What Is A Cat’s Lifespan

What Can You Do To Extend The Average Lifespan Of A Cat Good Vet Care Goes A Long Way

If you want to increase your cats life expectancy, start by keeping those regular veterinary checkups. You might want to skip these appointments to save money, especially if your kitty seems fine, but catching chronic diseases is crucial, especially when it comes to extending the average lifespan of a cat.

A cats lifespan can be extended by good veterinary care, Dr. Kasitz says. Wellness exams every six months with blood work for early disease detection can help manage diseases such as kidney disease, which is common in cats, or hyperthyroidism. Vaccinations against common diseases are recommended as well.

Cat Nutrition And Lifespan

Cats primarily eat meat, so they are considered obligate carnivores, and this should be reflected in the food we feed them. A lot of research has been done to determine the dietary needs of a house cat, so the food options that are available to cat owners are plentiful.

But not all foods are created equal. Adult cats cannot digest large amounts of carbohydrates or lactose, so these are unnecessary ingredients in their food. Carbohydrates can even decrease how much protein is digested, so they are, in fact, harmful to a cat. Proteins, on the other hand, are very important to a cat. Cats require a large amount of protein when compared to a dog, due to their unique digestive system. Adult cats should receive at least 5.5 g/kg of protein a day. This means the average eight-pound cat needs to consume at least 20 grams of protein each day and often much more.

Essential amino acids are also very important to a cat. Taurine, methionine, and cystine are some of these essential amino acids, and without them, important vitamins, and the proper amount of protein, a cats health may suffer greatly.

Cat Life Expectancy By Health Condition

Weve looked at the environment and your cats breed as two important factors in the lifespan of a cat. But we also know that the cats overall health and any pre-existing or chronic health conditions can play a significant role in limiting that cats quantity and quality of life.

While some diseases like periodontal disease can be resolved through an oral health procedure where the teeth are cleaned above and below the gum and any diseased teeth are identified by X-rays and extracted, other diseases are progressive and irreversible like kidney disease.

Here are some of the more common disease conditions that we identify in cats and what factors can also affect a cats lifespan:

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How Long Do Outdoor Cats Live

Over 90% of domestic cats in the UK are free to roam outdoors every day and these outdoor cats generally live shorter lives than cats that are kept indoors all the time. This is because they are exposed to dangers such as road traffic accidents or attacks by other animals.

A study using Vets Now data found that autumn is the worst season for cat road traffic accidents, with young, male and crossbred cats most at risk.

Your Cat Has Started Hiding Around The Home

Have you noticed your cat seems to be hiding out?

Cats tend to hide in odd places when they dont feel well.

When cats are very ill, they have a natural instinct to hide as a means of protection.

After all, they are vulnerable when ill.

While this might suggest that your cat is merely ill, this is also a common behavior pattern for cats nearing the end of life.

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How Long Do Indoor Cats Live

Cats that go outdoors are more likely to encounter risks such as road traffic accidents, fights with other cats and other dangers that could affect their life expectancy. However, they are also likely to get more exercise as they have more space to roam, which helps to keep them fit and healthy. If you do keep your cat indoors, theyll need plenty of opportunities to exercise with fun toys they can chase and catch. There are still other risks to house cats, so youll need to monitor them closely to keep them healthy for longer.

There Are 6 Life Stages For Cats:

• Kitten 06 months

• takes the cat up to the equivalent of about 70 human years
• Super Senior 15 years and overmany cats do reach this stage, some not showing any signs of being so senior in age

The table below shows all of the stages and also the equivalent human age. What these stages let us do is to appreciate how old the cat is inside, since, as has been pointed out, this is often not very obvious from the outside, as cats seldom go grey or show outward signs of pain or illnesses such as arthritis.

International Cat Care has set up a preventative healthcare initiative called Cat Care for Life. The programme looks at the health checks your cat should be having dependant on its age and what age-related changes you can expect to see in your cat.

For full details please visit the Cat Care for Life website.

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Pros And Cons Of An Indoor Cat

Keeping cats indoors permanently can be a wise choice.

There are several sensible reasons for keeping your cat indoors:

• First, you can protect your pet from the dangers of wildlife and cars.
• Second, you can reduce their risk of getting a disease or parasites, especially if you keep them strictly indoors.
• Finally, you can better monitor your cats health.

Cats are notorious for concealing the fact that they dont feel well. Often, you wont know until a condition is far advanced. It is even more difficult if you have less contact with them.

You can watch for signs easier including:

• Changes in appetite

Also, a cat that is home alone all day will likely get bored.

There are your curtains and furniture to consider.

If you choose to declaw your pet he will be at a major disadvantage if he manages to sneak outside.

Indoor Cats Versus Outdoor Cats

Whether your cat resides completely indoors or goes in and out throughout the day can have more of an impact on their lifespan than some cat owners may realize. There are some more obvious reasons why indoor cats live longer lives than their outdoor counterparts. Some that you may already be able to guess.

Most obviously, indoor cats have easier access to food and freshwater than outdoor cats do more often than not. Whether your cat is an indoor or outdoor cat, you probably still take them for their needed cat vaccinations.

Even with proper vaccines, outdoor cats are exposed to far more dangers than indoor cats lives are. Dangers that vaccines and other medicines cannot protect them from. A few of the lifespan threatening dangers that outdoor cats may encounter include ticks, cars, other animals, and many other stressful encounters that can shorten a cats lifespan.

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How Old Is Your Cat

• 0 to 1 month: 1 human year
• 2 to 3 months: 2 to 4 human years
• 4 months: 6 to 8 human years
• 6 months: 10 human years
• 7 months: 12 human years
• 12 months: 15 human years
• 18 months: 21 human years
• 2 years: 24 human years
• 3 years: 28 human years
• 4 years: 32 human years
• 5 years: 36 human years
• 10 years: 56 human years
• 15 years: 76 human years
• 20 years: 96 human years

The average life expectancy of a cat suggests that many live the equivalent of a full human life. In 2019, the United Nations estimated that the average global life expectancy is 72.9 years. Thatâs a little more than 14 cat years.

Indoor Cats Vs Outdoor Cats: Making The Decision

The consensus among veterinarians and organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association is to keep cats confined, whether indoors or outdoors. Outdoor enclosures or leash walking for cats that are comfortable with it can keep them stimulated and safe while protecting humans, wildlife, and the environment.

Indoor cats tend to live longer than their outdoor counterparts, typically reaching 10 to 15 years of age. Cats who spend their lives exclusively outdoors live an average of just 2 to 5 years.

Gina Gentilozzi never thought twice about keeping her three cats indoors, particularly because she has some unpleasant memories about her own childhood pets. When I was little, I had indoor-outdoor cats and they all had fleas, she recalls. And outdoor cats bring you home dead things and I dont like that either.

McWhorter is well aware that Hobbes and his sister, Calvin, lead a riskier life than her two indoor cats, Lucy and Ricky, but she inherited them from her homes previous owner and was afraid it would be hard for them to make the transition from outdoor to indoor cats. I really didnt want four cats in the house, and they were accustomed to being outside, she says.

Continued

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What Causes Lymphoma In Cats

It would be nice to identify a singular cause for feline lymphoma, but unfortunately, we arent able to determine what exactly causes this cancer. What we do know, though, is that age and vaccinations have an effect on rates of lymphoma in cats.

Intestinal lymphoma generally affects cats older than 10, while mediastinal lymphoma affects cats with an average age of 5. This kind of feline lymphoma and renal lymphoma are mostly seen with cats who have the feline leukemia virus – cats who have been vaccinated for this virus are less likely to be diagnosed with mediastinal lymphoma.

Average Lifespans Of Popular Cat Breeds

A catâs average lifespan depends on a number of factors. Among these are genetic ones, passed down by a catâs ancestors. As the examples below make clear, some breeds live longer than others:

• American Shorthair: 15 to 20 years
• Bengal: 14 to 16 years
• Burmese: 16 to 18 years
• Maine Coon: 10 to 13 years
• Manx: 8 to 14 years
• Persian: 10 to 17 years
• Ragdoll: 15 to 18 years
• Russian Blue: 15 to 20 years
• Savannah: 12 to 20 years
• Siamese: 12 to 20 years
• Sphynx: 10 to 15 years

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Your Cat Is Behaving Strangely

Behavior is very different during the cat pregnancy stages but strange behavior is sometimes very obvious to the owner.

That is to say, clinginess and strange social behavior can suggest your cat might be nearing the end of his/her life.

Now, thats not to say we can easily identify strange behavior.

After all, we already know why cats lick their owners hair and scientific studies have also explained why cats lick each other.

Can An Outdoor Cat Become An Indoor Cat

If you want to help an outdoor cat become an indoor cat, it’s important to know if he’s a feral or a stray cat. Feral cats have never been cared for by humans and act terrified if you come near. Ferals are unlikely to adjust to indoor living. Stray cats might act similarly at first, but at one point, they’ve known human companionship. They’ll eventually warm up to you if you give them food and spend time outside with them while they’re eating. Let the stray cat make the first move, allowing him to sniff your hand before you try to pet him. With time and patience, your bond will grow.3 Eventually, you can allow him inside for increasingly longer visits. But if you have another cat, get the stray cat a vet checkup first.

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What Happens When We Reach Our Weight Loss Goal

Once an ideal body weight and condition has been achieved, it is important to maintain your cats weight. Your veterinarian can help you find an appropriate food and portion for weight maintenance.

Portion control is critical at this stage to prevent regaining weight. After so much hard work, a relapse in obesity would be unfortunate. Yo-yo weight loss and gain is no healthier for cats than for humans. The benefits of normalizing body weight and condition make the effort well worth it.

What Age What Stage

Cats can live for an amazingly long time considering their small size. In general, smaller mammals have shorter lifespans, but cats are a little different. For example, although cats are smaller than most dogs, they generally live longer. Also, they are only slightly larger than rabbits, yet again live a great deal longer. The average lifespan for a pet cat is probably around 13 to 14 years. However, although their lifespan varies, a well cared for cat may commonly live to 15 or beyond, some make it to 18 or 20 and a few extraordinary felines even pass 25 or 30 years of age.

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What Prolongs A Bengal Cat Life Expectancy

You can likely increase the life span of your Bengal cat by keeping it healthy, active and following a nutritious diet. Bengal cats who get poorly balanced food are likely to die earlier than those who get a healthy nutritious diet. Moreover, Bengal cats may develop gastrointestinal allergies as a reaction to eating certain foods such as raw fish.

We Have Gathered Some Ideas To Help You Keep That Tri

How long is the average lifespan of an indoor cat. How long is a cat year. How Long do Indoor Cats Live. However due to the favorable weather their life span is a bit longer.

Is my cat sick or just old. Average lifeline of cats is 15-16 years the lifeline depends upon many factors such as environment health cats breed etc. If youve got an outdoor cat then your veterinarian has probably already scolded you about keeping cats indoors.

For the most part. Anyone with a cat in their life will know that theyre probably going to stick around for a while with the average lifespan of indoor house cats these days hitting an impressive 12 to 15 years. As the outdoor cat love to be outside this means that they will have higher risk of something happen to them.

Cats that spend time indoors only will have a longer life. Typical Indoor Cat Lifespan If a cat resides indoors exclusively the typical lifespan ranges somewhere between 13 and 17 years according to the ASPCA. The average lifespan of a Calico Cat is twelve to fifteen years.

There is no exact pure breed of them. However the record age of an indoors cat is 25. They are more likely to get regular healthy food.

Based on the numbers we chronicled the average lifespan of. Cats that stay inside have an average lifespan between 10 and 15 years on average with many living well into their teens and twenties. Female cats typically outlive male cats while neutered cats and crossbred cats typically outlive.

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How Long Can Cats Live

I can hear you saying, But my cat These numbers are all averages. My cat, Klesko, has always been an outdoor cat and shes 15 years old. There are always outliers that defy averages when it comes to answering How long do cats live?

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the oldest recorded cat age was attained by Creme Puff, a cat who passed away in Austin, Texas, at 38 years and three days old, a truly grand, almost incomprehensible age. The age of the current oldest living cat is much more variable because that information can go out of date at any given moment.

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Reviewing the last several years worth of information, Ive seen the current oldest cat have ages ranging from 23 to 36. In the last decade, the average oldest living cat is 29.857 years old. Who is the current record holder? Rather than risk our own obsolescence, we suggest that you check with the Guinness site. Its page on Oldest Cat Living wisely and expressly states that the current record holder is a flexible and changeable position.

Tell us: How long have your cats lived? We want to hear how old your cats are! What is the longest-lived cat youve ever owned, heard of, or seen? Share your stories and memories in the comments!

This post was originally published in 2017.

What Is Lymphoma In Cats

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called the lymphocyte. These cells are found in lymph nodes throughout the body, meaning lymphoma can affect multiple areas of the body instead of only being in one place.

It is a very common cancer that affects cats, with it making up approximately 30% of cancer diagnoses. While it can affect the entire body, one type of feline lymphoma that affects the gastrointestinal tract is the most common, making up approximately 2/3 of all cases: feline intestinal lymphoma.

Lymphoma in cats is often divided into categories depending on the area of the body it affects , or into the size and severity of the cancer .

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What Affects The Average Lifespan Of A Cat

Certain cat breeds seem to live longer than others. Burmese, Siamese and Manx cats have some of the longest cat lifespans. On the flipside, much like humans, some cats simply get unlucky in the genetic lottery and are more susceptible to diseases that shorten their lifespans, like diabetes, heart disease or cancer.

But whats more important than breeds or genetics in determining the average lifespan of a cat? The care that cat receives, including nutrition, veterinary care and plain old TLC. One of the most significant factors in extending the average lifespan of a cat is whether she lives indoors or outdoors.

As well as breed and genetics, some factors affecting the cats lifespan are whether hes indoor or outdoor, says Dr. Leanne Landau Kasitz, a veterinarian at Stilwell Animal Hospital and Equine Center in Stilwell, Kansas. An outdoor cats average lifespan is significantly decreased. This can be due to trauma , nutrition or lack of veterinary care leading to disease or dental problems.