Aging in cats

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reliable information on the lifespans of house cats is hard to find.[1] Research has been done to get an estimate (an educated guess) on how long cats usually live. Cats usually live for 13 to 20 years.[2][3][4][5] Sometimes, cats can live for 22 to 30 years. There are claims of cats dying at ages of over 30 years old.[6][7][8]

The Guinness World Record for the oldest cat was for a cat named Creme Puff. It lived to be 38 years old.[9] Female cats seem to live longer than male cats. Neutered cats live longer than cats that have not been neutered. Mixed breed cats also appear to live longer than purebred cats. Researchers have also found that cats that weigh more have shorter lifespans.

People sometimes guess how long a cat will live by comparing it to how long a human usually lives. THe age of a cat in "cat years" can be estimated by multiplying the age of the cat in normal years by 7. A better guess for cat years used by veterinarians is: the age of the cat times 4, then plus 16. This math can be used for cats who are at least 2 years old.

This is an example of both ways of estimating cat years for a 5 year old cat:

The life expectancy of an indoor cat is around 17 years. Cats that live both indoor and outdoor have a similar lifespan.[10] The life expectancy of outdoor only cats is 5.6 years.[11]


Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. "AnAge entry for Felis catus". AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database. 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  2. Cozzi, B.; Ballarin, C.; Mantovani, R.; Rota, A. (2017). "Aging and veterinary care of cats, dogs, and horses through the records of three university veterinary hospitals". Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 4: 14. doi:10.3389/fvets.2017.00014. ISSN 2297-1769. PMC 5306394. PMID 28261586.
  3. Grimm, D. (2015). "Why we outlive our pets". Science. 350 (6265): 1182–1185. Bibcode:2015Sci...350.1182G. doi:10.1126/science.350.6265.1182. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 26785473.
  4. Pena, M. (2018-07-03). "How long do cats live? Facts about the average cat lifespan". Catster. Belvoir Media Group. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  5. O’Neill, D.G.; Church, D.B.; McGreevy, P.D.; Thomson, P.C.; Brodbelt, D.C. (2014). "Longevity and mortality of cats attending primary care veterinary practices in England" (PDF). Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 17 (2): 125–133. doi:10.1177/1098612X14536176. ISSN 1098-612X. PMID 24925771. S2CID 7098747.
  6. Arking, R. (2006). The Biology of Aging: Observations and Principles (3 ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-19-516739-9.
  7. Comfort, A. (1956). "Maximum ages reached by domestic cats". Journal of Mammalogy. 37 (1): 118–119. doi:10.2307/1375545. ISSN 0022-2372. JSTOR 1375545.
  8. Hayashidani, H.; Omi, Y.; Ogawa, M.; Fukutomi, K. (1989). "Epidemiological studies on the expectation of life for cats computed from animal cemetery records". Nihon Juigaku Zasshi. 51 (5): 905–8. doi:10.1292/jvms1939.51.905. PMID 2607740.
  9. "Oldest cat ever". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  10. Wood, Trina J. (2023-05-01). "Uncovering Secrets to Feline Longevity | School of Veterinary Medicine". www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  11. Pena, Melvin (2018-07-03). "How Long Do Cats Live? Facts About the Average Cat Lifespan". Catster. Retrieved 2018-07-12.