What is the longest living pet you have owned?

Recently I met a man who has a 50 year old tortoise. He'd had it ever since he was a young boy. I was also introduced to a very ancient cat, she was around 20 years old, and I have heard of a horse in its thirties.

I think tortoises and parrots are probably the longest living pets. It must be wonderful to have the same companion pet for half a century or more.

Have you or your family been lucky enough to have a pet that has lived for several decades?

Our family had a cat who lived almost 20 years. We'd gotten him as a kitten when my brother and I were teenagers, and he stayed with my parents after we moved out. He'd developed thyroid problems when he was around 14, but my parents kept it under control with regular vet checks and medications. He finally passed away about a year and a half ago when he developed a tumor on his head. He was too old and weak to survive a removal surgery, so my parents just kept him comfortable until the tumor was too large and he was in pain. Even though he's been gone awhile now, it's still weird going to my parents' house and not seeing him.

I've had birds, but just budgies (who don't live all that long compared to other parrots), and now my cockatiel. We're unsure of my cockatiel's age- he's a rescue - but the vet thinks he's a senior bird. I hope he's still around awhile though, since 'tiels can occasionally live into their 30s (around 20 is more normal).

(03-22-2013, 03:21 AM)jenb128 Wrote: We're unsure of my cockatiel's age- he's a rescue - but the vet thinks he's a senior bird. I hope he's still around awhile though, since 'tiels can occasionally live into their 30s (around 20 is more normal).

I had no idea cockatiels could live for so long, but if they are closely related to parrots it does make sense.

I too hope your lovely bird will be around for many years to come.

Well, the longest living pet I owned is the only one I have owned until now. It's a dog, and I've had it for eight years, but I imagine he will be around for many years still, because even thought he's eight years old, he still acts like a puppy, he's very energetic, always running and wanting to go for walks, and hasn't had a health problem in his life, which is great, let's hope he continues like this.

We have a black lab who is now 10 years old. He is aproaching his eleventh birthday this summer. He is still very active and has no major health problems. We have had nashley since he was about a year old. He is like one of my kids and can't remember what it was like without this wonderful dog.

The oldest animal we have in people years is our 19 year old jumper horse, but if we can talk about the age of the pet compared to the lifespan for that animal, I had a beta fish who lived for four years. Those four years included being abandoned in a dorm room over the summer before he belonged to me, three apartment moves and one car crash (We were picking him up from the lady who looked after him while we were out of town...long story. He wound up on the floor of the car and got thrown back into an inch of water. He lived for another two years.)

My current two dogs and cat are all 12 years old. It's not exactly long, but i'm hoping to have them around for many more years.

I have and have had a lot of pet rats, and sadly they don't live very long, most commonly around 2 years before they start developing tumours or get strokes and have to be put down. I had a rat who was over 3 years old when she had to be put down - that's very impressive for pet rats nowadays! So based on how long an animal lives, it must have been that rat.