Purrfect pawrents share the wholesome, tried-and-true tricks that keep their cats thriving for 20+ years

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Dec 3, 2025 12:00 PM EST

It's no secret that every cat owner wishes to keep their furry friends alive for furrever. We would happily give up a kidney, an arm, a leg, or whatever it would take to have some extra time with our precious pets. We may not be able to make them live as long as us hoomans, but there are some things we can do to keep them healthy as long as hoomanly pawssible. And, the best part is, it's not even that hard!

The first, and most important, is to feed them high-quality food. Their dietary needs change as they get older, so don't just keep them on the same generic food formula their whole lives. As they get older, they need a kibble with less protein to make digestion easier on the kidneys. A second, and this might even be as equally as impurrtant, is to keep them indoors. This protects them from any external sources of danger. You never know what can happen outside, especially in urban areas.

There's more to it than just those two things, though, so make sure you read through these terrific testimonials from cat owners below. These pawrents have shared tried-and-true tricks that kept their cats thriving for 20+ years! Follow in their footsteps and we wish you and your cats 20+ years of happiness together.

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  • 01

    People who had cats who lived healthy lives for 20+ years, what did you feed them?

    Therapy cat on senior's lap including 'Moving to a diet suitable for mature or senior cats as they age'
    via cglade

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    As my cats get older I want to make sure to feed them the best food possible. Recently my cats tried Purina Pro Plan wet food and fell in love. I am considering getting them the dry food as well but am unsure if I should switch them from Hills Urinary Hairball. I also can't see the dry matter for Purina which worries me, I like having access to that information like I do with Hills.
    via Background-Ship-1440
  • 03
    Anyways, for those of you who had cats live to be over 20+ and have healthy lives, what did they eat? Thank you for your help!
    via Background-Ship-1440

  • When it all comes down to it, cats (and us hoomans too) are a mixture of nature and nurture. You could feed your cat the best quality food, give them the best food, but if they have bad genetics, they might not last as long as an alley tomcat with great genetics. 

  • 04
    XtinaLilibet I think it's a toss up of genetics and love. My great grandma had a cat live to 26. She gave her dry meow mix and hormel pre cooked bacon her whole life. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if she fed her table scraps most days. My mom had a cat live to 19, but he was on so many meds and needed special food.
    via XtinaLilibet
  • 05
    ETA great grandmas cat didn't have health issues that we know of outside of developing glaucoma around 22. She never went blind. My grandpa had taken her to the vet when she was 23 and the vet said it wasn't worth it at her age to do labs to check her bloodwork or do anything about the eyes. This was in 2009.
    via XtinaLilibet
  • 06
    myfriendpickles My 20.5 year old guy ate what I could afford for most of his life, mostly lams and Purina. He'd have lived even longer than 20, but he got liver cancer and that took him down. In his late teens I had to switch him to non hydrolyzed food for a digestive issue.
    via myfriendpickles
  • 07
    20th birthday!
    via myfriendpickles

  • We had one cat that lived until 21, who as an indoor/outdoor cat and ate generic cat food her whole life. She was a fighter, though. Another one of our cats, whom we treated like a princess and only fed organic food, who didn't live past 14. There's only so much you can do, but we're sure that she lived much longer with us than she would have alone.

  • 08
    first_best_fox My last pair of cats lived to be 19+. They ate lams kibble. My current cats are babies and eat a mix of Pro Plan kibble, Fancy Feast pate and lams pate.
    via first_best_fox
  • 09
    Stray cat eating food
    via Изображения пользователя Olga

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 10
    Longevity comes from a mix of genetics, regular health care, mental and physical stimulation, care and affection, not being exposed to hazards (like cars or predators), and food.
    via first_best_fox
  • 11
    Maleficent-Leek2943 My MIL's cat who lived to be 21 and terrorized the neighborhood for most of those years apparently subsisted mostly on a diet of the skulls of his enemies, as far as I can tell.
    via Maleficent-Leek2943
  • 12
    This is definitely not a recommendation, but that's the only cat I've ever known to live to that age. And I know he was a definite outlier among outdoor cats.
    via Maleficent-Leek2943
  • 13
    Elderly woman posing with cat
    via SilviaJansen

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 14
    oneshoesally "crazy cat person" I think it's just genetics. Years ago we had a healthy girl who lived to be 21 who ate nothing but special kitty (Walmart brand) dry and Meow mix her whole life. She never had a vet visit except for her spay. On the
    via oneshoesally
  • 15
    flip side, we had a boy who ate nothing but Tiki cat and Royal Canin wet and died at 7, constant issues and heart failure. We had another boy who was the ruler of many acres of land outdoors and rarely ate cat food for ten years. He got his
    via oneshoesally
  • 16
    toe partially amputated somehow, and I forced him to live indoors and eat "good" cat food, he declined rapidly and died at 16. I just can't find a common denominator among all the long-lived cats we've had. Our border collie lived to 23, and he lived for people food.
    via oneshoesally
  • 17
    NicktheN I can't comment personally on the 20+ year side, but the most important thing is generally moving to a diet suitable for mature or senior cats as they age.....or alternatively feeding a food which is naturally lower in Protein, Phosphorus and Sodium to go easier on their kidneys
    via NicktheN
  • 18
    Regarding getting the dry matter for Purina - they don't list it publicly like Hill's does which is slightly annoying, but they will give you the info if you email/call them
    via NicktheN
  • 19
    Additionally, for the Hill's Urinary Hairball food you mention - formulas like that from Hill's are usually meant to be fed alone and not part of a mixed diet, or with a specific wet Hill's product to be complete. I'd recommend reaching out to Hill's to ask their thoughts on mixing that specific dry food
    via NicktheN
  • 20
    WhitestTrash1 She ate blue buffalo most of her life but now she eats kittten food but I'm pretty sure she survives off spite and to shit outside the litter box now. JK she tries to get there she's just old.
    via WhitestTrash1
  • 21
    dinoooooooooos It's genetics. You can be lucky and then also be good with what you feed them and how much water they consume (which is also mostly luck based depending on if they like it or not, most have issues with hydration) and counteract a lot of illnesses that way.
    via dinoooooooooos
  • 22
    Unfortunately it is kinda like with humans- there's the people who smoke 50 boxes a day and somehow love to be 105 and then there's the ones who always eher super healthy and mindful of their diet and athletes and whatnot all their life and they suddenly honk over woth an heartattack at 35. It's a mix of genetics, luck/ bad luck and environmental factors which you can ofc control.
    via dinoooooooooos
  • 23
    Not letting a cat outside for example is def a big contributor to having a cat be alive longer but then again, exception to rules and suddenly there's this one colony feral cat that's been around for 26 years.
    via dinoooooooooos
  • 24
    lemmegetadab I don't think there's anything you can do. I had a cat growing up that lived to be 20 and my parents took horrible care of our animals. I had a cat who just died at 10 that I was treating like a human child for its whole life. I think it's just a tossup.
    via lemmegetadab
  • 25
    PashasMom My Nelson lived to at least 23. I got him when he was an adult already with significant internal injuries due to being HBC. I had him 21 years and he had a healthy life (after he got fixed up from his auto accident). He ate almost exclusively Purina Cat Chow.
    via PashasMom

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