Ginger turns 20 this month and I need to stop working in the garden long enough to take photos and post a happy birthday thread on her this week. She's been deaf for a few years but her sight is good. She sometimes shows slight head tremors, had intermittent small nose bleeds this winter due to dry air, tends to make sloppy poops, pees over the side of the box, and has mild renal failure. But all in all, she's in good health and she's certainly capable of smacking around the other cats. It's amazing to see cats twice her size walk a wide circle around her. She's coped with the addition of 6 new cats within the past three weeks extremely well, and I even saw her ease her way into the middle of two of them yesterday (when the weather turned a little cool). Apart from putting Metamucil in her wet food, I've also decided to not treat her to any medication or fluids. She's had a very good life and is still enjoying it.

Last year I lost her 19 year old sister (Little One), her 18 year old sister (Simka), and my Artful Dodger who was 17. I've just adopted a 15 year old and a 13 year old from the shelter, and my Macduff is 14 or 15 or could be more.

It's good to hear about the other older cats, their problems and lack of them, and how their caregivers are deciding to care for them.