My friend's Persian is puking every day and the vet said that 12 is pretty old for a Persian. They are running some blood tests and they gave her special food to try while they wait for the tests. But 12 is not that old for a cat and I didn't think persians were any different. My own vet just admits that she's not an expert on my breed and researches before she tells me anything. I feel bad if her vet is making her worry needlessly that she's going to lose Harley any day now. Harley had not seen this vet before and had not seen a vet in 6 years until she got sick. (Unlike my own kitties that see a vet every time they sneeze because I am overprotective)

I just googled it and everything I saw said 15 years and up.

Hope the cat gets better!

Thanks. I googled it too but I didn't think my friend would take my google over her vet's opinion. She may not listen to me no matter who's opinion I get but I was also worried for my own sake too since these are my first persians as well. I will also ask my breeder next time I talk to her but I didn't want to bother her with something silly.

MaxandAllie, asking your breeder the life span of persians is not a silly thing to do, maybe she can offer you some insight on the problem your friends cat is having. She may have heard of it before and maybe she has even gone through the same experience.

I say call her up and ask her.

Hi
I breed Persians and Himalayans (another specific breed of Persian)and we just lost a Himalayan at 17 years old. The lifespan typically runs 14+ years depending on the cats genetics and health.

I hope this helps and they find out what's wrong with him.

Thank you Aristokitty and Weimngolden! My friend's kitty was from a pet shop (but a reputable one) so hopefully her genetics are ok. I will let her know that I heard from a breeder who said 12 is not old and that you had one live to 17. That will make her feel a bit more hopeful. I also finally emailed my own breeder to ask some questions. I just felt bad because I ask her so many things about my own kitties. I have two Persians and my Himalayan is coming home 12/6 from the same parents. But my friend just doesn't go to the same extent that I do to research and get advice. This vet never treated Harley before. I'm sure he knows how to treat a sick kitty, but saying her life span would be shorter just seemed stupid to me.

I realize this post is old, it may not help you but since I just came across it others might too. My persian is 15 and I have always known that 15 was an average age for a persian to go. Regular cats come form a larger gene pool, more good healthy genes have a chance to win out. Pure breads are well sort of inbred and have common health problems. They are bread for specific looks not for good health history. And the traits we like the best are those flat noses which can lead to chronic respiratory infections. Also they are often "lazier" because that little nose doesn't get as much air as they should and something about the regular longer noses cooling and heating air before it gets to the body. Also kidney disease is common, a common sign is when they stop using the little box. I had a cat get very sick when she was younger and I spend a lot of money to fix her. Sometimes it's good to know when your cat is "old" so you know if she's sick when it's time to let her go and when you may be able to pay a huge vet bill and bring her home for a few more years. Hope my experience can help someone...