Aging in cats

Reliable information on the lifespans of house cats is hard to find.  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. Sometimes, cats can live for 22 to 30 years. There are claims of cats dying at ages of over 30 years old.

The Guinness World Record for the oldest cat was for a cat named Creme Puff. It lived to be 38 years old. 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. The life expectancy of outdoor only cats is 5.6 years.

 Related pages 
 Ageing
 Cat
 Death

 References 

Category:Cats