Do cats get grey or white hairs as they age? Like dogs get a grey muzzle?

[2catsandhappy]

Just been really startled to see white hairs on my 13 year old boys face. Have I really never noticed them before? He is black short hair with some white hairs here and there.

My old black cat got white whiskers when he got to 17.

My cat is 14, she has one white whisker and a sprinkling of white hairs on her back.

Yes! My old Siamese would have been 21 this month. I lost her when she was 20. Her whiskers went grey and some of the fur on her face was grey.

Yh my older black cat has white hairs (unknown actual age), he looks very distinguished.

My black cat got white whiskers when he got old.

GOOGLE says - Some cats will go grey as they age but not on the scale that dogs and humans do. As our feline friends mature, they retain enough melanocytes – the cells in the hair follicles responsible for the production of the pigment melanin – to ensure that the colouring process does not significantly diminish.

I've had quite a few cats, some black, some black and white, one tabby. The black ones had a few white hairs on their body, nowhere else. The black and white ones, and the tabby, all lived to be at least 18. None had any white.

Yes, my 14 year old black cat has a sprinkling of white hairs on his legs and across is body now, where previously he was fully black. It's not that noticeable though, not like a white muzzle.

My tabby doesn't have any extra white hairs as far as I can tell.

I had a lovely black and white cat she lived till she was 18 and not a grey in her. She never "'looked" old either.

My 14 year old sealpoint had a few white hairs on his (dark brown) head. His paws seemed to get a little paler too. By that I mean a dozen or so.

My 3 year old sealpoint already has two!

My 17 year old has more white speckled in than she did, but certainly hasn't gone as grey as my dog has.
She still looks like a kitten though

Thank you all for your replies. Made my heart lurch thinking 'crikey, he's middle aged.'