Tory went in for his yearly check up and shots. The vet pronounced that he "passed", so he looks to be good to go for another year. He seems to be the only animal that doesn't show his age in any noticeable manner. He does spend more time inside than he did in his earlier years, but that is the only change. He is 10 years old.
Missy has no cartilage in her knees so she gimps around and has a hard time with stairs. This has been a problem for a long time and I can only ease the pain with asperin. Doesn't keep her from playing, but she has certainly slowed down this year (she is 10 1/2 years old).
Prince moves well, but his facial coloring has grayed and the brown markings have faded to tan. His eyes have the bluish tinge of those that have cataracts - although he still seems to see fairly well. He is also (to the best of our knowledge) around 10 1/2 years old.
Shadow started losing weight late last winter. During his anual visit to the vet I asked her to pay particular attention to his teeth as I only saw him eating canned food, which is not the usual fare of the cats. She said his teeth were fine, and that is when I realized that he was only eating canned food because that is when I put him on the table (it's a ritual that goes back to when we got Tory and Indy as kittens - Only Shadow was priviledged enough for me to lift him up for the treat). Anyway, I started keeping a chair slid back from the table, and he started using that as a step to get to the food (he has regained his weight). Shadow is around 12 years old.
Fuzzy, well, he's just Fuzzy. Seems to be doing well, without any changes. Of course he has only been inside for a little less than a year, so it's hard to tell. And, since he was a feral cat, we have no idea how old he is, but he is at least 8 years old.
Birdie doesn't seem to change either. We have had him for 6 years, and I believe he was 5-6 years old at that time (I used to work with the people I got him from, so think I remember when they got him). Those numbers would put him at 11 or 12. Cockatiels live from 12-15 years, although they can get up to 20.
It's hard to believe that time has flown by like this - all our dogs, cats and the bird are getting up there in age.
Amazing that we humans are not the only animals to age, isn't it? At age 10, your animals are probably a bit over half-way along their life lines? They have a good life with you and WS. That counts!
Posted by: Cop Car | August 22, 2010 at 06:56 PM
Our menagerie is mostly young with two exceptions, one being being Bagheera, who is 11 years old. We know Charlotte isn't a young cat, but we have no idea how old she is. The rest of our feline residents range from 2 to 4 years of age.
Posted by: DCE | August 22, 2010 at 07:21 PM
The oldest one of our pets has gotten was New, at 16. Our German Shephard mixes are considered old - most getting to 10-13 years of age.
The cats are also considered fairly old (most live 12-15 years).
Posted by: bogie | August 24, 2010 at 04:09 AM
The oldest one of our pets has gotten was New, at 16. Our German Shephard mixes are considered old - most getting to 10-13 years of age.
The cats are also considered fairly old (most live 12-15 years).
Posted by: bogie | August 24, 2010 at 04:10 AM
Bogie--I always think that whatever I experience is "average". CC & Jelly made it to about (nearly?) 20 years. (I finally broke down and let Jelly go two weeks ago. *mourning* Your dad and I miss them; but, I'm not thinking of replacing them for practical reasons. Maybe when HH and I are no longer active in Red Cross.)
I still say, that as well-loved as your family members are, the quality of their lives count!
Posted by: Cop Car | August 24, 2010 at 11:05 AM