You may have recently become a cat parent and have gotten to fall in love with its charms and you don’t want to lose it ever, or maybe you want to adopt a new kitten and you are eager to know which breed will offer you the longest companionship.
Summary;
What is the Average Lifespan of a Cat?
- Siamese: 12 to 20 years
- Calico: 12 to 15 years
- Maine Coon: 10 to13 years
- Ragdoll: 15 to18 years
- Bengal: 14 to16 years
- Russian Blue: 15 to20 years
- Persian 10 to 17 years
- Sphynx: 10 to15 years
- Savannah: 12 to 20 years
- Burmese: 16 to 18 years
- Egyptian Mau: 12 to 15 years
Did you know the world record for the oldest cat was held by Cre’me Puff from Texas, USA who lived to the age of 38yrs old?
That is impressively long, but obviously extremely rare.
Factors That Determine How Long A Cat Will Live
1. The cat breed
How long a cat lives will definitely depend on which breed the cat belongs to. Research has shown that mixed breeds of cats tend to live longer than the pure breed cats. [1]
Therefore, the breed of the cat and how long it would survive will surely depend on the genetics it is carrying.
Interestingly, research has it that female cats tend to outlive their male counterparts.
Which cat breed lives the longest?
Here are the top cat breeds that live the longest
- Siamese: 12 to 20 years
- Burmese: 16 to 18 years
- Savannah: 12 to 20 years
- Ragdoll: 15 to18 years
- Egyptian Mau: 12 to 15 years
2. The Cat’s Eco-system
Cats live in different eco-systems, for instance there are those that live in homes, streets and the wild. The eco-system in which the cats live have a direct impact on their life expectancy.
The average lifespan of wild cats is roughly about 3-10 yrs. Most people believe that cats that live in the wild have a significantly shorter life span compared to those that that are domesticated.
This surprisingly, isn’t always the case. Some can live up to 10 years which is the lower end of many house cats.
Animals usually adapt to their surrounding, thus a wild cat may have a long lifespan in the wild. They are active and alert and mostly eat the wild rats and small snakes for survival.
The average life span of a stray cat is 3-5 years. Street cats often referred to as stray cats tend to suffer the consequences of most of the mistakes we make.
When we pollute the environment with plastics and chemical wastes, we tend to bring harm to these cats in the shared eco-system by introducing harmful infections and parasites to their bodies.
Another challenge faced by these cats is being hit by traffic while they are roaming in the roads.
A domesticated cat lives in a domesticated environment which is mainly controlled by the pet owner. The average lifespan of a domestic cat is 10-15 years, which is higher than those of the wild cats and the stray cats.
3. Dietary habits
Often most diets that are edible to human beings are edible to cats. However, cats incline towards the carnivorous side due to their digestive system.
An adult cat’s diets should have less carbohydrates and lactose since their digestive system cannot handle them properly.
Cat food should be rich in proteins due to their unique digestion mechanisms. Scientists revealed that an average cat requires around 20 grams of proteins daily for it to be healthy and remain strong.
How to Make Your Cat Live Longer
In order to have a healthy feline that would remain your companion for the longest time possible, there are certain things that you could do to increase its life expectancy. The various ways to increase life expectancy of a cat include:
1. Regular visits to the vet
Like humans, cats also require to be vaccinated from certain diseases that could prove fatal if it were to befall on them. Take your cat regularly to the vet for such vaccinations and also for regular check-ups to detect any presence of any disease that may be affecting your cat.
It may be hard for one to tell when the cat is sick until when it’s too late to be treated hence the regular visits to the vet may help detect the disease early before it becomes fatal.
2. Let them Exercise
Play with your cat or encourage them to run and jump around to help them stay fit and healthy.
3. Have them neutered
Neutered cats often live longer than those that are not neutered as this prevents the contraction of diseases that are transmitted through mating.
Neutering, commonly referred to as castration is the surgical removal of the testicles, which are the main source of testosterone in the body.
Also, neutered cats tend to be less aggressive and thus do not roam outside picking fights which may lead them getting wounds that may get infected and prove fatal to them.
Watch this video to learn more on how to care for your cat.
4. Feed them a healthy diet
Cats should be fed with cat foods that are appropriate for their age so as to provide them with sufficient nutrients that would help them live a long and healthy life.
Common Causes of Deaths In Cats
- Traffic accidents – Majority of stray cats or outdoor cats tend to roam within the roads thus they are hit by vehicles and most of them perish.
- Diseases – Some diseases and infections tend to be fatal to cats especially when detected late.
- Old age – Some cats tend to live long and fully reach their life expectancy and thus their bodies can no longer cope with them and tend to slow down and finally shutdown.
We hope that you’ve learned something interesting about the life lifespan of cats and the various factors affecting how long they live. Cats are lovely animals that deserve all the love and care we can give.
Next Read:
- How long do House Cats live?
- How long do Cicadas live?
- How long do Butterflies live for?
- How long do Sharks live?
- How long do Flies live?
- How long do pet rats live?
