Oldest Kitty you've ever had or Known ?

[Hibernias Daughter]

I grew up with a cat that lived to 9 days away from 20 years old. Thom... may he RIP... We had to put him to sleep because he had become senile. He was older then me at the time!

Now I've got a cat named Lydia. AKA "Mouse". She's 14 and our Vet, whose face usually shows NO emotion saw her for the first time in 4 years. He gave her 3 shots and checked her out. When I revealed her age, he looked at her teeth again to make sure he hadn't missed something.

"She looks and feels like she's 4 NOT 14", he said. And there was emotion on his face! Shock, is what I would call it. It's funny how animals can become like your kids. "Mouse" got an excellent "report card" and I am very proud of her! :-)

SO..... My (oldest Kitty) was Thom...

Is your Kitty indoor or outdoor and is my Thom's age unusual or have you had or known a cat his age?


BTW-this is my first "thread". I've probably got it all wrong but hopefully will learn; eventually. :blush:

[BlooInBloo]

1. Confident I have everyone beat...

http://www.tvland.com/shows/gunsmoke/character2.jhtml

;)

[Lithos]

3. In cat equivalents

She didn't live very long.

Oldest cat I knew made it to 25.

L-

[Lex]

7. I don't know . . .

Late Period to Ptolemaic Period, ca.
664–30 BCE

[BlooInBloo]

9. DAMN YOU LEX!!!!! lolol :)

[Hibernias Daughter]

14. Well that is one old Kitty

What an advanced society the Egyptians were. Even men revered cats! I don't know what happened but between then and now, but most guys I know don't like cats. :shrug:

[mike_c]

39. I love cats....

I live with five, and rescue abandoned cats whenever I can. Cats are the most compelling companion animals on Earth, IMO. I am constantly amazed by the interspecies bond that develops between cats and humans.

[Hibernias Daughter]

11. A Jokester ah????

LOL Miss Kitty would be VERY hard to beat!. I loved her growing up (when I was allowed to stay up that late). Monday nights I think it was.

[leftofthedial]

48. twisted minds think alike

Kitty Russell

[Brundle_Fly]

2. I had a 23 year old Maine Coon...

I actually had to put her down as her kidneys went last year, but she might have lasted another few years if I hadn't intervened.

[Hibernias Daughter]

16. Oh I'm so sorry

That is such a hard thing. But you've got your memories and hopefully some pictures.

Maine Coons are so much fun. I had one with that same quirky intelligence they are known for... He came into my life when I was young and poor. My daughter and I lived within throwing distance of our area's fairgrounds. Every year at fairtime SWARMS of fly invaded our 'home'.

That cat however was a genius at catching those damn flys. He didn't even use his paws. He was like a vacumn cleaner. I'd take him around the house and hold him up to our low ceilings and he'd easily catch a few in one crazy fast gulp.... pawless! :-)

He also potty trained himself. It was during the time I was training my daughter. I think he was jealous of the attention she was getting, but for whatever reason he decided to learn how. My landlady couldn't get over it. She ran downstairs saying "Robert, get the camera"!!! She even offered me a full month's free rent if I could "teach" her cats how to do it. Obviously I declined since I had no idea how to "teach" a cat that.

But at the same time Lionel (my coon) did dumb things too. He'd climb to the tippy top of the Christmas tree and rock it back and forth with a wild look in his eye. And once I saw him sitting on the railing of our 3rd story porch and just fall. He wasn't walking and lost his balance...he was just sitting there!... There were no gusts of wind either. He just went down. It ended ok though.

Again I am So sorry about your coon kitty. I will always miss mine.

[swag]

4. Hi, and welcome to DU. My cat Chevrolet is 21, soon to be 22.

She has undergone two spells of dementia, cause(s) undetermined.

A healthy diet, savory snacks, and much affection seem to keep this hostile, deaf, white pound-adoptee going.

[DainBramaged]

20. I had a wonderful 19 year old fat white and tan cat named Monk

Who had that same Bubba tongued look as yours but was calm and peaceful. My other cats (at the time) loved him and would hang with him. We helped him live a few years longer with insulin to combat his diabetes, but he passed away peacefully at 19 in 1987 in our bed.

He was great.

I also had an 18 year old (Roscoe) my favorite, 2 17 year olds, Tabby, a black and white and Bosworth, a huge Maine coon who was gentle and playful as any I ever had. Roscoe just died of being old and way over weight, my other two both had kidney failure.

I have to scan their pictures in and post them. They were just great cats. In the past 30 years, I think I've had a total of 15 cats. I currently have 2. I loved them all.

This is my fat boy Picasso. I saved him from a rescue society. He is a nibbler that I have taught to stop. His original owner died and he had two other foster homes before I found him. I hope he lives forever.

[BuelahWitch]

31. She's gorgeous!

Does she have one blue eye and one brown eye?

[grasswire]

44. hmmmm.....Chevrolet

Do I detect a fondness for a certain childhood author?

[frogbison]

5. Welcome, Hibernias!

My cats:

Herb was 9 when he got hit by a car, after moves from Wyoming to Michigan to Pennsylvania to Ohio. Broke my heart and I resolved to never let my cat outside.

Next came Katie, and she lived to be 16 or so. Her kidneys finally gave out.

Now I have Achoo! and she is almost two. Here is to a long and happy life for my Achoo!

[HCE SuiGeneris]

6. My cat Geisha died a year and a half ago at age 20 and 7 months

Have another, she found/adopted me on Halloween last year -- now in my avatar. Geisha was outdoor for first 15 years, then I moved to AZ and she had to become indoor (coyotes).

[TomInTib]

8. "Puss" made it to 24

Owned it all.

Inside and out.

[Rhythm]

10. a houseful of 20-somethings

Three of my best friends share a place outside DC, and each of their respective cats lived to be a little over 20 (sadly, all of them died within the same year, about 3 years ago). They were the cutest bunch, too... completely different in appearance, and all with personalities to match their people. They were all 'inside' cats, except for their occasional explorations of the garden-like balcony.

[SeattleGirl]

12. My longest-living cat is still with me.

Miss Kitty, The Queen of the Universe, who turned 16 this past June:

[marzipanni]

13. Walter, my friends' cat when I was a kid

She was 19 when she died.
One of my favorite stories about a cat has Walter as the subject. When my friend's family got their new cat, it was thought to be male, hence the name. Then that thought was abandoned when a litter of kittens arrived. My friend's four-year-old brother and his babysitter, a devout Catholic older lady, were admiring Walter's babies. "God gave these to Walter", the babysitter stated to the little boy. "God didn't give them to her, they came out of her butt!", he retorted, having been a witness to the miracle of birth only a week before.

[kimsterdemster]

15. my 12-year old kid

he started indoor only (apt) for 2 years, then on to doggy door, indoor outdoor for the last ten years :hi:



May he live to be 20 :toast:

[Flaxbee]

40. welcome to du, kimsterdemster! Your boy

sure looks content! :hi:

[MnFats]

17. my sister has a siamese that is 20. no lie. vet records confirm.

she is a little bag of bones but still reasonably healthy. she doesn't chase ANYTHING anymore but enjoys sleeping in her little patch of sun a lot...

[Raine]

18. My aunt's cat that I inherited

when my aunt died lived to be 20 but ended up dying from kidney failure. :-(

[radfringe]

19. Ches was 21 when he crossed the rainbow bridge

our Kudra is 20, and still rules the house.

[chknltl]

21. My lil buddy Chuckanut made it past 16,

but like many other kittys mentioned here, his kidneys gave out and I had to have him put to sleep. :cry: (I now have a dog who has a different fondness for kittys but we are working on that).
Chuckanut, (named after Chuckanut Drive up near Bellingham Washington), was a slender Black and White, strictly indoor guy with 7 toes on his front paws. He once fathered 3 kittens with extra toes too but the lady who owned the mother kitty did not know how to care for them and they did not last longer than a couple of weeks. (I wanted the lil grey male, named him Jepetto even but it was not meant to be). Ok so now I am sad but in all honesty even though I loved Chuckanut bunches, I do not miss that damned litter box.
Hmmm.... I am still sad so here is a little "Neighborhood Americana" to set things right:
In my neighborhood there are many "dog-walkers", (folks who regularly go out for walks with their dogs). One is an old retired Policeman in his mid 70s. He and his wife take their "herd" of 4 little white Westies(sp?) out about once a week. At the back of this group is a fat grey cat. This parade generally causes all who witness it to stop what they are doing and watch as they troop by. The order is always the same: Lil white yappy dogs out front raising hell, humans about a dozen feet back out enjoying a quiet stroll and a lone cat about a dozen feet behind the humans with that look of indifference which cats are so good at. Even though the elderly couple are well known in this neighborhood it is their cat who commands the most attention. Someday I will have to get a photo of this phenomenon...when I do it will get posted here.
There I feel better now.
One can never go wrong in starting a kitty thread here in the lounge, congrats on your first thread.
c

[Rosco T.]

22. I had an ol' girl make it to 26....

.. and had she not gotten around a dammed dog that brought in a flea infestation that LITERALLY almost sucked her dry, she might still be kicking... she recovered from the vampires, then 3 months later her kidneys failed...

[Lumily]

23. Pig will be 17 in July.

We got him when he was two. He's a bit slower, but not much different when we first got him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. This kitty, Charles, made it to 21:

He was as dumb as a bag of hammers, but as sweet and friendly as could be. He loved parties - he'd go from person to person begging food from them, and he'd steal bread by tearing open the wrappers and eating the crusts. When he was hardly more than a kitten we sort of stole him from some stupid girls in our apartment building who neglected him and kept throwing him outside in subzero weather because he meowed too much. This was in 1974; he lived happily ever after until 1995. RIP, Charles.

[Lavender Brown]

25. My cat is about 18.

:)

[LynzM]

26. My ex had a cat who lived to 22.

Still catching squirrels and birds at that age... being an outdoor cat seemed to keep him spry. He was a sweetheart.

[China_cat]

27. Our oldest died not too long ago

at 23. Still have 3 that are 17. (littermates)

[liberaldemocrat7]

28. My girlfriend asnd I have 4 cats. Jake, a Tonkinese died Oct 2005

Jake, a cream colored Tonkinese acted like the sweetest cutest boy at 15. He could persuade my girlfriend to give him her food with the best of cats. He looked so innocent and he had both of us fooled and he loved to perch on the back of a chair. He had cancer, had pain so we had someone to put him to sleep.

We got Teddy Bear, a cream colored tabby with a small part of siamese and he looks very cute as well. We adopted him from a shelter and he will turn 4 next May.

I love cats.

[Nikia]

29. 20's

My step mother's sister and brother-in-law lost two cats that they had since they were married who were both in their 20's. I forget their exact ages when they died. They ended up losing both cats and a 17 year old dog all in the same year. The cats were both indoor cats who always had each other.

[Haole Girl]

30. Welcome to DU!

I can't think of a better post for a first post than a kitty thread! :-)

Thank you for sharing your story of Tom and your most recent one. My kitties are 12 and 13 years old. They are pictured below (Pumpkin (on the left) and Bear):

[BuelahWitch]

32. My Tisha was 17 when she died

She's the orange one. The white cat is her son Boo, who lived to 13 and 1/2 (he didn't like to share the spotlight).

A friend of mine in Salt Lake had a 20 year old cat back in the late '90s.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

33. my sister.....she is 56

[femmocrat]

34. I have a 17-year old outdoor cat.

He's the oldest one I ever knew. He still hunts and prowls around. He lives outside except on the coldest winter nights and stays right around our house.

Welcome to DU, Hibernias Daughter!

[ganeshji]

35. The oldest cat I've ever known was Bologna Boy.

He was the most vicious, vile, repulsive, ugly cat in our neighborhood. He didn't really belong to anybody in particular and he had lived in the area for as long as anyone can remember. He lived to be 19 on a diet of bologna that an old guy fed him every day and whatever else he scavenged. Bologna Boy was hit by cars, chased by kids with sticks,and attacked by dogs but no cat could defeat him. Once a year, someone would wrangle him and take him to the vet for a check-up and shots. He was kind of an institution in our neighborhood. He sat down in someone's driveway and died last year. I miss the old guy, he was pretty cool.

[sakabatou]

36. My aunt's: 22

[begin_within]

37. There's a cat who goes to the same vet mine does, who is 24 and still healthy.

Old and somewhat frail, but still healthy.

[BrotherBuzz]

38. Meensk is about thirty years old

Although she was turned into a miniature tiger rug in the late eighties. Does that count? :shrug:

[kedrys]

41. Caesar just turned 15 in September

He's getting a little bit thinner, but he still kicks ass.

Ms. Marble died two years ago this past Friday - she was just a few months short of 16.

[mainegreen]

42. Siamese brothers, Marco and Polo, both made it to 22.

Polo died, then Marco died within a month.

I miss those two. Best cats I've ever had.

[Left Is Write]

43. I think Feliz (a Maine Coon) was 17 when he passed, but I don't know for sure.

He was my sister's cat first, then my mother's.

[Roon]

45. Daniel, my ex-lover's cat turned 22 this month

When we broke up I begged him to let me have her in her final days. Here she is!!!
?t=1164584812

[ironflange]

46. My mom's cat was of indeterminate age

She got her when she was fully mature (the cat, of course), and had her for a good 18 years. Puss must have been at least 20 and probably older.

[SoyCat]

47. I had a formerly feral tuxedo girl who lived to about 22. That age

was calculated by adding how long we had her to the vet's estimate of her age when she was rescued.

She had a long, wonderful life and was active until the week she died. She just slowed down and had peaceful, quiet death. I wish it could be that way with all pets--or for that matter, all humans!

[Shine]

49. Our 19 yr old beloved cat, Alfalfa, died in my arms two years ago.

O8) she was a great companion and will never be forgotten. :loveya:

[Lisa]

50. I house-sat for a 22-year-old marmalade shorthair ...

He was named "Cat", and was almost totally blind. He could sure find his food bowl though! And sexual drive -- he would locate Ricky the other feline somehow (a much younger cat, but also a male!) and attempt to mount him. Poor Ricky would just lie there and let him do it, too. There were a lot of times when I'd be reduced to a fit of giggles at that house -- they also had a pair of geese who were building a nest, both males as well. And then there was a hen that thought she was a guy, and would attempt to fight with the roosters and boss around the pullets. Maybe it's not a coincidence that our jurisdiction approved same-sex marriage.

Other people I know had a silver tabby, named "Tasha" after the character on the Star Trek TNG show. So that should give the approximate date of birth, since she was brought home as a kitten just before it started (1987?)... she emigrated to Australia with her humans, and I just heard a couple of months ago that she was so infirm that they finally took her to the vet, one last time. Tasha used to climb up on me when I was sitting on their couch, and "knead" me with her paws. At first I thought it was the wool pullover I was wearing, but she did it even when I was just wearing an ordinary sweatshirt too.