Cat Lifespan
What Determines Cat Lifespan?
A cat lifespan covering a period of 15 to 20 years is not unusual, for an indoor cat that is. In fact, 14 years is considered about the average. A cat that spends a good deal of time out of doors will have a statistically shorter time on this earth due to accidents, fights, and other things detrimental to its health. Feral cats usually have an even shorter lifespan, in the order of 3 to 4 years.
A female cat lifespan is usually a bit longer than that of the male cat, and both sexes will usually live somewhat longer if neutered, primarily because the risk of cancer is reduced. There is not a reliable indicator of what the lifespans of different breeds might be, but data indicates that cats of mixed breed, or otherwise uncertain ancestry, tend to live a bit longer than the pure breed. One reason for this is inbreeding tends to have a negative impact on cat lifespan. Still, selective breeding can increase a cat's life expectancy, if the selective breeding results in the elimination of breed characteristics or ailments which tend to shorten a cat's life.
In attempting to judge how long a cat may live, we often compare it to a human’s life span and equate 1 year of a cat's life to 7 years of a human’s life. This would tend to short change the cat a bit, as most of them would not survive much beyond their 11th birthday. A more accurate comparison would be 1 cat year to 4 human years, but only after the cat has reached the age of two. Cats mature very quickly. A one year old cat would be a teenager in human terms, and a 2 year old, the equivalent of a 25 year old human. After that, a 4-to-1 ratio becomes more meaningful.
What you feed your cat can go a long way in determining how long it will live. We've already noted that neutering a cat will reduce the risk of cancer, a leading cause of death. So will a well balanced diet. In addition, a proper diet lessens the chances of the cat suffering from kidney failure, another major cause of death. Infectious disease is the third leading cause, and proper diet can help there as well. Combined with proper nutrition, a regimen of periodic vaccinations will go a long ways towards giving your cat a long life. The right food should not be confused with too much food. Too much of a good thing (food), will shorten the cat lifespan rather than lengthen if. Remember, we are talking about the indoor cat. The outdoor cat often does not need to be concerned with cancer or kidney failure, as accidents are a primary cause of death.
It is becoming more and more common for cats to reach the age of 20, and some make it to 30 and beyond. Many of the claims put forth for the "oldest living cat" title are either estimates, or cannot be verified. What can be verified is if a cat has papers, in other words it is pedigreed, which document its actual date of birth. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest living cat reached an age of 37. As of 2007 there was another cat reaching that age and in all likelihood has broken the previous record.
If you brought home a kitten in 2009, there is an excellent chance your pet will be there to help you ring in the New Year in 2023 or 2024.