All cat owners have a common wish:

Cats will be free from disease and pain, and live longer and healthier lives!

Manager Che who accompanies us every day to look up data codes

So sometimes it is inevitable to worry sentimentally:

How long can my little cat stay with me?

What factors will affect TA’s lifespan? What diseases can kill cats?

What is the average lifespan of a cat?

The earliest estimated average lifespan of cats is 5~ 8 years old, and later increased to 9 years old... In multiple statistical analyzes in the past 10 years, the average life span of cats has increased to 14 years +, and is getting longer~

For example, a 14-year study in the UK A random sample survey of 118,016 cats showed that the median life span of cats was 14 years.

Last year, a Japanese insurance agency calculated the life span trend of cats from 2008 to 2022, and the latest data was 14.7 years.

Further breakdown found that there are large differences in the life span of cats in different groups.

What factors affect a cat’s lifespan?

From the statistical point of view, the main influencing factors include: gender, sterilization or not, fatness, body weight, feeding environment (medical care), and breed.

① Female cats>Male cats, the median life span of female cats is 15 years old (11-17.4 years old), while that of male cats is slightly lower, at 13 years old (7.6-16 years old);

② Neutered > Non-neutered, neutered cats have a median lifespan of 15 years, while non-neutered cats are only 11 years old;

③ Non-purebred > Purebred, non-purebred cats have a median lifespan of 15 years. The median age is 14 years, which is also slightly older than the 12.5 years for purebred cats.

④ Low weight > Obesity. According to the statistics of small and medium-sized cats (≥3.5kg), as the weight increases (1kg), the median life span of cats decreases by 0.2~0.5 years.

⑤ The feeding environment and medical conditions are good > semi-free range, free range, and insufficient deworming. [This may be the most important among many factors]

⑥ As for the influence of breed, there is some controversy...

Are there any long-lived cat breeds?

When external websites recommend cat breeds, they often Make a "longevity cat list":

Many statistics claim that there are significant differences in the life spans of different breeds of cats. These statistics cover a wide range of countries (multiple countries) and the data are huge (thousands to hundreds of thousands of cats). If you read each article separately, they seem to be quite reliable.

But when they are put together, these data "slap" each other in the face.

For example, Bengal cats

have a smooth life in Japan, but live in dire straits in the UK

So at this stage, it is relatively difficult to find that "XX breed cats live longer" in conclusion.

But in the longevity list, it can be said that a hundred flowers are blooming:

The 35-year-old Burmese cat Kataleena, the 34-year-old Sphynx cat Grandpa Rex, and the 29-year-old "little local cat" who became a homeless cat Flossie, 31-year-old Siamese Scooter, 39-year-old mixed tabby Creme Puff...

Have these long-lived grandpa and grandma cats boosted your confidence?

If you want your cat to live a long life, you must strictly guard against diseases that may kill your cat!

What are the causes of sudden death in cats?

In two statistics from Germany and the United Kingdom, researchers found that the high-risk age groups for sudden death of cats are actually around 1 to 3 years old and 5 years old.

This is not consistent with the common cognition of some parents (in childhood and old age).

Because of this, many scavengers never expect that cats will leave them, and they also ignore related risk assessment and prevention.

Among them, the main cause for 1 to 3-year-olds is trauma (in heat, injuries after going out), and for around 5-year-olds, the respiratory system, heart, and kidneys are the main causes.

What specific factors need attention?

Compared with previous surveys in Canada and Canada, this data shows that except for a higher proportion of "unknown reasons", there is not much difference in the ranking of other factors. Researchers speculate that this may be due to the large number of venomous snakes and spiders in Tu'ao. Many cats died of accidental poisoning and were classified as unknown causes.

From this point of view, as a domestic cat that is completely fed indoors, sealing windows + putting away food plants that may poison cats + doing cardiovascular physical examinations can prevent at least 80% of sudden death of cats. reason.

In addition to these "accidents", among the common diseases in cats, what should we focus on and prevent?

What are the reasons why cats die from illness?

In 2023, the University of California conducted a statistical analysis of the causes of death of cats that had undergone autopsies at its veterinary teaching hospital in the past 20 years.

Divided by the organs where the disease occurs:

Divided by pathological causes:

The study subdivided the causes into 55 categories, among which the top four causes of death accounted for 58.52% of the total causes of death in cats:

Among them, cancer, which ranks first (average age 11.4 years), has a very high mortality rate. Among cats diagnosed with cancer, more than 80% die from cancer;

Although kidney disease ranks second, it is the hidden “big boss”. Because researchers found that only 20% of cats with kidney disease died from kidney failure alone (average age 9.4 years). But it shows that 80% of kidney disease cases are hidden among other causes of death. The number of cats suffering from kidney disease is huge!

Among the cases of death from heart disease, HCM is the most common cause, accounting for 37%; followed by endocardial disease, myocarditis, and myocardial fibrosis.

In summary, for cats who are over 8 to 10 years old and entering middle-aged and elderly years, they must focus on preventing cancer, kidney disease, and blood clots. Regular physical examinations (kidney, heart, liver) to avoid cat stress (abdominal transmission) have established 70% of the defense line.

Although data tells us that the average life span of cats is 14 to 15 years.

But Yaojiu always feels that as long as he takes careful care and scientific maintenance, it is not a problem for kittens to live to be 20+!

Tom in the hospital next door is almost 12 years old and loves walking every day...