age your pet

jimf

whats the oldest past or present pet you ever owned just as a matter of interest

my father inlaw was adamant their dog was 23 when he died

Lawrence1895

One of my pet rats in Germany was 3.5 years, when she passed away. That's quite old for those pets, afaik

SillyMangoX

My dog was 15 when she passed away, had her for most of my life, and the only time she ever saw a vet was to be neutered!

Lawless2k12

I've been unlucky. Gave a home to 7 stray cats and the longest one ever lasted was a year. One only lasted 3 weeks before a car splattered him. Admittedly I actually hit one myself. It was asleep under the car and was deaf so it didn't hear the car. Rolled straight over it's head. Felt terrible about it. Found my current cat in a ditch as a kitten and it's now ~3 years old. Had a dog that was about 4 years old but some c*nts came and stole him one night when no one was home. Never saw him again.

Gael23

My dog was 13 a few weeks ago. We mostly only had the regular annual trip to the vet for shots etc until 2 years ago which was good going. Now he suffers from some age related conditions which require medication and more regular visits to the vets but he's doing good! Got him for my 1st communion and now I'm 3rd year university so he's a huge part of me!

phonypony

Had a Labrador live to an (I think) amazing 17 before being put to sleep. Very difficult to do considering his mind was as sharp as ever, his body let him down.

jimf

phonypony wrote: »

Had a Labrador live to an (I think) amazing 17 before being put to sleep. Very difficult to do considering his mind was as sharp as ever, his body let him down.

thats an amazing age for a lab

falabo

I had a Whippet who lived 17 years

littlebug

My mothers dog is ~about~ 16 . Deaf as a post, eyesight and legs not great but still manages to bark at cartoon dogs on the telly

Duvetdays

The family tortoise is in her 60's and still going strong

Mo60

I've been lucky with my dogs so far, all have lived to at least 15 years.
The last one to pass away, last April aged 17+, was blind for a few years but adjusted and stil enjoyed life right until the end.

The oldest of my brood has just turned 10 years, so I hope she has a good few years left to enjoy.

jimf

Mo60 wrote: »

I've been lucky with my dogs so far, all have lived to at least 15 years.
The last one to pass away, last April aged 17+, was blind for a few years but adjusted and stil enjoyed life right until the end.

The oldest of my brood has just turned 10 years, so I hope she has a good few years left to enjoy.

you have been lucky the oldest i had myself was 13 jackrussell/beagle cross called nelson mad as a hatter to the end

jimf

Duvetdays wrote: »

The family tortoise is in her 60's and still going strong

is it true they can live to a hundred

Stheno

I'd a collie I rescued from the pound who was in bits and the vets aged him at twenty plus, got a few months of happiness before he went away.

Also a Schipperke I ended up via rescue who was known to be 21 as he'd had the one owner who had passed away, he (the schipperke) was blind and deaf but again had a few months, before he died naturally in no pain.

johnayo

My 13 year old westie is snoring away on a mat in front of me. It will be a sad day for us when he decides to pop his clogs.

up for anything

One of our family dogs, Champ, was a cross between a rough collie and an alsation and he lived till he was 17.

jimf

johnayo wrote: »

My 13 year old westie is snoring away on a mat in front of me. It will be a sad day for us when he decides to pop his clogs.

its funny really the older they get the more they pull at your heart strings

kylith

Honey, the dog I had as a kid, lived to be 16 before she, blind and deaf, managed to escape the garden and vanish off to die. She was bad tempered and dog aggressive but I still miss her, dammit.

jimf

kylith wrote: »

Honey, the dog I had as a kid, lived to be 16 before she, blind and deaf, managed to escape the garden and vanish off to die. She was bad tempered and dog aggressive but I still miss her, dammit.

they seem to know themselves when their time has come i have heard other stories like this

toadfly

Cody died at 17.5 on my grandmothers anniversary. God I love that dog

Cody.jpg

johndoe99

My Cat will be 19 in May.

jimf

johndoe99 wrote: »

My Cat will be 19 in May.

how is he/she health wise thats a brilliant age

seamus

Only lost one dog so far, the first dog we'd ever gotten, a Jack Russell. She only managed 11 years, her heart started failing on her. She was highly strung and a little overweight for most of her life, so that's probably what did it.

As much as I loved her and was heartbroken, she was really the family dog (in reality she was closest to my mum). Whereas with Darcey, she's the first dog myself and my wife got and she's our dog. While I've come to terms with the fact that her life is short, I've no idea how I'm going to cope when she goes. Thankfully she's only six now, and aside from an allergic skin condition and a missing leg she's as strong as an ox. Basically never gets sick.

My wife had a cat that lived to 19 and up till she was 17 or 18, was still as spritely as ever. Deaf as post for half her life and missing half her ears because she was albino (they had to be removed to avoid sunburn), but a great little cat. In the end she didn't go slowly, which I think the family were thankful for. She slowed down herself but was still all into cuddles and running around the house. Then one day she went off her food and started sleeping 23 hours of the day and she was gone a couple of days later. The Vet offered to try save her, but everyone agreed that at 19 years of age, the stress of going through an operation, recovery, etc, would probably kill her and make her last few days of life very unenjoyable.

jimf

seamus wrote: »

Only lost one dog so far, the first dog we'd ever gotten, a Jack Russell. She only managed 11 years, her heart started failing on her. She was highly strung and a little overweight for most of her life, so that's probably what did it.

As much as I loved her and was heartbroken, she was really the family dog (in reality she was closest to my mum). Whereas with Darcey, she's the first dog myself and my wife got and she's our dog. While I've come to terms with the fact that her life is short, I've no idea how I'm going to cope when she goes. Thankfully she's only six now, and aside from an allergic skin condition and a missing leg she's as strong as an ox. Basically never gets sick.

My wife had a cat that lived to 19 and up till she was 17 or 18, was still as spritely as ever. Deaf as post for half her life and missing half her ears because she was albino (they had to be removed to avoid sunburn), but a great little cat. In the end she didn't go slowly, which I think the family were thankful for. She slowed down herself but was still all into cuddles and running around the house. Then one day she went off her food and started sleeping 23 hours of the day and she was gone a couple of days later. The Vet offered to try save her, but everyone agreed that at 19 years of age, the stress of going through an operation, recovery, etc, would probably kill her and make her last few days of life very unenjoyable.

my inlaws dog had an operation for testicular cancer at 19 the vet said the anasthetic would probably kill him 2 days later hes back to his old grumpy self unless you had taytos for him then you were his best friend

FutureGuy

We had a cat that lived to be 17 years.

kylith

jimf wrote: »

they seem to know themselves when their time has come i have heard other stories like this

I've heard the same myself. It was years ago now, but my dad is still heartbroken over it and blames himself. He just went to put the bin out, a task that took him 5' from the gate and lasted 30 seconds and it was enough for the dog to slip out. She'd been having difficulty finding her kennel for months, was blind, deaf, and quite arthritic but that 30 seconds was enough for her to vanish. He tore every ditch and hedge apart for days looking for her.

Bannasidhe

Had a JRT who lived to be 16 years and 2 months before we had to pts her due to a massive liver tumour - she went rapidly downhill in her last 2 weeks and stopped eating in the end.

She was half blind, deaf as a post, had arthritis and was a bit forgetful but still barked at the world, did a dance when one of her people got home, loved her grub, claimed the garden as hers and went for walks -although we carried her more than she walked- sniffing the air happily. She remained firmly Alpha Dog until the day she died ruling the house from her bed by the fire - her beautiful heart was as strong as an ox and it broke my heart to give the go ahead to stop it but the rest of her body had given up. She spent her last 48 hours cuddled up with me- I felt like she was telling me she had to go but didn't want to leave me so I had to make the decision.

I miss her so very very much.

Boombastic

My last dog lived with me for 14 years after I rescued him as a pup (collie x). My current pup is 9 months, living with me for 6.

brrabus

My sisters cat died last year at the fine age of 21. He was a beauty and one of the laziest cats I have ever seen. He was called Filthy, I know weird but does not surprise me knowing my sister.

jimf

brrabus wrote: »

My sisters cat died last year at the fine age of 21. He was a beauty and one of the laziest cats I have ever seen. He was called Filthy, I know weird but does not surprise me knowing my sister.

for your sake i hope she doesnt see this or you may have some explaining to do

brrabus

jimf wrote: »

for your sake i hope she doesnt see this or you may have some explaining to do

LOL, she will just laugh, she is totally nuts. She loves the shock factor, my mum was disgusted when she initially named him and kept saying "I can't call him that" but over the years my mum just go used to it. So funny hearing my mum say "poor filthy" when he was ill at the end.

Irish Stones

A friend of mine had a cat that died at 19.5 years.
But the oldest cat I ever met was a Ragdoll at my vet's. My vet keeps some customers' pets at her clinic while they're away. This cat I met was 24, but she looked much younger. When my vet dared me to guess this cat's age I said 12...

johndoe99

jimf wrote: »

how is he/she health wise thats a brilliant age

Perfectly fine. I often say she'll live another 19 years, she's a house cat. She's missing a few teeth, she can't jump to high walls anymore. She never leaves the garden anymore.

Duvetdays

jimf wrote: »

is it true they can live to a hundred

Not sure how old they live to out of the wild. She's the easiest pet possible sleeps for about 5mths of the year and doesn't need walking.
She's fond of the odd slug though and caught a parasite infection off one similar to lungworm and was in a bad way for a while last year, racked up quite the vets bill!

fatmammycat

My older cat Puddy was PTS at 21 last year, due to a long running battle with cancer and progressively worsening ear problems. The remaining two cats are rolling up to 20 and 13. The 20 year old- despite being short a few teeth- is as active and annoying as ever (he very much likes to break into all our neighbours' homes and has 'issues' with doors being closed). He is currently asleep in the hotpress. The 'baby' was a feral rescue kitten we had to hand feed and he only has one eye. He is now happy little bowling ball with feet.

foreversky

my aunts dog died was nealy 19 yrs old jack russel x.was deaf, nearly blind.cousin backing out van and didt see him . 2 days later pts.cousins were fairly upset.the dog would normally haved moved,but didt hear the car.:( will be a year gone may 21st.

beveragelady

There's a very sweet headstone in the front garden of my house. It is in memory of a dog who died in 1877, aged 20 years. The chap down the road says his dog was at least 22 when he was killed last summer in a farm accident. My closest neighbour insists his sheepdogs always live until they're eighteen or nineteen unless they get killed on the road in their first two years. I hope there's something in the water in the area that gives dogs long and health lives, as I have two collies myself.

PucaMama

we lost our 14 year old cockatiel joey last night

jimf

PucaMama wrote: »

we lost our 14 year old cockatiel joey last night

thats sad its never easy to loose a pet

mymo

My granny (we pretty much lived at her house with the animals) had a dog born 6 months before me who died aged 17 just as I finished my exams. He looked like a 1/2 sized retriever and was our best friend growing up. Had a dodgy heart according to vet, from about 3, needed no meds until he was 14, played footie, tennis, fetch and chased all 4 of us around to the end.

The next dog was bigger, a boxer x lab that had to be put down at 16 due to inoperable tumour.

I had a cat growing up that travelled on London buses daily (from our flat to nans house as i wouldnt leave her home alone! i was 2)until she decided she wanted to move into my nans permanently, she lived to 18 there, along with my nans cats, Sugar who was 23 when she died, and Honey who was 21.

My dads cat died 2 years ago aged 19, in fact any family cats lived at least 15yrs, when we were growing up.

My daughters cat is Jake, 13 in June and happily wrestling Mouse(kitten) in front of the fire, daughter has grown up with him and his brother Harry since she was 2. They were dressed up, walked in the pram, taught to do tricks (jake high fives and will jump through hula hoop), sadly Harry passed away age 8, the day we got our older dog, I think the pup kept jake from pining away at the loss.
We adopted a cat Toby shortly after, aged we think about 9 now (still in fine health) Then another pup, now 4 and have 4 rats aged between 11 months and 4 months, and a 6 month old kitten.

Rats average 2 1/2 years, sadly not long at all, but both breeds of dog we have are supposed to live to 16+ on average (Oliver is 5 and still behaves like a pup), fingers crossed they make that.

Wibbs

A cockatiel like PucaMama's at 14. Died in my hands. Very hard :( Sorry to read that PM. Very good age for a cocky though. As if that's any consolation.:(

My last dog reached 17, big lad too. Died in his sleep. I still miss him.

My childhood(v popular in the 1970's) red eared turtle who died at 36. That hit me hard I have to say as he was kinda my last link to childhood in a way. Been with me in life and moves all through my early years, then teenage, then 20's and into my 30's. I currently have an Amboina box turtle I got 20 odd years ago and she's still in the full of her health so her and my musk turtle - at 19 barely a baby - will likely outlast me. TBH I mentioned them in my will I drew up many years ago. So they'll hopefully irritate my beneficiary long after I'm an urn on a mantle.

Jen Pigs Fly

Old pony I knew died at the ripe age of 43 she was a little rocket and enjoyed a nice retirement for the final 10 years of her life.