Edna, orange tabby, will be 18 next week. She's the oldest cat we've ever had and we got her at 5 weeks. Our last cat, a Siamese named Sam, made it past 16 when his liver went out. We never even knew there was a problem Until we noticed that his mouth suddenly turned yellow. Vet said it was over and we sadly let Sam go.Edna had the first blood work of her life two years ago when we had to change vets. At that time, the new vet said all her numbers were good except one liver enzyme was a little off, which he would expect at her age. She's an indoor cat that we used to let out on the patio a bit but we don't anymore, because she might get confused and jump the fence.Now she's 18 and I see no problems except that she has become very talkative and attention seeking. She vocalizes in a new way and grabs at our arms as we walk past her. She wants to be petted more than she used to. She asks for treats a lot. I thought she might be getting deaf, accounting for the louder meowing, but she's not. Her vision seems fine, too. Do cats get a bit of dementia, like old dogs do? Edna sleeps 20+ hours a day, but that isn't a whole lot more than she always did. How old did your oldest cat get? My folks had a huge white, deaf cat that made it into his twenties. They had other cats that only made it to their teens, though. I'm just wondering what to expect. Thanks for sharing your experience with an antique kitty.

Google: cat dementiaInteresting. Oldest I've seen is 23.

Now she's 18 and I see no problems except that she has become very talkative and attention seeking. She vocalizes in a new way and grabs at our arms as we walk past her. She wants to be petted more than she used to... Do cats get a bit of dementia, like old dogs do?OMG. You must be a fly at our place!My Siamese is 18 seems physically fit except lately all he does is talk, talk, talk and talk too. Anyone who has ever had a Siamese knows they don't just meow it's loud edgy talking and quite frankly very annoying on a minimum level let along all day now!! 2 Seniors now, the 14 year old dog who has dementia and now the senior cat.:RBe very interesting to see the responses to this thread.

Our son had two make it to 21. I'm not sure the oldest "documented" cat I've seen in practice, but it was early 20's.They do get dementia, not as severe as in dogs in my experience. They do talk a lot as they get older, Henry is in that phase now (we really don't know how old he is, but he's a senior).Doug

Every time I leave a sock on the floor, Sput gets it and drags it around....she's petite, so it's hard to walk with it... and yowls. She's eighteen also, this month... this week, actually, and that's been going on for a year or two. But she's happy and doing well on her kidney diet "pig bits" and 100 mls of LRS a day, plus an herbal thing I put her on for her hyperthyroid. More chipper on that (though not as chubby) than on the prescription. She's actually playing now and then, which just makes me so happy.My dad's cat was in his early twenties when he went. I'd honestly have put him down sooner, I think, but he and dad were a couple of stubborn old coots and neither wanted to leave the other. He did get senile and his kidneys were not great. He did not respond well to the ringers.I have heard of cats going on into their 30s, but have never met one. Pretty rare. Fifteen is life expectancy, anything after is gravy, and eighteen is a pretty common age for cats to get to but also to leave at, in my experience.

We have a 20 year old Calico and her 19 year old daughter.

re: Old cats | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

SCVJeff
Explorer
Jun 13, 2014
Our Siamese made it to about 18 1/2 being a true Siamese PITA till the last day. Never went out because Coyote Collage is right across the street.
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jun 13, 2014
Code2High wrote:
... He did get senile and his kidneys were not great. He did not respond well to the ringers.....

Something I learned at almost the demise of my dog. He was on Ringers to save his life. Taking him back and forth to vet to get a slow drip of it. Then out of the blue he takes a dive. Then the next day rebounds, and then the following dives again.

Found out he 'could' handle the Ringers but they also have a generic bag also which was used on the second day and then again on the forth when he crashed.

Further investigation showed the ingredients are NOT the same between the two. Vet agreed he could react to the different ingredients in the generic bag. Same happened again when given Sub Q by another vet. Found out they used the off brand. Switched to Ringers and all was fine. Just something to be aware of if your pet does have a problem. I'd assume must don't though or it never is revealed as the source of the problem because the word Ringers is used like the word Kleenex when referred to an IV bag.
BuckBarker
Explorer
Jun 13, 2014
We have a 20 year old Calico and her 19 year old daughter.
BuckBarker
Explorer
Jun 13, 2014
We have a 20 year old Calico and her 19 year old daughter.
Code2High
Explorer
Jun 13, 2014
Every time I leave a sock on the floor, Sput gets it and drags it around....she's petite, so it's hard to walk with it... and yowls. She's eighteen also, this month... this week, actually, and that's been going on for a year or two.

But she's happy and doing well on her kidney diet "pig bits" and 100 mls of LRS a day, plus an herbal thing I put her on for her hyperthyroid. More chipper on that (though not as chubby) than on the prescription. She's actually playing now and then, which just makes me so happy.

My dad's cat was in his early twenties when he went. I'd honestly have put him down sooner, I think, but he and dad were a couple of stubborn old coots and neither wanted to leave the other. He did get senile and his kidneys were not great. He did not respond well to the ringers.

I have heard of cats going on into their 30s, but have never met one. Pretty rare. Fifteen is life expectancy, anything after is gravy, and eighteen is a pretty common age for cats to get to but also to leave at, in my experience.
dturm
Moderator
Jun 13, 2014
Our son had two make it to 21. I'm not sure the oldest "documented" cat I've seen in practice, but it was early 20's.

They do get dementia, not as severe as in dogs in my experience. They do talk a lot as they get older, Henry is in that phase now (we really don't know how old he is, but he's a senior).

Doug
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jun 13, 2014
Now she's 18 and I see no problems except that she has become very talkative and attention seeking. She vocalizes in a new way and grabs at our arms as we walk past her. She wants to be petted more than she used to... Do cats get a bit of dementia, like old dogs do?

OMG. You must be a fly at our place!

My Siamese is 18 seems physically fit except lately all he does is talk, talk, talk and talk too. Anyone who has ever had a Siamese knows they don't just meow it's loud edgy talking and quite frankly very annoying on a minimum level let along all day now!! 2 Seniors now, the 14 year old dog who has dementia and now the senior cat.:R

Be very interesting to see the responses to this thread.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jun 13, 2014
Google: cat dementia

Interesting. Oldest I've seen is 23.

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re: Old cats

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