most of my cats have lived until 17...
but my present cat is now 18 years old and doing very well.

it's been known for cats to live as long as 22-25 years...
but i think 17 years is more typical for a house cat.

nutrition is *very* critical as long as yearly checkups by a vet

cats also need a lot of attention...brushing and petting.
a happy cat is a long lived cat!

My husband had a deaf white female named Terminator.  She died at the
age of 21.  On her last Saturday, she was chasing shadows from one end
of the house to another.  On Sunday she took sick and died in his
arms.  A life lived well.....

My last cat lived 'til he was 14 and was very healthy and active before
dying from a tick bite. My boy before that was a least 13-14, we
weren't exactly sure as he was feral before adopting us.

Nine is pretty young in cat years.  Check out the cat age chart for help in
understanding
http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/agechart.htm

My male orange  tabby who I had to put to sleep last year
was 19 at the time.   He had lost a lot of weight, he was having
bowel problems.  
------------------------------------------

http://www.barnabascollins.blogspot.com

Nine is just middle age for a house cat, or even an indoor/outdoor cat
that doesn't roam far.  I have two thirteen year old cats that are in
better health and spirits as indoor/outdoor rural cats than they were
five years ago as indoor cats.

I had a cat that lived for 25 years. She was a real sweetie.

The longest a cat has lived was reported to be 36 years!  My last two cats
lived to 22 and 19.  My oldest present cat is 19 and still going strong!

Decreasing a cat's daily caloric intake to about 40 kcals/kg/day often
increases longivity because it decreases the workload on the liver and
kidneys.  Feeding canned food will also improve urinary tract and kidney
function.

See my site for the  Key Nutritional Factors Older Cats

http://www.maxshouse.com/Clinical_Nutrition/key_nutritional_factors.htm#Key%20Nu
tritional%20Factors%20For%20Older%20Cats

and:

http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

Phil