Our oldest cat is coming up 18years and is such an integral part of the family he will be sorely missed when he goes to the great cat box.

He spends most of his day going from one sunny patch to the next but he too has his moments of second (third? fourth? sixth?) kitten-hood

My boy Lui, a Samoyed, is 9 and a half, so whilst not quite as energetic as he was when he was younger he's still doing great. He's matured a lot (finally!) and he's a lot easier to be around since he's calmer. He still acts young though, people are always surprised when I say how old he is, but that craziness he used to have is gone. His grandmother and aunt lived to 14 1/2 and 15 1/2, and he's well-bred and healthy as so hopefully he'll do the same. But I agree, it'll never be long enough.

Four years ago, my parents acquired an 11 year old lab X, who somehow had become surplus to requirements and was either going to mum or the vet. He is an absolute joy, an affectionate, cheerful old man - despite the arthritis - who is wonderful company for the other, younger dog. If he was a human he'd be the jovial old geezer shouting beers in the RSA. Fingers crossed he'll be sticking with us for a year or two yet - though given my family's history with keeping animals (cats till 18), I'd say it's a safe bet.

My family farmlet is now the geriatic centre for aged animals. We have a 36 year old pony, an 18 year old cat, a 13 (?) year old ram (and ewes that frequently die of old age in the pasture rather than at the abbatoir) and, up until recently, a flock of silkie bantams who were an average 10 years old a piece (unfortunately these were prey for the native falcons). Pony still gets frisky in the spring, cat is the only one to keep younger (5 years) feline in check, ram still does the job and the chickens were laying up until the end. Must be all that sunshine and fresh air!

That last sentence almost made me cry. I lost my dog last year, she was a cocker spaniel and lived to 15. Dad was distraught when he had to take her to the vets. We got her when I was 9 and as an only child she became my one true friend. I love older dogs, they are very relaxed, they enjoy a good scratch and don't need you to chuck an endless number of tennis balls their way for them to be happy.

This post also made me pretty sad. I lost my little cat about 2 months ago and he was 16. He had a failing heart but was a little battler right until the end, and had quite the little personality, like a grumpy little codger who would tell you straight out you were bugging him. I've never done anything so hard before when I took him to the Vets for the last time, but I guess that's part of being a pet owner.

Not in a hurry to have another cat though. Perhaps next year I might think about it.

Our eldest cat is 20 in November. She has a pretty cushy life, just eating and sleeping. We use the 'elevator' to put her onto the sofa where she sleeps. She meows and one of us picks her up and places her on the sofa! Her brother died at 17 and we thought she was on her way out a couple of years ago too, however a trip to the vets and a steroid jab seemed to help her athritis so on she goes. Hubby reckons we'll get a keg in for the big party in November haha.

We have 2 8 year old Great Dane boys, that is getting pretty old for a Dane. Both were pretty full on when younger and great show dogs, now they are my grey faced darlings. I adore them more now than when they were young strapping boy's winning well in the show ring. There is nothing that can compare to a wonderful, sweet, aged grey faced dog or cat. I know full well that my husband and I will be devastated when the time comes for our 2 much loved old boys to cross the Rainbow Bridge. It is hard to imagine life without them, we have no children, these boys are our family.

"He even managed to catch a couple of mice and a bird at the age of 16.." . It is sad that you find this ok - i am sure you do realize that cats are major threat to native bird population?! And before you tell me that the bird 'was not a native one' (as cat owners sometimes do) - a cat does not care whether the bird is a native or not. Cats are hunters and will kill birds (as well as skinks, native lizards and whatever else they can get their paws on) . It is absolute shame that cat owners are sometimes proud of 'their little hunters'. And before you ask: yes, I have a cat, she is 13 and is an inside cat, as i, as a rewsponsible cat owner, dont want her killing birds. I like your blog, but what you wrote in this post is disappointing.

I got my cat when I was 11 and he is about to turn 18 next month. Sure he's gotten scrawny and we think he is now deaf, but he still manages to leap up on to our second floor balcony and has a healthy appetite. I do notice that as animals get older they tend to get lonely and like to follow you around more.

One of the hardest things about dogs getting old is when they get arthritis and you have to try to lift your large and heavy dog in and out of the car!