Do any old cats go grey?

[Rick Potter]

Looking at my 16 year old black lab, and how white her face is, I turn and look at the wife's 10-12 year old, dark grey alley cat. No white at all. Just wondering, do any cats go white when they age? It's a female, maybe she tints when no one is around.

Rick Potter

[paul cottingham]

I just lost my 19 year old female kitty to cancer. She was a little grey to be sure but it was not hugely noticeable. It is possible, of course that she was tinting! Her brother who is still around, is still as dark as he was.

[Stew Hagerty]

I had a cat that I got when I was a little kid that lived to be 26yrs old. He was a big black cat. Jet black everywhere except for one very small white tuft on his chest. The only grey he ever got was a tiny bit right around his mouth, and it was a dark grey.

[John Lanciani]

I have a 15 yr old grey tiger American tabby and his chin and snout are now white where they used to be grey. I don't think it's as common in cats but some definitely show their age by losing color.

[Rick Potter]

John, that sounds like our cat's description, except for the white. It probably has a mixed heritage though.

Stew, 26 years old? That must be some kind of record. Cryogenics?

Sorry about your kitty Paul, hard not to get attached. I am a dog person, but still find myself petting her cat a lot.

Rick Potter.....Learning more every day on the Creek.

[Jerome Stanek]

My 22 year old cat started getting gray around his mouth and eyes

[paul cottingham]

John, that sounds like our cat's description, except for the white. It probably has a mixed heritage though.

Stew, 26 years old? That must be some kind of record. Cryogenics?

Sorry about your kitty Paul, hard not to get attached. I am a dog person, but still find myself petting her cat a lot.

Rick Potter.....Learning more every day on the Creek.

Yeah the old girl even won over my wife, who was not a fan of cats when we met. But they were non-negotiable. She still insists she never petted her, instead "she kept bumping into my hand!"

[Chris Griggs]

I had a cat as a child who turned gray after he got declawed. He was black and white and all the black fur on the sides of his body turned gray. A couple years later it turned black again. No joke this actually happened. It was the strangest thing and the only time I've ever heard of this happening.