[pazavatkay]

Who has had a cat for over 7 years? Also, what's the age of the oldest cat that you've had or seen?
I know I've seen a cat over 15 years old and you could tell by her face and fur.

 

[Chocolate]

Someone i knew had a cat that lived up to thirteen years. She was a black and white cat. Someone gave us a brown tortoise shell about six years ago, who was thirteen i think. She was a very shy cat, and on the day we got her she hid somewhere. We looked all around for her, but couldnt find her. She must have run away somewhere.

 

[WillDoDa]

I will have had Harley 7 years in June, when he coincidentally will have just turned 7. He has been my baby. He's the oldest of my brood and has always suffered with skin issues due to flea allergies. His latest problem has been feline acne, which ends up being nasty wounds on their chin from being scratched.
My mother in law had a cat that looked just like Harley, his name was Teddy Bear and he lived until he was 14 years old. He finally contracted Leukemia and had to be pts. My husband and his mother had had that cat from the time he was born!

 

[pazavatkay]

WIllDoDa,
I guess our cats are the same age cause mine was born in the summer too. What's the story with the flea allergies cause I may be able to help you with this one?
I didn't know that the wounds on the chin were acne being scratched. That's good to know cause my cat has the same problem but it doesn't look too bad right now. How did you find out about the acne?

 

[Padunk]

My cats are young, Punky will be 2 soon and Elly is 8 months.

My childhood cat lived 19 years.. and only in her last six months was there a noticable decline in health. I always confuse the age on my brother's cat, I'm pretty sure he's 19 years old. If I'm wrong, he's 17.

My uncle had a cat that lived to be into it's twenties. It was somewhere in the range of 21-24 years old. That cat, Bonzo, peacefully died in his sleep with almost no health problems in his whole life.

I can only hope that I'm so lucky.

 

[KerriKitty]

My best friend when I was younger had a Siamese cat that lived to be close to 20. My childhood kitty is still alive and living with my parents - he is 16 this year.

 

[CATTYBIRD]

I've had one cat that lived to be twenty and one that died just a few months before his twentieth birthday.

 

[stormy]

The oldest cat I have now is Roo and she is 14 years (will be 15 years old at the end of May)

The oldest cat we've had was Morgan, he lived to be 21 years old.

 

[pazavatkay]

Wow, that's good to know that other cats can live that long. So I guess my cat is still a youngster and has a lot of good years left.

 

[WillDoDa]

Harley, bless his heart is always having skin things, It started when he was bout a year old or so, he had fleas and started going bald on a long strip on his back. We have had to be very careful to keep him on Advantage ever since! Even if I cannot afford to get it for my other cats I have to be able to get it for Harley! He once got an abcess on his front leg, that was just nasty. A month ago, we though he had an abcess on his chin, but my husband researched chin stuff in a pet care book he has and saw that it was Cat Acne, Which there are actual pimples there, but due to it being itchy the cats of course scratch it to the point of sores. Anyway, We went to the vet to make sure that was what it was. He prescribed 14 days of antibiotics and we had to do our best to keep his chin clean either with plain water or 3% hydrogen peroxide. It took a while for his chin to start looking better. Then Teresa ended up with the same thing, it was hard to get her to take the pills and her little chin still has some sores, but it looks SO much better. GINGER on the other hand, who has some Bengal in her has been quite the challenge. She absolutely WILL not take pills, We tried putting them into treats which worked for about 2 days, then my husband was giving her the pill which is HARD, but she finally got to the point where she would NOT let him catch her to give her the pill. NOW we are giving her the medicine in liquid form mixed with cat milk. Sofar, that is working, Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[pazavatkay]

That's good to know about the acne. Luckily, my cats chin got better on it's own for the most part.
I was going to suggest a one-spot treatment and I guess your already using that.
I know that it's real hard to give cats pills. If you can get a pill in their throat you then just rub this area to help the cat swallow it. This goes the same for other animals or people.

 

[ForJazz]

WillDoDa -- I just wanted to share something that Dr. Jean told me a while ago. A friend of mine had a cat with feline acne -- this is what Dr. Jean said:

My favorite treatment is to clean the area twice daily with some gauze and very dilute Betadine (an iodine based soap, available at grocery and drug stores; also called something like povidone iodine--generic okay). Make sure it is *really* dilute (weak tea color) because Betadine can be very irritating to the skin, and with some cats, you may not get the chance to rinse it off.

Feline acne is very common in cats who eat or drink from plastic, because plastic is microscopically porous, and bacteria can colonize it. Even a dishwasher won't get them out. It's also common with dry food because the surface of the food is so oily. However, I've seen in cats who have neither plastic bowls nor dry food, so nothing's a sure bet.

I recommend glass or ceramic dishes. A flat plate rather than a bowl, or a straight-sided bowl (like a ramekin or casserole dish), will help prevent the skin coming in contact with the food and sides of the bowl.

I'm not crazy about steel or aluminum, even the shiny smooth ones, because the metal can hold static and shock the cat when he goes to eat. This is a big issue around here right now because it's extremely dry and very windy--just taking a couple of steps across the floor will build up enough static to give you a nasty jolt!

 

[pazavatkay]

Thanks, that really helps! I use a plastic double bowl and I know that it's not always clean. Also, food gets into the water this way. I'm going to get real of it and start using a ceramic bowl and plate for food.

 

[Richo]

A friend of mine had a cat that lived to 24 years I believe. She finally had to have her put down because she had so many age related problems. It had to have been so hard because she had that cat its entire life.

 

[catnip]

My oldest right now is 9.

Floyd passed in 1997 at the age of 14.

...but I've also had seemingly healthy cats become suddenly ill w/ terminal conditions and a rather young age. I lost Femix to cancer in 2002, she was only 5. )))

 

[Annissa]

Sabby is 14 years old. He'll be 15 in August. I've had him since I was 11 years old.