Hi, Ihave a beautiful part persian cat and he is 23 years old and still going strong.

We were not sure just how old he was until I went through some old photos we had and saw how young I and the kids were and the house we were living in at the time.

So I hunted around and found his original vaccination card. That proves he is 23 years old last October. His name is Mango and he is of course a ginger boy.

Anyone got an older cat than Mango.

My cats are all young, the oldest just turned 3.

Hope Mango has many more happy years

That's wonderful.

My ginger cat 'Pumpkin' lived less than half of that, due to dying of 'megacolon'.

He was very dear to me because I found him as a stray living under the new house I bought, where he was virtually starving.

We had many happy years together.

Sadly I had to have my dear ginger boy Midas PTS on 20th Dec with a cancerous tumor in his sinuses. He was only 7 years old and had been hand reared from 2 weeks of age. Im still trying to come to grips with that.

It hurts like hell, doesn't it?

At least we have the knowledge that we gave our pet a happy and healthy life.

We spent over $700 trying to find out what was wrong with Midas. He had two exploritory surgeries and when they discovered he had an agressive tumor in his sinuses it was imposible to remove. We took him home for a few days until he got too sick and then had him PTS. He is buried in the garden next to my little 15 year old dog who had to be PTS earlier in the year. My six year old ginger boy cat Simba misses Midas terribly as they were such good mates. He is always crying and looking for Midas. It makes me sad that he is unhappy.

Im just wondering if any one else thinks that cancer in dogs and cats is increasing over the last 10 years or so? It seems we look after our animals very well and most end up getting cancer of one sort or another and then we have to have them PTS.

I have had to ut down 8 cats and dogs of mine over the last 6 years. It is heartbreaking, but they are worth every moment of having them.

Around 15 years ago I was told by my vet (since retired), that evidence had come to light from research that giving your cat anti-cancer vaccinations can in fact promote the development of cancer.

He strongly advised me not to opt for an annual anti-cancer injection with the normal booster shots.

The only extra vaccine my cat gets each year is for FIV (feline AIDs). You can almost guarantee that every stray and feral male cat in your neighbourhood is a carrier of Feline Immunodeficiency virus. It killed my Pinky who I had for 15 years. It took just one brief scratching session with a stray to start the clock counting down.

My partners cat of 18 and a half had to be put down just after christmas due to bad health issues, he had them since he found them dumped in a plastic bag with their eyes not even open, there were 6 but only 2 made it, now the other one is missing him terribly, its so very sad to see

It's good to hear of cats living long lives with their owners, particularly when they were dumped strays to begin with. The longest we've had a cat live in our family was to 17 years of age. He was pretty much a bag of skin and bone by then with kidney failure and needed to be given his wings.

I have had two friends with Siamese that made it up to the mid twenties.

My aunt have a Cat at her place, She told us that it is 10 year old and still look as a young as it were at four, the only difference is now it has more hair fall than before... ( may be that's a sign of aging)

Wow 23 years. That is a long time. I am happy for you.

Lovely long time to be alive for!

Herbert, please be aware that by giving your cats the FIV vaccine, it will cause them to test positive if they are ever checked if picked up as a stray.

This can cause them to be at greater risk of being pts as you cannot tell its a positive from a vaccine.

Thanks for that, Furrballz - I didn't know.

But both my new 5-month old kittens have a microchip; a name tag with telephone number; and are also registered with the local council in both my name and my niece's.

It would have to be a post-Apocalyptic world for them to become strays... and by that time there wouldn't be any vets left to test them...

The beautiful white 'Pinkie' who you can see in my avatar here eventually lost his life to FIV after a bite from a local stray. It was as simple as that.

I highly recommend that cat-owners spend the extra money for an annual FIV shot at the same time as the annual boosters.

There are always strays around, and why play Russian Roulette with regards to which of these strays is or is not an FIV carrier?

I learnt my lesson.

Respectfully Herbert, if you had learnt your lesson ALL your cats would be totally inside or in enclosures, like mine!

I too lost a cat from cat Aids after a fight with a marauding infected tom BUT I now will not allow my babies to wander at large in the neighbourhood for this very reason.
I also beleive to not vaccinate against this disease as I beleive prevention is better than protection. The high the number on the vaccine, the more chance of the cat getting a reaction from the vaccine, and then possibly losing any good effects from it.

If any of my cats get out and are lost, and lets say their microchip stops working, or goes under the skin to a spot not scanned, at least I know their negative status will show up and they will have a longer time for me to find them sitting in the pound, and less risk of being pts due to a false positive on a test from the vaccine.

Even outdoor cats can adapt to inside and enclosure living. Its usually the people that dont want to put up with the short term pain in retraining their cats.

Furrballz... it must have been you who gave me such a hard time over cat enclosures a few years ago when I first started posting here. You practically came at me with a rolling pin! (Fearing for my safety, and knowing how it is that you women will gather together in large and hostile numbers if there's a solitary male to be chased and hunted down for painful retribution - I then made a strategic withdrawal from this forum for several years).

I can honestly say, without any hesitation or doubt, that my cats would quite definitely be the happiest cats in my entire suburb.

The reason? They are trained by me not to need physical restraints and confinements such as leashes, cages, wired enclosures, shut doors, bricks-and-mortar, etc.


A sharp "NO!" from me, accompanied by a clap of the hands - and they will freeze and desist with whatever it was they were doing.

A brief moment of rattling some cat-biscuits in a tin will instantly bring them running from wherever they are.

As a retired person, they follow me around all day like a couple of puppies.

When I leave the home to go shopping, I first lock them in the house. Same at night. My eyes are upon them for most of the time.

Meanwhile, they have the run of the backyard, and the front yard - both of which are heavily-timbered with trees and bushes for them to hide and play in.

The front and back doors have cat-flap doors for them to take refuge in the house if they should feel threatened for some reason.

So, Furrballz... am I forgiven?

Lol Herbert! I know I am not THAT scary! Tho there are alot of others just as passionate as I on this board as well on this subject.

I used to think just as you do, hence my passion for keeping my animals safe and either IN my yard or in enclosures :)

We dont allow our dogs to free-wander anymore... why do we still allow our cats ??

It is statistical that free roaming cats will have a significantly shorter life-span than inside/enclosed cats.

I dont want yours to become a statistic!

I will agree to disagree...but dont think i wont keep on educating people about the benefits of restrained cats tho! lol

Thank you, Furrballz... I'll accept your Hugs and Kitty Kisses this time... but no more getting the Sisterhood to chase me through the woods with rolling-pins to the theme-song of a Benny Hill show!

Trust me, I only have to approach within 5 yards and my cats begin an uproar of purring, and rolling onto their backs, and clawing the air, and surfing across the lounge-room carpet on their back and sides.

In fact, I can't even sit in the toilet without Muffin tearing the newspaper out of my hands because I'm not paying attention to her!

23 is a good age ..not the oldest cat I've heard of but a goodly age none the less ..I wish you many more happy years .( i've had a few older kitties in my household ..and provided simple aids for them to continue the life THEY liked ..so post if you want any hints ..or have any to offer ..
My guys liked to eat on top of the washing machine ..and even when jumping was harder they INSISTED ..so I made fold down steps on the wall beside the machine for them to climb up on ..softy..me??? Not much .

My oldest cat was 3 years,,i hope it will have a more life to come..

Herbert, Pinkie was a beautiful cat. Was he of any particular breed or just a stunning moggie?

My childhood cat lived to 19 so Mango is still in the lead.

Hi OldTom.

I choke up just thinking about 'Pinkie', now that you've mentioned him.

I thought Pinkie was a 'she' right up until about a year before the end, but then a waxy extrusion began to appear on 'her' tail which alerted the vet to the fact that 'she' was a male!

A subsequent examination revealed that the vet who neutered him had left one of the family jewels inside.

Pinkie came to me as a stray from a couple of houses down where he was abandoned when the owners moved address.

I researched Pinkie on the internet and the best match I could ever find was that of a pure white Norwegian Forest Cat.

Thanks for asking.

We had a wonderful relationship for the 11 years he was with me.

Very very sadly missed.

I'm sorry to have stirred upsetting feelings for you Herbert. He truly was lovely.

Herbert, its amazing the emotions that can come flooding back when we think of those that are gone...

I guess its also a measure of the imprint they left on our hearts tho xxx

Thank you both.

I've always lived alone with my cats, and that situation has intensified the focus one has on these little furry critters that steal your heart.

Pumpkin was the first cat I ever had, at age 47. He was a ginger cat and a stray. Then came Pinkie while Pumpkin was still alive. Then came Archie, and then Pepsi (black and full of gas), then Fluffy, and now I have Gizmo and his sibling Muffin, both 5 months old.

These two are from the same litter, and it has been a real learning experience for me to see just how much they love each other and are totally devoted to one another.

I now believe that kittens should not be sold or given away singly, but should always be accompanied by at least one sibling.

Our Zoe died at age 26, a few years ago. She was a Himalayan. The pic below is from a year or so before her demise



Herbert, I'm sorry to report there are now two enclosure nuts on the forum. Our 6 are all inside cats with a garden enclosure and a 10m long netted front verandah. But I promise to be nice.

You are not the only enclosure nut Odille ..and I'm letting TA take the blame for the battering ..grin ..but enclosures are high on my list too...grin ..I won many hearts in my old home town for my cat enclosures.

Hehehehe... thanks for the support Odille

Not sooo sure about support from my 'mate' Bronnie, tho! lol

Herbert, alot of us are passionate about enclosures as we have seen our cats on the wrong side of free wandering, get sick from fighting with other cats, run over, abused by cat-haters...

I also beleive that it should be the responsibility of the owner to keep ALL pet animals inside their home/yard, just like with dogs.
Its NOT the cats 'right' to wander at large as others have rights as well.
(and its safer for the cat in the long run!)

I'm someone who would like to see zoos phased out over a 10 year period for being 'concrete jungles' where animals are kept in cruel and humiliating captivity for the entertainment of thoughtless and callous human beings.

I have also recently come to the conclusion that kittens should only be sold if paired with a sibling.

And while I'm on my soap-box, may I also say that I believe backyard dog and cat breeders should be restricted to only those people who can afford - both in money and time - the very utmost best conditions and care for their furry charges.

No more 'get-rich-quick' backyard exploiters of the domestic pets market.

And just before I step down from my soap-box, may I also say that it is high time the law made it compulsory that male cats must be neutered if they are not owned by breeders. Almost 100% of neighbourhood problems with fighting cats is because the law still does not require owners to have their males 'shelled'.

And furthermore...

... okay okay, I'm stepping down.

Terri-Ann: My cats know where the boundaries are, and they never get bored exploring the front and backyard with all the bushes and trees and hidey-holes, and shed roofing, etc.

They enjoy being free-range cats within the property. No way I'm going to condemn them to a life-time of penitentiary, custodial, batch-house imprisonment from where they have to view the world through steel Weldmesh and Correctional Institution bars.

Odille: Wonderful cats! 'Master Yoda'! Love it!

Alot of what you say is on common ground for alot of us :)

I do find it a little contradictory tho that you mention your cats know their boundaries tho... I really dont see the difference between completely cat-proofing your yard so they are safe from those un-neutered cats coming in and the dangers outside your yard, should they venture out.
JMHO :)

Since when does passion equal nutty? LOL

I agree many of us are in favour of indoor/enclosed cats, much as I adore cats I could really live without my neighbours visiting cats

Ever since I bought a cat-trap my furry critters have had absolutely no problemos at all with visiting male strays and ferals.

Placed at the back of this walk-in trap, a piece of highly aromatic BBQ chicken that wafts its scent upon the night air, has worked wonders. This contraption has been like a Black Hole sucking in Nuisance Cats to an eternal oblivion like planets disappearing down a celestial plug-hole.

Incidentally, I don't mind my neighbours' cats coming onto my property in a spirit of peace and friendship as long as they are not complete males.

I have a entire male that likes to keep my desexed female (who doesn't like to be kept inside all the time) company throughout the day until she decides when it's time to come in.

I often find the two of them lounging on the bonnet of my car.

He's stopped being a nuisance when I wised up and stopped leaving food for her out during the day. And this is why I think she's decided that inside isn't so bad.

So, my front yard has become part of his extended territory and he does a lot to keep other cats away.

Here, here Herbert.

Hope Mango has many more happy years