What’s the oldest pet you’ve ever had as a member of your family?
I certainly hold no records, but now that my Yorkie mix is 17+ years old, I wonder often how long she can last. She’s still going strong, for a five-pounder who’s lost much sight and hearing. But she’s my oldest dog ever, after many years of golden retrievers—a breed that unfortunately tends to die young.
My oldest golden made it to age 15. He was the exception.
I’ve got a better record with cats. The two I had before my current cat both lived to age 21+ although the last years weren’t always easy. I knew their ages because they’d both come to me as kittens, one from an unplanned mating of cats who lived next door, the other from a local animal shelter.
They were both indoor/outdoor cats. My last indoor/outdoor cats.
My current cat is indoor only. I am comfortable with that decision.
I’m not alone in having had cats who’ve lived more than two decades!
Dick Hill (Michigan) [Our oldest pet was] 22, a cat named Maxie. She was the best climber we ever had, smallish, adventurous. Good mouser. Would accompany us on walks. Slept in a nest she’d make of Susie’s hair, which was long for a number of years.
Lynn Brezina (Illinois) A cat named Kitsch. She lived to be 21. I bought her from an infamous local pet store—a store that was part circus, part pet supply. A person in the neighborhood who had her mother brought her kittens into the store. Back in the day, people did that and were not run out of town on a rail or scandalized on social media.
Julie Ellingson (California) 20-year-old cat named Royal. I was active in the SCA, a medieval recreation group, and the King of the West had a litter of kittens in his back yard. They were semi-feral, and I fished her, a tiny hissing ball of tortoiseshell fluff, out of the wood pile. She became perhaps one of the most loyal pets I’ve ever owned. I remember most her watchfulness when I was living alone in an apartment. I think there was a neighbor she didn’t trust. She would rest at the foot of my bed and occasionally moan a kitty warning growl. Nothing ever happened, but I don’t doubt she would have been a fierce ball of fluff and needles if that person ever had come in. It only happened in that apartment. She never did it after we moved. She was there before children, and was so sweet and kind to my babies and tolerant when they were toddlers. She loved being picked up and cuddled. I miss her still.
Christine Hale Vertucci (Illinois) My tortie cat, Chica, is 22 years old and counting, and is currently our vet clinic’s oldest client. She’s one of two fosters that we adopted. She’s welcomed four Rottweilers and numerous other foster dogs and cats into our home, fearlessly moved with us three times, and outlived many of her furry family members. She actually loves the dogs, and she and Omar are practically inseparable. They’ve stayed by each other’s side through illnesses and post-surgeries. We call her the “terminator” because every time we have a scare and think the end might be near for her, she bounces back stronger than before. Chica has had a few tumors removed that were benign, had feline lower urinary tract disease, and was diagnosed with kidney failure and hypothyroidism years ago. Her most recent labs were WNL (within normal limits), and I expect she’ll be with us for quite some time.
Marni Fowler (Florida) 23-and-a-half, China. I knew her from the day she was born. She was an amazing cat. Solid white except for a black smudge on her head that disappeared as she got to be a year old. I think I plucked the last two hairs so she would be solid white. She had that silky bunny-soft hair. I swore she was going to outlive us all. The fact she lived as long as she did was a miracle in itself, given she had chronic diarrhea for the first two years of her life. She was the sweetest cat, always up for a snuggle in her younger days. As she got older, she became less tolerant, but hey, I’d like to see how tolerant we would be if we were her age (over 100 in people years, we’re guessing). She was strong up until the end, eating and drinking and hobbling around as best she could. Trying to bite me at every opportunity whenever I tried to clean her up. She had to have a bath at least once a week. She may have been old, but she was quick!!
Amy Shojai (Texas) Seren was 21 years, 10 months old when we let her go, my teeny Siamese wannabe.
Jewels Eilmes-Daly (Arizona) I had a 24-year-old cat. She was in great shape and some jerk shot her. She was inside almost all of the time, but she’d let us know when she wanted out. Sweetest kitty ever.
Marie Hammerling (Florida) Our Siamese who lived to 21, even though she had diabetes.
Michel Berner (Wisconsin) My cat (barn cat, indoor/outdoor) was just shy of 22 years old when he died.
James M. Canavan (Canada) Had a cat that died two weeks shy of her 26th birthday.
Cheri A. Moore (Washington) Cuddles was 21+ when she passed. She was a calico that we adopted from a lady who had rescued her from a family that mistreated her. The rescuer had taken Cuddles to the vet and had all the shots done, had her spayed, and then went to license her and was told no, as she already had three cats (the City of Spokane’s limit, at least then). We had Cuddles as an indoor-only cat for close to 21 years. She was a loved and loving cat who slept every night with my daughter. Cuddles loved to have her belly rubbed and would lie for hours with my husband rubbing her belly or her face. She enjoyed having him take his hand and cover her entire face and rub it! I think the combination of being very loved and being indoors-only contributed to her long life.
Serena Patterson (Canada) Alice, the tortoiseshell cat, outlived my first marriage by several years to the age of 21. Got me through homesickness, graduate school, pregnancy, the first 13 years of parenthood, 12 years of marriage, my divorce, and the first six years of my first post-graduate job. Peed on the man whom I would marry, and on student term papers 20 years later. I should have listened to her more.
Photo by Karen Boyett
Dogs don’t live as long as cats, usually, but there are definitely exceptions.
Trish McMillan (North Carolina) Cosmo, my mini Aussie, was given to me (a professional trainer) by clients after he bit yet another person in their home. He lived with me from age six to 14, earned a few rally titles, and, most importantly, gave up biting.
Dianna Stearns (Maryland) 15+—my college dog, a sheltie mix. $5 from the Houston SPCA in 1968. A great companion.
Cheri Spaulding (Oregon) My oldest pet was my Labrador, Samantha. She lived to be 16.
Linda D. Keast (Oregon) Eli, my over-sized papillon, lived to be 16. He was a highly active therapy dog, did canine freestyle, rally, and barn hunt up until his health caught up with him. The last three years were mostly comfortable, but due to chemo for his cancer, loss of hearing, and fading vision, his ability to interact got less and less.
Shannon Thier (California) I had husky/Dalmatian mix littermate sisters who were found in a hot South Florida dumpster at eight weeks. I had them since then, their whole lives. One passed last February at 16.5 years, and her sister five months later, last July, just two months shy of her 17th birthday.
Kathy Smith (North Carolina) The love of my life, Rebel. He was 16.5 years old when he passed. Adopted from the Georgia Samoyed Rescue (because the previous owners didn’t care for his barking as a puppy). I had him from six months on and we were inseparable. The lessons Rebs taught me were immeasurable, but probably the top three that stick out now are:1) You can be in charge without being a total jerk. Just show strong leadership and others will follow. 2) Always find opportunities to find humor in situations. Rebel’s antics to laugh at me are legendary. 3) Teach people that they are important and most of all lovable. Rebs showed me the greatest love I’ve ever known. That’s why losing him still hurts today.
Colette Kase (Mexico) We lost Midas not that long ago. She was 17 and had been to five countries. Born in Peckham, London—died in Merida, Yucatan. A rather odd mix, to say the least—Staffordshire bull terrier x Hungarian puli. We didn’t make that up. We met the mother and the father lived a couple of doors down. It was an accidental mating. Thank goodness, no one has ever tried to replicate it! We loved her, but she wasn’t for everyone.
Ingrid Bock (New York) I loved and lived with Tater Tot from when he was 1.5 until his death at age 17, after a very brief illness (a heart event). Except for another brief episode of gastroenteritis years earlier, he was never sick, meaning that he had less than 24 hours of illness total, for 17 years. When he went deaf, he somehow picked up my sign language. He was a wonderful dog, a dog who was up for anything and down with anything and ready to do whatever you wanted to do, but who had plenty of his own good ideas. He was an expert rodent hunter, although that wasn’t something I particularly encouraged. I adopted him from the local downtown shelter, which used to be a bit of hell (much better now). I believed him to be a Pomeranian/Aussie or silky terrier mix, hence Tater Tot (pomme de terre). He ran almost unbelievably fast, and once I saw him enter into a race with another of my dogs (one I had recently adopted) who seemed to me to have been challenging him to it. (I’m not sure, but that’s what it looked like. Never seen it before or since.) I was in awe to see the two of them running just for the sheer joy of it, and to try (I guess) to outrun the other. Tater Tot would play with anyone, and I once had to save him (again, I’m not sure) from a mastiff who appeared to be tipping over into prey drive. He was really something, that Tater Tot.
Sara Maynard (Trinidad and Tobago) Jack. He was a little over 17. He and his sister were thrown into a cesspit as pups. I rescued them. It took months for him to allow us to touch him and to relax (he would just sit and face the wall). Slowly, he began to trust us, and changed into the happiest little dog we have ever had. He would dance and spin whenever he got excited, and became top dog in our family.
Laurie K. Wilkins-Scible (Virginia) We had a Labrador/golden mix who lived until she was 17.5 years.
Donna Furneaux (Canada) I had an 18-year-old bichon named Peri. I got her at nine weeks from a lady who thought she might like to breed bichons. Peri came from a good line, but the lady cried when she sold her to us. She had the typical bichon teeth problem as well as bladder stones. I don’t know why she lived to be so old. Outside of getting her to the vet if there was a problem, I didn’t even give her a particularly good diet for the first eight years of her life. She always had a companion dog whom she liked to force into submission. Her life was filled with new experiences—a cottage, hiking in Algonquin park, and two people who loved her. She was a nice dog and the reason why I went from being a beagle owner to being a bichon owner. I am currently on bichon #5.
Tiffany Niederle Copley (Ohio) My mom adopted a mini poodle who was supposedly 14—she had him six years, so if that was correct, 20. The oldest one I know the actual birthdate of was almost 17 when she died. She was a peke mix.
Marni Dlin (Canada) 19.5. Parsons Russell terrier and my bff, Bailey.
Val Harvey (United Kingdom) Mongrel (mixed-breed) dog, Lassie—came to us at six weeks, died when she was nineteen and a half. Had surgery for stomach cancer at eleven, a couple of vestibular episodes, but was still going out for a walk and enjoying life until just before she passed. Her name probably gives you an idea that she came to us in 1960. My mum trained her using lure and reward.
Jeanne Brennan (California) I had a little guy that we called a min-pin-ahuahua. He came to me as an adult rescue foster. Three different vets felt his guesstimated age of nine years was about right. He was my first small and first foster fail. That sweet little character was with me for 12 years . . . so 20 to 21 years old when he passed? His name was Rocky. The vets felt the impairment on his left side was a birth defect. He had a skippy little walk, but he still did his best to run with my Akita/GSD mix.
Laurence Vineyard (Washington) First puppy from my mom’s dog. “White Boy” was a cocker cross. He made it 21.5 years—late 1980s to early 2000s.
Dawn Elberson Goehring (Hawaii) My Dallas, sheltie mix, that just passed was 20. And Odie, our Chinese crested we still have, turns 20 in October. Odie came to us as a rescue at four from a woman that raised him from a pup. She got divorced and couldn’t keep him. He has been my husband’s dog, actually. My dogs are all working type and Odie is just a snuggler. He still seeks human comfort and settles down right next to us each night in bed. I have had several dogs over the age of 17. I think mental enrichment, good diet, and positive-based (no fear) training has led my dogs to live a low-stress, happy, and enriched life. Not much different from people! We are nearing the end and nothing can really describe what a dog family member means. He has just become a part of our life that will definitely be a hole when he is gone.
Laura Thompson (Oregon) 20. Sam, a spitz-Maltese mix who lived a storied life. He was a great escape artist, and once dug out of our yard under a chicken wire and buried concrete barrier—with a full-leg cast on from one of his previous escapes gone bad!
Rita Bierley (Ohio) Approximately 21 . . . my rescue dachshund, Opie Longdog. He was considered a “senior” when we got him at age seven. He was active and had all his marbles until the last few months of his life. That should really be “at least 21” because he was “at least” seven when we got him!
Melanie Smith (United Kingdom) My 25-year-old Jack Russell, Ben. Also I won a goldfish at a fete that lived till it was ten.
Lisa Carter (California) 26-year-old Dandie Dinmont terrier.
Bird lovers have a lot of age boasts for their chosen feathery companions.
Donovan Arnold DeLeon (Washington) My cockatiel lived to be over 20 years old.
Elizabeth Brush (Washington) My daughter’s blue/gold macaw—she was in her late 20s when she passed. Still miss her mornings . . .
Kat McKenna (Washington) 25. Parakeet. He was an English budgie, really, named Peppermint.
Tricia Del Sorbo-Pape (Virginia) 26-year-old parrot.
Kim Campbell Thornton (California) Our African ringneck parakeet, Larry Bird, lived to be 28. He was a hand-fed baby and walked freely and fearlessly (perhaps foolishly) among the dogs and cats. He bit the cats when they would poke their noses into his cage. so they learned early on to respect him.
Melissa Cara (Massachusetts) My Moluccan cockatoo, Henry, turned 35 this year.
Ann Bemrose (Canada) An African grey parrot, who is still alive—35 years old and living with my daughter, where she (the parrot) rules the roost, so to speak.
Karen Boyett (Texas) I have a blue-headed Amazon parrot that’s 55 years young.
This is the most unusual long-lived pet that anyone commented on:
Katt Patt (Washington) 26-year-old tarantula.
Who’s had the most variety of long-lived pets in their household?
Frankie Joiris (New Jersey) Our red-eared slider was approximately 30 to 40 years old when she died last year. We had her for 25 years; she came to us as a relatively young adult. Mango, our Chinese box turtle, is alive and well at 20, and Bartok, our African grey parrot, whom we have had since he was 12 weeks old, will be 21 this August. Our cat, Edison, lived to be approximately 22 years old (we had him for 20 years and his age was guesstimated at between 2 and 5 when we adopted him). Oldest dog was my first Whippet, Chance, who lived to be just shy of 18.
What pet has had the longest life in the family of any of our commenters?
Val Harvey (United Kingdom) I had a tortoise live with us for several years. Sadly, one of my dogs—she had lived quite happily with several [tortoises] previously—found that she could “roll” her, so we had to rehome her with my cousin. She had been found by my step-mother some 31 years before she came to us. We don’t know how old she was then: that was 30 years ago. She is still living with my cousin’s son. So she is at least [in her] early sixties.
Have you ever met a pet that was in its early sixties?
What’s the oldest pet that your family has ever had?
