One here still alive at age 27
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...herts-21768093
"He's like a little old man really, he gets up, goes out, comes in, has his food and then goes back to sleep."

Another one who made it to at least 31 in 1998
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/233158.stm
and looks rather like mine.
"Smokey is believed to be the country's oldest moggy at 31, the equivalent of 135 in human years".

I wonder how long she survived?

Two things probably help longevity: lots of love and attention and a good diet. I buy my 22 year old cat Salmopet because of the omega 3 fish oil content which should help with skin and fur condition and joint and heart health.

The biggest factor in life span for a domestic cat is whever its an indoor or outdoor cat. Indoor cats tend to live quite a few years longer.
Yes, individual cases may buck this...but ,on average, cats die earlier if they are outdoor cats.

my parents have a cat who is 20, she is senile bless her. She still goes outside granted she can't remember why and just tends to walk round to the back of the house and comes in again and goes and falls asleep on her cushion and repeats that several times a day but you can't stop her going out as she likes being outside especially in the Summer when she loves nothing better than lying in the flower pot in the sun. She gets fed the same food as the others but seems to forget that she has eaten so goes back for more, she has had two hip replacements and she still occasionally plays.

I believe most of the statistical evidence on lifespan of indoor versus outdoor cats relates to cats who only live outside - i.e. feral cats who are exposed to outdoor elements, diseases, inbreeding, multiple pregnancies etc. They generally need to hunt for their food (unless they live in a protected feral colony), they are more often than not unvaccinated and they generally just do not enjoy the benefits of the average pampered and well cared for domestic 'outdoor' cat. There are also people who just do not care for their cats, allow them to breed and roam around outside, leaving them behind when they move on to their next rented home. The average well cared for domestic cat who has access to the outdoors has probably not much less than the expected lifespan of an indoor only cat. Accidents, poisonings, deliberate malicious harm etc are always a risk to the cats who are allowed outside - and these incidents can obviously skew average life expectancies - but the vast majority of domestic cats, with access to outdoors, live long happy and untroubled lives. Indoor cats, on the other hand, are often overweight which in itself predisposes to many medical conditions which can shorten lives. Serious accidents also occur within the home.

I have 3 cats, all very well cared for. They have the best food, they are vaccinated, wormed and flea treated and have routine yearly vet check-ups. They have a cat flap whereby they can access the outdoors but I really wouldn't ever describe them as 'outdoor' cats. They spend about 16 hours a day sleeping indoors and, even in warm weather, when they spend more time outdoors, a lot of that time is spent snoozing under a shaded tree.

Every single person I know has always had cats with access to outdoors and the average lifespan of those cats is about 16 - my best friend's cat lived to 23. A lot of my friends and family had cats who were of the same generation as my late Tabitha who died 2 years ago at 16. Most of those cats have recently died but all deaths were from natural causes, renal failure, cancer, heart failure etc. Nothing to do with being indoors or outdoors. I still really wish my Tabitha had not developed cancer because she was otherwise such a healthy cat with so many years ahead. Despite our best efforts, we cannot always prevent our cats from succumbing to illness and sometimes it can just be a matter of luck as to how long our cats will live.

My last cat 'Twiddle' lived to 23 years old. she played with a picse of string for 20 minutes the night before she died. seems like a nice way to go!

Ah bless her little paws

bless xx

Those outdoor cats who don't live near busy main roads generally do OK.

Also whether they're pedigrees or not, same with dogs. Moggies and mongrels are longer lived than pedigrees - generally - because they're tougher, natural selection rather than artificial selection.

This..

Our 16 year old cat goes outdoors but still spends 90% of his time either sleeping in the house or wondering about in the garden. When he was younger, he'd spend more time outdoors but he's never been a cat to truely wonder the streets - he's been neutered all his adult life though, which helps with this.

My cat is 18, and we just feed her on any old cheapo cat food. She is three legged as well so we always assumed she might not live very long - all the extra strain on her heart. But she seems the same now as she was when she was, say one or two. She sleeps a bit more, but there's no difference in her mobility, etc.

my beautiful old girl made it to 19, she seemed energetic and healthy and then suddenly one day she wasnt...

My bf's cat, who I currently look after, is about17 by now. He is an indoor cat and my bf said has never had health problems; he throws up occasionally when he eats too fast or has hairballs but other than that he is ok.
I have had cats all my life. My very first one, Missy, I don't know how old he was when he died. He used to go out a lot (all my cats back home did or do) and one day he disappeared.
He came back about a week later and he wasn't walking properly and had like something powdery falling out of his ears. He went to die in the canteen before we could do anything for him, poor him . We thought he must have been beaten up by someone.
The following cat Flipper was very naughty, he was hit by a car, I think he was about 2. Same thing happened to Felix (he looked like that Felix yes). We found him one morning in front of our gate. He seemed ok, even though he had been hit by a car. He was even walking. I came back from school and mum said she found him dead in the canteen and then buried him. I know he should have been taken to the vet but mum couldn't take him by herself and dad wasn't home, the cat died before we could take him. He was about 2 as well (maybe 1).
The next cat was Mozart. He disappeared and we don't know what happened to him. He used to be out all day and just get indoors to eat. My sister was devasted when that happened, she looked for him everywhere, contacted an association and they thought hey had found him (dead) but when she saw the picture of the poor dead cat, she saw it wasn't him even though he looked almost the same. I hope he was simply stolen and he is still alive somewhere (not likely though as he didn't let people get close). He wasn't even 3. My mum still cries if she looks at his pictures.
She got a new cat, female this time, Margot. She is half Norwegian, half Persian and she goes out but doesn't go far, she is always close to the house or in the garden. She spends time lots of time indoors. Hope she gets to live many many years.

A cat we had several years ago died here at home aged 22. Susie was fine when my mother went shopping locally, but when she came back, she found Susie curled up as if asleep, under her chair. We had often joked that we should return her to the pet shop where we got her as a kitten, and complain that she was an everlasting cat!

Still miss her though as she was a well travelled cat, coming with us whenever and wherever we went on holiday (UK). Did put her in a cattery the first time, but she sulked so much on our return, that not only did she inflict a deep lasting scratch on my mother, but also refused to have anything to do with us for about 4-5 months afterwards

Interestingly enough, a foundling kitten who adopted us a few years later, exhibited similar peronality traits to Susie - a twitch of the tail when she was spoken to as an acknowledgement that she'd heard you but was otherwise busy, happy to be put in a carry box and travel around, looking at everything with interest. Sadly she had to be pts afther 12 happy years with us, as she had developed a bowel tumour. It was always in the back of my mind though, was she Susie in another body? Fanciful I know - but.....

I personally think genetics plays a part too, I know of a lady who had a brother and sister, both outdoor cats, fed on whatever she bought (no doubt lots of small bird/mice etc too) and both lived well into their 20's.

They were also unneutered and never vaccinated, she tried to slip them Panacur but often they refused 'tainted' food.

My parents have a cat who will be 20 next month, he is my mums baby. I live in France so they pay a 'cat-sitter' £10 a day to come and feed him when they are here, or on other hols. They would love to spend more time here but my mum hates to leave Barnaby for to long. He was found as a kitten in a carrier bag and has always been nervous. With his kitty dementia he is better with other people than before.