Today, I want to report on results of a research study on aging cats and share shocking stories of cats who return from the grave.
An article in Science Daily on aging cats caught my eye recently and I thought you might find it interesting, too. According to studies, an estimated that 20 percent of pet cats in America are 11 years or older. We all know that the new 50 is 30 and the new 70 is 50. Yes, humans are living longer and healthier than ever in history. Those of us who love our cats are thrilled to know that we’re seeing a similar trend toward longevity in cats. Here’s the story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160706114621.htm
And here’s a shocking story about a cat who was hit by a car and killed, only to return from the grave. http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/zombie-cat-buried-cat-believed-dead-meows-back/story?id=28519513
This story reminds me of something that happened in my own family. My brother-in-law had a kitten who wasn’t thriving. After observing the baby cat for a several days, he and my father-in-law decided to put the poor, sickly creature out of its misery, so they put it into a plastic bag full of gas fumes. Ick. (You’d better believe I wasn’t there and I didn’t hear about this until it was over, or it wouldn’t have happened.) Well, they checked on the kitten a few times during the process and it was still moving. So they added gas to the bag. The next time they checked, the kitten had become so active, he’d wriggled himself onto the floor—yes, still inside the baggie and still alive. When they saw this, they decided the kitten wanted to live, so they gave him another chance and the little guy lived on for many years. Although there is a happy ending to this story, that was still an awful way to treat a sickly kitten.
Few of my cats over the years enjoyed longevity until Katy, a Himalayan I bought at a pet store. My beautiful Katy lived to be 17 and a half. We lost Max this year. We had found him and his siblings in our woodpile when they were very young kittens. Max grew into a big boy and he also lived to be over 17 years old.
Also this week, we’ll talk about cat-mobiles offering low-cost spay/neuter clinics; cats who found themselves in precarious situations; tips for keeping your cat out of the Christmas tree; the true dangers of ribbon, yarn and string for cats, and we’ll discuss whether cats have feelings or not.
