How long do cats live: features, interesting facts and reviews

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Many people wonder how long cats live. But this is not at all accidental, because cats can be considered the very first candidates for the place of pets. Each of their owners wants the pet to go a long way with him, because even for a short period of coexistence, a person gets used to the animal, associating it with a family member. Various breeds have been proven to be susceptible to or immune to certain diseases, which of course affects life expectancy.

Also important factors that can prolong the stay of a fluffy or hairless pet in the earthly world are reproductive functions: carried out by him during his life or artificially suppressed by a person. Today we want to clarify the question of how long cats live, and understand what factors shorten the life of pets, andwhich, on the contrary, increase it.

Multifaceted aspect

It should be understood that the number of years a domestic cat lives depends on many factors. We note the main ones:

1. Genetics. Many dangerous diseases leading to death arise due to genetic predisposition. Of course, in good living conditions, they may begin later or not appear at all. But in an unfavorable environment, literally in a matter of days, they arise to destroy the body of a pet. Therefore, the question of how long cats live is due to a genetic predisposition and largely depends on it.
2. Residence conditions. Many scientists argue what comes first: the genetic factor or living conditions. Note that the latter means not only proper and balanced nutrition, but also the share of communication with a pet: taking care of its reproductive functions and natural instincts, which implies castration, sterilization, or the periodic presence of an animal of the opposite sex to continue the pet family. If living factors are favorable, then the genetic predisposition to disease, if any, will not come first.

Breed versus street dweller

On how long domestic cats live, these facts (pedigree and outbredness) affect to one degree or another. Artificially bred mustachioed beauties that have flattened faces, such as exotics, always live less than a year and eventwo than their regular counterparts. This factor is explained by the fact that in breeds with a depressed nose, breathing is difficult, and therefore anatomical changes in the nasal canal occur. Therefore, professional breeders and veterinarians recommend monitoring the level of air humidity: the room should be fresh, but not cold.

It would seem that street cats without clan and tribe often cannot boast of a long life, but this is far from the case. The most dangerous for a homeless resident can be an attack by a dog or a person, but otherwise the immune system indicators will be even better than those of pets. A phenomenon that surprises many takes place and cannot be explained in any way.

Interesting facts about sterilization and castration

On the question of how long neutered cats live, there is an opinion that a medical procedure aimed at depriving the animal of physiological instincts, carried out before the first sexual contact, significantly increases the life of a pet. It is noteworthy that some sources indicate a specific figure - 3 years, as the minimum indicator of time by which the life of a cat will increase after the procedure.

However, it is worth noting that opinions regarding the age of castration and sterilization of animals vary greatly. Some veterinarians say that the procedure should be performed at 6-9 months, while others say - only with the onset of puberty.

So far it has not been possible to agree on a specific age, and science knows cases whenboth in the first and in the second options there were failures in the behavior of pets. For example, "marks" of the territory, which are supposed to stop after castration, did not disappear, as well as aggressive behavior.

The consequences of suppressing the natural instincts of an animal

Do not forget that such procedures (castration and sterilization) are not only good, but also can do harm. It is known that after a surgical intervention aimed at suppressing the physiological needs of a feline, animals can gain extra pounds. Therefore, the diet of such a pet will need to be monitored for the rest of his life in order to avoid serious he alth problems: obesity, shortness of breath, heart failure.

In this case, the answer to the question of how long neutered cats live at home will depend entirely on the person who correctly builds the right diet for a pet with a minimum of protein and fat.

Breed lifespan

Among the expensive cats of competent breeding, long-livers are representatives of several breeds. And one of them is a Siamese cat. Here is a list to help satisfy your interest in how many years domestic cats live by species:

1. Now popular hairless cats of the Canadian or Don Sphynx breed are able to live a long happy life at 12-15years.
2. Exotics - 10-12 years old, but often such pets leave the world a few years earlier due to he alth problems that often cannot be treated competently.
3. Maine Coons are able to happily coexist with humans for 15 years.
4. The Persian cat is considered a long-liver and is able to please a person for about 17 years.
5. Bengal cats live how long and most of the breeds imported to Russia - 12-15 years.
6. The Abyssinian is also an average cat with a maximum lifespan of 15 years.
7. Scottish fold cats, called Scottish folds, can compete with Siamese cats in lifespan. For both species, it is about 20 years or more.

Long-livers among domestic cats

The record holder for life expectancy is a cat named Lucy, who lives in the UK. She is officially 43 years old. Translating to our, human, age, it turns out that the cat is almost 175 years old. In second place is the cute kitty Cream Puff, originally from the USA, who lived a happy life at the age of 38, leaving this world in 2005.

Well, in the third place among long-livers among mustachioed fluffy pets is a cat who once lived in Devon (England). He lived happily until his 36th birthday, after which he calmly passed away into another world. By the way, the mentioned animals are the Guinness book record holders in the section of centenarians among domestic cats.

How long do British cats live at home?

Due to the fact that recently the breed of British cats is the most popular and bought, we decided to pay more attention to it. Note that there are only two main varieties: lop-eared and ordinary. Moreover, the kitten's belonging to a certain species does not affect its life expectancy in any way.

The British are quite capricious and stubborn, so for those who want complete unquestioning obedience from a pet, such a cat will not work. Answering the main question of today's material about how long cats (British in this case) live, it is worth saying that the officially confirmed figure is 12-15 years. To maximize their lifespan, it is recommended to protect your pet from stress and drafts.

The age-old feeding question

The life expectancy of any living creature, not just a cat, is affected by a competent diet, which ideally should be complete in all respects. Veterinarians recommend feeding your pets dry food to the exclusion of all other additives. The main rule is that the food should be premium or super-premium. According to professionals, this diet is able to give the animal many years of happy life.

Ordinary people: breeders with experience or those who bring a cat into their home for the first time are of the opinion that there is no better "live" food. Sometimes they even combine "drying" with cereals, meat or something else.either way, considering this approach is correct. From a scientific point of view, from such feeding, the animal is slowly destroyed, not receiving the necessary nutrients and acquiring many sores. The reason is that certain enzymes are produced in the pet's stomach on dry food that are not able to digest "live" food and vice versa. Therefore, those who wish to bring a small kitten into the house should study the issue of competent feeding thoughtfully and in detail.

Summing up

We hope that the article helped those who are looking for answers to the question: how long do cats live? However, one should not forget that there are cases that completely break stereotypes and go beyond generally accepted norms. Pets, surrounded by boundless love, living in the right conditions, are able to please their owners many times more than those who do not want to take care of. The data entered in the Guinness Book of Records is the best proof of this.

Who knows, maybe there is a pet next to you now that can surpass the figure of 43 years old, becoming the first in the list of centenarians among cats.