After being told their cat would be lucky to live 2 more years, her owners take her home, diligently care for her, and 9 years later, she's still happy and full of life: 'Happy birthday, you stubborn fluffy nonsense'

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Aug 7, 2026 2:15 PM EDT

If there is even a little bit of hope, you should not give up on your cat. 

Getting bad news at the vet's is every pet owner's worst nightmare. You take them there exactly for this, of course. If there are bad news to get, it's best to get it as soon as possible, when there is still something to do about it, ways to help, to get them better, to get them to live longer and as happy as they can be. But that doesn't make it any easier. You hope that when something happens, when you see a reason to take your cat to the vet, that it will be nothing, that the vet will tell you that your cat just got spooked by something and that's it. But at some point, as our cats grow older, most of us will likely have to face some kind of negative news about them. 

When the people in today's story were told that their cat had at most two years left, they went home heartbroken. As any cat owner would. But they didn't lose hope. And they certainly didn't give up. They did everything that their vets told them to do, and it seems that their cat wanted to live just as much as they wanted her to live. Because everything that they did paid off. Nine years after her diagnosis, she is still here, she is still fighting, she is still happily living her life, causing chaos and committing crimes just like any other cat. Of course, she's older now, so she's a little slower than she used to be, but that's not because of her diagnosis. That didn't stop her from living her best life at any point, not with amazing owners like hers who never gave up on her and did everything that they could to make her happy. 

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  • 01

    "When she was 10, Trouble was diagnosed with CKD, and we were told, with luck, she’d have 2 more years. Today is her 19th birthday."

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  • 02
    And just to be clear, she's still here. Obviously your cat is always the best cat, but I'm convinced Trouble is actually the best cat.
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  • This is true. She is the best cat. Just like my cat is the best cat. That's just how it is. They are all the best cats.

  • 03
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  • 04
    She's probably the cuddliest cat I've ever known and will hang around with you just for the company. She teleports to your side when all you've done is take the tuna tin out of the cupboard, you don't even need to open it. She still knows.
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  • 06
    She also, for some reason, does this with olives, but actually offering her an olive will just lead to a look which is this? I want says 'The f the DELICIOUS'. Offering her tuna will lead to there being no more tuna.
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  • 07
    CROWN PURE BRILLIANT WHITE MATT
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  • 08
    She is definitely more fragile these days. She struggles to make jumps she used to do easily and is far more shaky on her back legs, even with regular Solensia injections.
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    But she's still extremely soft, fastidious in her grooming, drools with pleasure when she gets brushed and comes to sit on you at 6AM demanding a cuddle.
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  • 11
    Happy birthday, you stubborn fluffy nonsense. Love you loads.
    via sweetmaryhellfire

  • The stress that this must have caused you… we cannot even imagine. But she was worth every little bit of it, we know that for sure. 

  • 12
    Playful-Security9070 Happy 19th birthday Trouble!! You look fabulous!! Cats live for YEARS with CKD. It's all a matter of how early you catch it and how quickly it progresses. My girl got her CKD diagnosis at least a good 6 years ago (she's almost 19 1/2). From one old black baby to another, keep on keepin on!
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  • 13
    W
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  • 14
    sweetmaryhellfire OP Yeah, we caught it early, which was definitely a big help. She wasn't showing any problems at the time, it was just part of her middle-aged MOT. One of our friends who is a vet had a look at the results and thought what we'd been told was pessimistic and she'd likely make 15-16 - but she's blown through both predictions. Your kitty is beautiful, give her a hug from me!
    via sweetmaryhellfire
  • 15
    u53rnam3tak3n CKD for 9 years..., how/what do you do to keep her as healthy as possible?
    via u53rnam3tak3n
  • 16
    sweetmaryhellfire OP To be honest, just what we were told to do - renal diet, bloods taken every six months to check on progress. We're lucky that there's always been at least one flavour of her special food that she's happy to shromph up. Not always the same flavour, because if she wasn't being awkward she wouldn't be cat, but always one.
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  • 17
    captaingddss42 Mom's cat was diagnosed with Congestive heart failure (he's 23-24 pounds) and he was given an estimated 4-6 months left to live. Its been years since then and he's just as chunky and fun
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  • 18
    sweetmaryhellfire OP What do we say to the God of D th? If you didn't bring tuna, GTFO. That's great, I hope he has many more years to come!
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  • 19
    SidneyMacdonald happy birthday to trouble! vets are so wrong sometimes lol. give her all the tuna today
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  • 20
    sweetmaryhellfire OP The Cat Day tradition is that we cook a chicken and Trouble deigns to let us have a bit for our dinner too.
    via sweetmaryhellfire

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