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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / February 2004a serious question
I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now where I should be giving her extra care? she is just as wild as ever, showing no problems really. regards Heather  SignatureVOTE For your Funkiest FELINE here pick JOSIE! http://www.k9media.net/funkiestfeline/voting.php Indoor only cats live, on average, about 15 years, I believe. Over 10 years, they are considered geriatric and should have blood work once yearly along with their shots and a physical. (many cats live longer than 15 years) Gail I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now where I should be giving her extra care? she is just as wild as ever, showing no problems really. regards Heather SignatureVOTE For your Funkiest FELINE here pick JOSIE! http://www.k9media.net/funkiestfeline/voting.php >I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat = >Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now = [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Heather My vet said years ago, age 7 was considered "senior citizen". But not any more! At age 10, your cat could be with you another 10 years, I've heard many cats who have lived to be 20. My oldest one died at 17. As far as your question about extra care, why not take her in some time for an overall health evaluation, and your vet can help you with any special needs she might have. Other than that, (personally) I think nutrition is the most important thing with an indoor cat. Good luck for *many* more years with your kitty. Sherry I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now where I should be giving her extra care? she is just as wild as ever, showing no problems really. regards Heather Your cat is considered to be a "senior" at that age, but I had a cat that lived to be just a little less than 20 years and he did not start to show any real signs of aging until he was 18. He declined rapidly after that, and we made a great many visits to TED during his last year-and-a-half. My Holly will be 9 years old in June -- and, like yours, shows no signs of slowing down. Nevertheless, It is important at this age for you to have Josie's health evaluated, get a full blood panel workup, and ask your vet to discuss any changes that should be made in your cat's diet or routine. MaryL I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now where I should be giving her extra care? she is just as wild as ever, showing no problems really. regards Heather ---------------- Depends on lots of factors. But so far, my cats - who've died - have lived to be 16 & 17. Cats can live to be 20 or older, though - certainly not unheard of. The ones I presently have are 5 & 12. They're inside cats, so road accidents, etc. won't be factors, but age-related diseases will likely be. I think 10's a good age at which to have geriatric bloodwork done at the annual vet trip, to catch any of the age-related diseases early. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon circa Sat, 14 Feb 2004 10:55:26 -0000, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Heather-SCOTGIRL (scotgirlREMOVESPAMMERS@o2.co.uk) said, > I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat = > Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now = > where I should be giving her extra care? she is just as wild as ever, = > showing no problems really. She likely has plenty of good years left in her, *but* you should also probably start considering her to be a senior cat at this point and doing things like getting annual geriatric workups. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now where I should be giving her extra care? she is just as wild as ever, showing no problems really. ------------------------------------------------------ I'd say the average lifespan for an indoor cat is probably 15 to 17 years or more. With proper nutrition and veterinary care, indoor cats can live into their 20s. Most of my cats lived into their late teens and early twenties. Cats over 10 should have *semiannual* exams at the very least, and after 12, *three* exams a year at the very least . Remember, after the first year, each human year is physiologically equivalent to *four years* for a cat. That's why many owners are shocked when their vet finds a tumor the size of golf ball or that their cat is in the advanced stages of a disease which there were no signs of at the previous year's exam. Phil > I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat > Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Heather Oldest cat I have known was thought to be about 24. The people had her for 22.5 years - and she was an adult when they found her. -L. circa 15 Feb 2004 12:10:22 -0800, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, -L. (k3_e81@yahoo.com) said, > Oldest cat I have known was thought to be about 24. The people had > her for 22.5 years - and she was an adult when they found her. Some acquaintances of mine currently have one that is 23 or 24. She's half-blind, senile and weighs about as much as a sparrow, but she's a sweet (and healthy) little thing. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. >I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat = >Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now = >where I should be giving her extra care? she is just as wild as ever, = >showing no problems really. A lot of cats will live into their later teens, and some into their twenties. My first cat was 19 when she had a stroke. My current cats are 17 1/2 and 11. They are both doing well. The older one does have trouble keeping weight on, so I supplement his regular food to make sure he is eating well. I also give him vitamin treats. He has some arthritis, so that helps. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com circa 16 Feb 2004 08:10:19 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Meghan Noecker (friesian@zoocrewphoto.com) said, > >I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat = > >Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now = [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > sure he is eating well. I also give him vitamin treats. He has some > arthritis, so that helps. With what do you supplement his food, Meghan? Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. >With what do you supplement his food, Meghan? A variety of things. He gets his vitamin treats with glucosamine for his arthritis. He gets some egg or margarine every few days to help his coat. It was getting kind of dry. He also gets regular cat treats as a filler. Basically, he is hungry most of the time, but he only eats kibble if somebody is in the bathroom with him. He's a "social eater". So, when he comes to me during the day, I give him the cat treats. And he eats part of my meals. He loves veggies. His favorites are peas and mushrooms. He also eats corn, carrots, lima beans, green beans. etc. So, I will give hims some veggies and some of the meat. I usually get a couple of roasted chickens per week. I use the white meat on my salads. And he gets the leg and thigh meat. It's a bit higher in fat, so it is good for him to keep his weight up, and he loves it. He also gets some fish. I like to have fish 1-2 times a week, so gets a pretty good portion form each of those meals. He's always been into people food. Probably because he was hand-fed as a baby. He was the smallest of 3 runts, so he was hand-fed from the very beginning. At 6 months old, he figured out that his claws look like a fork, so he would try to pick up food with his claws and eat it that way. And he stole peas off my plate when I wasn't looking. He had equal opportunity to steal the tuna, but he chose the pile of peas (I hate peas, so I always pick them out). His original name was Puddin' since he is solid grey with a spot of white on the front of his neck. But my dad kept saying, "Good stuff, Maynard!" because of his preference for people food. So, we changed his name to Maynard. My other cats are more normal. Kira likes a little bit of people food. She'll eat carrots and corn. And she likes anything flavored with garlic. But that's about it. She won't always eat chicken. Chase is weird. He will barely touch anything. Not even the cat treats. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com circa 16 Feb 2004 09:16:42 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Meghan Noecker (friesian@zoocrewphoto.com) said, > >With what do you supplement his food, Meghan? > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > Equine and Pet Photography > http://www.zoocrewphoto.com Thanks, Meghan. The chicken may be an option for Jacob, and he already gets glucosamine. He has CRF and really isn't a people-food eater, so finding things to put weight on him are difficult. I appreciate your providing so thorough a list. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. >Thanks, Meghan. The chicken may be an option for Jacob, and he >already gets glucosamine. He has CRF and really isn't a people-food >eater, so finding things to put weight on him are difficult. I >appreciate your providing so thorough a list. My first cat, Fiona, was very hard to keep weight on. I could get her to eat, but she was underweight from age 17 til she died at 19. She would eat sliced turkey one day, then refuse the next. No chicken, no tuna, no nothing. She finally settled on Safeway brand chicken and liver. And that was it. No other brand. No other flavor. After that, I could open 4 cans a day, anytime she perked up at the sight of a can, I opened it. But she would not eat leftovers. I could not chill it and give it to her again, even if I reheated it. So, I was going through cat food like crazy, and she was still very skinny. Much skinnier than Maynard has ever been. I took her to 3 different vets. They all recommended special foods, but she wouldn't eat any of them. I did force some liquid vitamins down her, so that probably helped. But she was extremely finicky. Maynard is at at least a walking stomach. I guess there just isn't much room left for storage of the food :) I think the best thing is to just keep experimenting and try to find something that they he will eat on a regular basis. Try different cat foods and treats, and different regular foods. Chicken seems to be the most popular with my cats. I buy the roasted chicken from the deli. Not the cheapest, but it sure is easy, and it really gets him eating. Since I know he has a hard time keeping weight on, i tend to give him the fattier pieces and sometimes a little of the skin. Not too much since I don't want him to get diarhea. I also have to be careful not to feed him in front of the dog since she is overweight. She gains weight on air. When Kira gets to this stage, I will be choosing foods with garlic flavor. She will turn down roast beef, but if I bring home garlic roast beef, she will attack the bag and harrass me for every bite. She will turn away just about any meat, but goes crazy for anything with garlic powder in the ingredients. It is probably the smell that attracks her, but it works for her. I know I can score points with it when returning from a trip, and that is what I used when she was sick once and not eating much. Find the flavor or smell that attracts Jacob, and then give him as much as he will take, as long as he isn't getting too plump. Also, for those of you with younger kitties, now is the time to find that magic food. I've known Maynard's for years, but I would have been a lot happier if I had known Fiona's favorite food sooner. I thought I knew it (9 lives canned food with cheese), but she wouldn't touch it later. Chase is only 3 years old right now, but he is so uninterested in food that I really have no idea what would be enticing to him. He will occasionally eat some chicken or shrimp. He used to love the cat treats, but rarely does more than sniff them now. The only things he shows any extra interest in are salmon and the new canned cat food I am feeding - Friskies shredded turkey and cheese. All 3 cats went wild for it when I got it to try on Maynard. I think it is the gravy they are excited about. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com circa 17 Feb 2004 04:54:53 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Meghan Noecker (friesian@zoocrewphoto.com) said, > I think the best thing is to just keep experimenting and try to find > something that they he will eat on a regular basis. Try different cat > foods and treats, and different regular foods. The problem isn't Jacob's willingness to eat- he'll eat any cat food. Doesn't really care for people food, but he'll eat any cat food I give him. The problem is, with his CRF, I have to be very careful about phosphorus content. :-\ Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. >circa 17 Feb 2004 04:54:53 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Meghan >Noecker (friesian@zoocrewphoto.com) said, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >give him. The problem is, with his CRF, I have to be very careful >about phosphorus content. :-\ I see. That would be a bit harder to work on. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com > A variety of things. > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > mushrooms. He also eats corn, carrots, lima beans, green beans. etc. > So, I will give hims some veggies and some of the meat. > I usually get a couple of roasted chickens per week. I use the white > meat on my salads. And he gets the leg and thigh meat. It's a bit [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Chase is weird. He will barely touch anything. Not even the cat > treats. LOL Our daughter's kitty James is like this as well. I actually had convinced myself he was the only *social eater* in the world. I've never before seen such a thing! We feed the boys in the laundry room, with a kitty door they can come and go through (all inside the house) and James sits at the door and he will try three times to get someone to come and watch him eat (and has subsequently taught Tucker to do likewise) If no one does he turns and walks away usually. More often someone opens the door. Silly kitty! James eats food from our daughter's plate ALL the time. In fact she feeds him odd things and he loves them! Even ice cream and lettuce... Tucker is trying to emulate him with the meowing at the door thing! LOL they sure have minds and wills of their own, huh? Thank you for sharing, you had some great ideas I'd not thought of, and should be in the next few years. Laurie >LOL Our daughter's kitty James is like this as well. I actually had >convinced myself he was the only *social eater* in the world. I've never [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >James eats food from our daughter's plate ALL the time. In fact she feeds >him odd things and he loves them! Even ice cream and lettuce... Sounds a lot like Maynard. The only difference is that he doesn't ask for attention with his food. He just waits for our food. I can put something in the microwave and walk away. When it beeps, he will come to me and let out a nice big yowl. Same with the toaster oven. I need to get a timer for the oven. Then he can keep me from burning dinner. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com > >I just wondered how long on average do cats live for roughly as my cat = > >Josie is 10 years old and wondered if she is almost at the stage now = [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Equine and Pet Photography > http://www.zoocrewphoto.com Meghan, have you tried Cosequin for your cat with arthritis? Here's some information: http://www.drlarrypetvet.com/shop_cosequin.html MaryL >Meghan, have you tried Cosequin for your cat with arthritis? Here's some >information: http://www.drlarrypetvet.com/shop_cosequin.html Thanks. I'll check it out. He gets one that has glucosamine and other stuff. And it does seem to help. But I am always open to something better. He still jumps when he needs to, and he does the stairs really well. But I also see him taking short cuts whenever he can, and he begs to be picked up sometimes. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com circa Mon, 16 Feb 2004 02:57:23 -0600, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, MaryL (carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER) said, > Meghan, have you tried Cosequin for your cat with arthritis? Here's some > information: http://www.drlarrypetvet.com/shop_cosequin.html Mary, do you know how much Cosequin costs? Their web site doesn't seem to say. Thanks, Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > circa Mon, 16 Feb 2004 02:57:23 -0600, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, > MaryL (carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER) said, [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Laura Laura, I'll check into it. I don't need Cosequin yet, but Megan gave me comparative prices some time ago for my sister. I'll ask her to refresh my memory and then will pass it on to you. MaryL circa Mon, 16 Feb 2004 04:27:46 -0600, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, MaryL (carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER) said, > > Mary, do you know how much Cosequin costs? Their web site doesn't > > seem to say. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > comparative prices some time ago for my sister. I'll ask her to refresh my > memory and then will pass it on to you. Muchas gracias! Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated.
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