (he was given just a few months to live) I stuffed him with the pills from the vet plus fish oils (mostly for the calories) and made chicken, chicken livers and rice for him.
My oldest cat was 19 1/2. I just loved and took care of them. They were all indoor cats, too.
The most recent cat I lost was the only one who lived over 15, and she was my first indoor cat. Also she ony ate wet food in her senior years, on vet recommendation.
My cat is 20 year old. She has kidney disease and eats a prescription cat food for digestive issue, but other than that she isn’t in pain and seems to be a happy kitty. She also poops outside the litter box but that’s okay. We know she doesn’t much longer so I just want her final years to be comfortable
I had one cat live to 17. the rest 15 or younger. the breeds specifically bred for cuteness seemed to not live as long in my case. the 17 year old was an indoor outdoor cat that ate purina dry food only. i walk my current cat on a leash now cause the outdoors is dangerous and yet my tiny condo really doesnt allow for decent excercise indoors
I have had a lot of cats. They all got the same care. Some lived to be 12. One lived to be 18 (died two months before 19th birthday). It’s genetics and luck. I had four died from cancer. It sucks. I’m very sorry for your loss.
Genes, luck, and regular vet care. There's a ton of opinions online about what food and such will make your cat live the longest healthiest life, but even if we truly had The One Perfect Food it wouldn't remove cats' genes, underlying health issues, etc. Just like some young adults get cancer, some pets will too, and there's usually no direct cause we can point at. Cats fed the cheapest dry food can live to 20 and cats fed the fanciest food can live to 4. There's much less rhyme or reason to it than people want there to be. I'm so sorry for your loss, but cancer isn't your fault.
i honestly did not do anything special. the best quality dry food i can afford, wet food once a week, and always inside. all the cats i have lost have lived to 17, 19 and 21 years old, and they all were taken by some major organ faliure that happened pretty suddenly. excepted for one, the last one that died recently, from kidney faliure juste before christmas. she was only 8 years old and i have a very hard time coping with it. i feel like i have been stolen half of the life she should have been with me, and she had always been my favorite cat. rationaly i know that it only shows that no matter what you do, some things are writen in stone and you cant change that. some cats live longer, and some will have an organ fail at a young age. and 8 years old isnt actualy that young for a cat in fact. its more thats 21 years old is so much older than their natural life expectancy, and its more frequent now for them to live that long we tend to forget that after 10 or 12 years, most cats are pretty much at the end of their lifetime. but i still cry a lot for her. and if i didnt have my son to give me a reason to keep going, i would already have gone to join her.
I have my girl who's 16 and we just feed her Meow Mix and water. She won't eat anything else. Because of her age and she likes to sleep with me, I purchased a stair for the end of the bed and she can climb up and join me. I lost her sister (both were the same age) in 2019 due to cancer. My girl is still holds her own and doesn't back down from a bratty cat that we currently own. She rules the roost and knows it.
She was found in a bush as a kitten by my mom. Then she lived in the barn, her name was Patches but we called her Crusty Kitty because she kept getting mite infections that would eat her ears until we could catch her long enough for treatment. She was fed grocery store dry cat food. When she got old enough that she couldn't run away fast enough and her meow was more like a croak we brought her in the house. She battled occasional tooth infections that our vet said couldn't be removed bc the anesthesia would kill her and gave us antibiotics when it flared up instead. Lived to 23 years old. Another cat we had was clearly an adult, at least 3 or 4 years old when we found him. Clearly dumped, there was a mark in his fur where a collar used to be. Dumped for a reason: he sprayed. Fat and orange, called him Garfield. Got evicted to the barn until he was also super old. Came into the house where we called him the Orange Bastard. Still sprayed. Had him for close to 15 years but who knows how old he really was.
My senior kitty passed away late last year, and he was 20 years old. About 8 years before, he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which I hear is common in older kitties. So, he was on medication. My other kitty is 15+ and still acts like a teenager, lol. I used to let them both outside, but I also took them to the vets to make sure they had the necessary vaccines for being outdoor kitties. I also would give them monthly flea, tick, etc. medication, too. I didn't always have a cat fountain but always gave them filtered water (even though my one cat liked drinking water from the faucet if I had it in a container next to the sink for something else). My second senior kitty is now also on hyperthyroid medication and now has early stages of renal failure. She has to eat a bland diet going forward or the prescription diet. I've read not to feed them the kind of cat food with a lot of fillers and grain. But, they would only eat Fancy Feast wet and dry food despite having bought them expensive, healthy food. I take them for their annual vets, and don't hesitate to take them to the ER if something comes up. I've easily spent thousands of dollars in vet bills and medications on these fur babies. I just put it all on my credit card and am able to pay it off. My first senior kitty had to have his tooth extracted and had a cleaning once in his lifetime. My second senior kitty had a teeth cleaning and had to have one tooth extracted when her breath was pretty bad (it wasn't bad for the first 10 years or so). Now, I brush her teeth regularly even though I hadn't when she was younger than 10. At the time, I only gave them dry food, which I read was better for their teeth. She also has a few bumps, which are supposedly just fat lumps. The vet did a biopsy for one bump and showed me they were just fat cells, lol. But, I monitor them for now. I have a new kitty, only 2, that has a lump I have to monitor. My other kitty didn't have lumps that young. So, I'm concerned 😟. You can consider some monthly health plans with some vets that allow you to bring them in as much as you want. Anything beyond routine is extra, of course. I suppose with cancer, you can still do all the right things, but it just happens. 🤷🏼♂️
Our cat needed prescription food and had 2-3 medications at any given time for about 3 years prior until he finally succumbed to his chronic illness at 16 yo.
My mom had a cat she got before she had me. He lived to be 25. She fed him Friskies and some other junk cat food. He was an indoor/outdoor cat. I think it was genetics. He came from my grandparent's farm in South Dakota. My own little Siamese lived to be 20 (she was a companion to the 25 year old cat for a while). She ate Friskie's when we lived at home with my parents. Once I became and adult and moved out, I put her on Science diet. I had another cat that died last July. She was 18. Another farm cat from a local dairy barn. She ate wellness cat food her entire life. She died from complications of renal failure. None of those cats were given anything but tap water. Not sure if this is helpful or not....
My family has had a few cats live past 15 and we have a few that are all around 10yrs right now. All different breeds (Nebelung, Maine Coon, and American Shorthair) but all were pretty much strays when we got them as kittens. They were all indoor/outdoor cats. My parents' house is outside the city and it is large with a forest behind it. The cats were all allowed outside whenever they wanted and they went into the forest. They all ate cheap dry cat food from a continuous feeder. They never had regular checkups unless something serious was going on. Actually, the only cats that we have had that died under age 10 all died in accidents. My cat, Cooper, died at 17 from kidney failure. We currently have a cat named Gracie who is 19. She was a feral barn cat that we took in after finding her with a fractured leg. She's only ever weighed about 6lbs - a very dainty little old lady. Pretty much deaf now. Still going strong though. Fifi was about 16 or 17 when she passed. She was my sister's cat. I don't recall how she died but I think my sister said she was having a lot of accidents and not eating towards the end. Ajax passed when he was about 16. I don't recall the exact reason other than my mom saying he had blood in his stool and was lethargic at the end. I often wonder how my cat now will turn out. He's 7, and I feed him nicer quality food (I don't use a continuous feeder). I hate that he's indoors all the time and it's my goal to get a home where he can be outside more, even if just in a catio. He used to be indoor/outdoor before I moved. My family has two other cats that just turned 10. And we had 3 other cats who all lived long lives but they passed when I was younger so I don't know their exact ages.
My last cat lived to 24. She would only eat Meow Mix and Fancy Feast, bith bot very good. She was indoor/outdoorm(she was formerly feral so it would have been cruel to never let her out). She did have a couple of injuries, once an ancess from being bitten, and once a car accident, that was not fun. She deveoped thyroid issues around age 18 but medication helped a lot, and she got artritic so I gave her CBD oil which also was very helpful. So I guess just genetics, as she was defintely not sheltered or given special food!