In 1994, we took in a ratty looking Himalayan cross. She was an atult cat then, spayed, DECLAWED, abandoned and left to survuve as best she could. I’m SURE she has no Maine Coon in her, but she got by by developing the strongest paws I’ve ever seen. She would kill rabbits, and drag them up the driveway betweeen her front legs the way lions do on thos documentaries. She could also manipulate any thumb latch. Even now, if you can stir her to play with yarn, you have to have a good grip, because she’ll tear it right out of your hand.
Yes, the date is not a typo, and she’s still with us. I dread the day she no longer is.
We adopted a street kitten in 94 who is still with us, never imagined she’d be around this long. She can hardly jump anymore and is totally deaf, and part of me will die when she does.