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While your cat’s genetics will play a role in their life span, you can do a lot to increase the chances that you and your cat enjoy many great years together. Keeping consistent, regular vet appointments means your vet will get to know your fur baby well. Those routine appointments give your vet a chance to catch potential issues before they become big problems. Your vet can also help you address challenges, like weight management, early on so you can maximize your cat’s health. It's no surprise that pet parents want to know what the average lifespan of a house cat is so they can gauge how long their adored feline friend will be around. Knowing the lifespan of your feline can help you understand what stage of life your cat is in and give you some emotional readiness as they age.
How Long Do Indoor-Outdoor Cats Live
Cats who spend most of their lives outside and are largely unsupervised have a life expectancy of 2 to 5 years. While they may still be energetic and active, they may begin to develop old-age ailments and have more difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. They originate from the Near East countries where they were domesticated from wild cats to help control rodent populations.
What Are Standard Life Changes a Cat Might Experience?
While every cat is different, indoor cats generally live longer due to fewer threats in their environment. You can’t always say the same if your cat is wandering outside alone. With telemedicine for pets, taking care of your cat is easier than ever.
Average Lifespans of Popular Cat Breeds
Other commercial diet options include a fresh subscription food. Mature adult cats may start slowing down—they won’t play as often and can move into a more sedentary lifestyle. This has increased dramatically over the past few decades, with the average cat living to just seven years in the early 1980s, and just over nine years in 1995.
How to extend your cat's lifespan
A teenage cat, or even one in their twenties, is not uncommon to see. Many factors can play a role in determining how long your cat might live. Your vet will also prove essential in planning your cat’s diet. A feline’s nutritional needs will change as they age and a specialist can help ensure you’re always providing everything they require. If necessary, your vet may recommend supplementing commercial foods or even purchasing special prescription blends. On average, purebred cats live about 12.5 years and crossbred cats live a bit longer, about 14 years,” Gardner explains.
The better you care for your cat, including regular vet trips and feeding them a healthy diet, the longer you can expect them to live. While cats live between 13 to 17 years of age on average, their lifespan is affected by several factors, including genetics. For example, the lifespan of a Maine Coon is 10 to 13 years, while a Savannah cat is known to live up to 20 years.
How To Help Your Cat Live a Longer Life
In the early years of their life, you should take your cat to the vet at least once a year. When your furry feline is a senior cat, take them to the vet at least twice yearly or every six months. Older cats and those with chronic medical conditions should go more often.
Your veterinarian can provide guidance on nutrition, exercise, preventive care, and any necessary treatments or medications. Similarly to dogs, cat life stages can be roughly equated to human years, meaning that we can calculate a cat’s age both in cat years and human years. However, this is complicated, as cats mature much more in their first human year than they do for the rest of their lives. This is much like humans, who age slower and slower as years go by. Below you will find ages in terms of cat years equated roughly to human years.
Cat Lifespan Demystified: How Long Do Cats Live? - DISCOVER Magazine
Cat Lifespan Demystified: How Long Do Cats Live?.
Posted: Fri, 16 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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Responsible cat owners can provide enriching indoor environments to keep confined cats healthy and engaged. Your veterinarian is a partner in pet care, an expert who’ll offer hands-on guidance from the kitten days to the senior years. They’ll guide you on how to promote a happy, healthy life at home and help to recognize warning signs before they evolve into serious health concerns. Just like people, cats are susceptible to chronic health conditions that can shorten their lives and impact their standards of living.
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they require a diet rich in animal-based proteins. Feeding your cat a balanced and nutritious diet that meets their specific nutritional needs is essential for their well-being. Select your cat’s life stage below to find out more about your cat and the preventative healthcare it should be receiving. If it seems like it, you're not just imagining thingsYou're not crazy if you feel like cats sleep more in the winter -- it's totally true! The ASPCA reports that cats typically sleep between 12 and 20 hours per day, but in the winter, they may sleep even more. Many people and other pets -- like dogs and hibernating species -- can relate!
Cats age fastest during their earliest life stages, and aging slows as they grow older, according to Rutherford. So you can’t equate each year of a cat’s life to a set number of human years. Lack of proper nutrition and being overfed can both lead to health problems. But feeding your cat a healthy diet that’s appropriate to its life stage, and being careful not to overfeed,, can go a long way toward promoting good health and a longer life.
As a cat owner, it is your responsibility to provide your cat with a healthy, balanced feline nutrition that will support a long lifespan. Always having fresh water available to them is a crucial part of a balanced diet. As cat owners, it is our responsibility to provide the best possible care for our furry friends. Keep in mind that there are several factors that determine how long a cat is going to live. For example, cats who are overweight may not live as long, and the same goes for cats who aren’t eating a healthy diet.
While cats may have nine lives in mythology, in reality most domestic cats live years with proper care. Indoor cats cared for by attentive owners tend to reach the higher end of that range. With meticulous care and wellness maintenance, cats can enjoy long golden years with their human families. Your cat’s life expectancy may not be the most fun topic to contemplate, but it’s important to consider what may happen to them in the future—and when. The good news is with proper care (and lots of love), you can improve your pet’s chances of staying healthy for years to come. For example, a cat’s breed and whether they spend time primarily indoors or outdoors can impact life expectancy.
Keeping your cat’s vaccinations up to date will also help protect them from diseases that could shorten their lives. After initial vaccination as a kitten, indoor cats should receive core vaccines every 1 to 3 years. Talk to your vet about non-core vaccinations, such as bordetella, and whether your cat should receive them based on their likelihood of exposure (i.e. if you have an indoor/outdoor cat). One factor that significantly impacts a cat’s lifespan is the healthcare it receives throughout its life. Pet insurance may help cover your cat’s annual health checkups as well as diagnosis and treatment of a number of common cat illnesses, which can help improve its chances of a long and healthy life. The average lifespan of a cat is about 15 years, so they often outlive most of our pet dogs.
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