24 year old cat

[wasapi]

When my son was 10 and hiking with his 14 year old brother, they heard a sound coming from a ditch. They climbed down and found a young kitten, 6 to 8 weeks old, that had been tossed in with no way to climb out. They brought her home, and when my 10 year old asked, "Mom, can I keep her?" Well . . .

My son is now 34, and I still have the cat he brought home that day. My vet, whom I've had for years, is amazed. She still likes her catnip now and then and will run up and down the house playing. Her appetite is good.

People often ask what I've done, fed her, etc. I've had cats all my life, and they have all been well fed and cared for equally, but none have come close to her age. (I did have a 17 yr old siamese who passed.)

Does anyone have any ideas as to why some cats seem to defy their age? (She is a calico by the way.) I would be interested to hear any other old-age cats stories.

Thanks,
Julia

[Brentwood]

Wow! According to the table at the link below (bottom of page) your cat's age is equivalent to a human over 100 years old.

It also says that long life for a cat depends on good genetics, good general care, good health care, good diet and a relatively safe environment.

I suspect you have given her a great home and she has thrived under your wonderful care.

http://www.messybeast.com/longevity.htm

[R~O~S]

My Tomasina was a money cat. She did not live a carefree early life. She was a stray that was taken in by the night crew at the Post Office. My Dad worked the night shift, my husband was a letter carrier in the same office and of course worked days.

All the fellas on the night shift took care of her, they shared their lunch with her & she slept in the suspended ceiling. The fellas all chipped in to have her spade after she had her first litter up there. All the kittens were adopted and taken home by folks who worked at the Post Office but Tomasina stayed with the night crew. She was their girl.

Then Postal management decided to move the night crew out of the local post office and into a down town sectional center. The manager of the local post office sure didn't mind having a live in rodent petrol, but that wasn't going to fly at the sectional center.

Tomasina came home in the sleeve of my husbands coat. My Mom does not like cats, Daddy couldn't bring her home. The other fellas had all taken home kittens, they couldn't bring her home. The man who's sworn he's gonna divorce me should I bring home so much as one more furbabby (yeah sure, he's worse than me. lol) brought home this rough and tumble cat who I swore never loved me. She was about 3 years old.

We had Tomasina for 22 years, making her about 25 when we lost her. She was always healthy, she was always an outdoor cat, never sick or injured a day of her life.

We never told her how old she was, that's why she didn't know she wasn't a kitten anymore. It wasn't until about six months before we lost her that I noticed that leap into the bay window wasn't so easy for her anymore. We put in a little stool she used so she couldn't miss and fall back. She slowed, but she was never sick. She passed peacefully in her sleep, laying in her favorite sun spot in the dining room by the sliding glass door.

I cried for two weeks over her loss before I walked into the shelter declaring I wasn't there to adopt a cat, I was just looking.

That's the day Cleopatra found me.

I don't know why, I'm just grateful I believe I gave her a good life as I will my oldest girl now, Zee Zee Top (17) and Cleopatra (12). They'll want for nothing, have the best medical care available, the best diet possible and as many kitty toys as they can manage.

They don't ask for any of that, but they'll have it because what they do is give me completely unconditional love every single day. It's the least I can do for them.

[febreze]

that lived to be 20 and 2 that i lost about age 14, i found the 2 that lived to be 20 had all their baby shots but, i only had their shots done every 3 years after that, the two that died around 14 had their shots every year. i think shots shorten an animals life, and have read that animals do not need yearly shots just like a human those shots are good for many years proubly close to 7 years but, NY state requires rabies shot every 3 years and that's why they had the other shots every 3 years, the vet insisted they have them. ofcourse that is how they make their money but, yearly shots are not necessary.

[wasapi]

I loved reading all of your stories!

And ROS, I wanted to laugh and cry reading your post!

It does seem to be a matter of genetics. My 24 year old cat (my son named her Echo after the chainsaw brand by that name, because when they managed to rescue her from the ditch her purr was so loud!) has always been an indoor/outdoor cat, the same as the many others I've had here over the past 38 years.

My all white cat, one blue eye & one green eye, is named Marvin. He is 15 yrs, and he is the love of my life. But never a day has gone by that I haven't said a prayer of thanks that they are still here. They are my family, and I love them, so it's important to me to never let a day with them be taken for granted.

[Details]

Definitely a lot of genetics. Indoor cats live longer than outdoor - but I knew an outdoor cat who lived to be 24 at the least - big orange tomcat that sorta belonged to the neighborhood. Somehow orange cats seem to usually have long lives.