EVEN CATS ARE LIVING LONGER - Defy Aging by Michael Brickey, Ph.D. Board Certified Psychologist

ACTION TO TAKE

When you read newspapers or magazines, look for articles about how and why we are living longer.

Michael Brickey, Ph.D.

Believing something doesn't necessarily make it so, but it creates the possibility. People used to think the 4-minute mile was a limitation handed down by God. Within a year of Roger Bannister breaking through that limiting belief, 37 other runners ran sub 4-minute miles. Now even some high school students are running sub 4-minute miles. The current "4-minute mile" for human longevity is 122 years. I predict that 50,000 Baby Boomers will live to 150 and be sharp mentally and physically. We are certainly headed that way with Americans' life expectancy increasing 64% in the last hundred years (from 47 years to 77 years).

If we believe that we can only live a little past 100, we will pace ourselves accordingly and tend to fulfill our belief. As we read or hear about advances in medicine, genetic engineering, hormone therapies, vision correction, hearing correction and more, we start believing that we can live much, much longer. We also get a hopeful message that those extra years can be very healthy, rewarding years.

Dan Poynter knows I am a longevity expert and sent me a copy of his new book, The Older Cat, to review. This is a very loving book about how to help your cat live a long life, be Florence Nightingale to your cat when she is ill, and make difficult decisions about when and how to let go when your cat is dying. I was struck with his statistics about cat longevity. Outdoor cats only have a life expectancy of 3 years. In 1930 indoor cats had a life expectancy of 8 years. Today, well-cared-for neutered indoor cats have a life expectancy of 15-17 years. The oldest documented cat age is 34 years.

As our longevity increases, its nice to know that our pets can live longer too. And you never know where you will find evidence of increasing longevity.

Defy Aging Quote:

Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning.
--Mohandas Gandhi

Defy Aging Humor:

A tomcat and a tabby cat were courting on a back fence at night. The tom leaned over to the tabby with pent up passion and purred "I'd die for you!" The tabby gazed at him from under lowered eye lids and asked: "How many times?"

A dog thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... They must be Gods! A cat thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... I must be a God!

What dos a cat call mice on roller skates? A: Meals on wheels.

Michael Brickey, Ph.D. is a life coach and a Board Certified psychologist and serves on the medical staff of several hospitals. He is the author of Defy Aging: Develop the Mental and Emotional Vitality to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier Than You Ever Imagined. Critically acclaimed by Dr. Bernie Siegel, Betty Friedan, Dr. Ronald Klatz, and four past presidents of the American Psychological Association, it is available at many bookstores and through his web site www.DrBrickey.com. He coaches people and organizations all over the country by phone as part of his mission to help people do things they didn't think they could do. He also speaks on Defying Aging. Please E-mail Dr. Brickey at BeautyWalk@DrBrickey.com.