How long do domestic cats live?
January 30, 2012 11:17 AM Subscribe
What is the state of knowledge for the lifespans of domestic cats?
I have tried to find scholarly studies of domestic cat lifetimes without a much success. I have found personal anecdote, position statements and opinion pieces. I have not found defensible, peer-reviewed, primary data on the average life-expectancies of cats offered good care at home with access to regular medical attention (i.e. have all their shots) differentiated for indoor-only and indoor/outdoor cats.
Note that comparisons of wild or feral vs domestic cats, while interesting for other purposes are not relevant for this question.
Primary sources or sourced reviews/books are what I am looking for. I would strongly prefer data post-2002, as that's when FIV vaccines became widely available.
I have tried to find scholarly studies of domestic cat lifetimes without a much success. I have found personal anecdote, position statements and opinion pieces. I have not found defensible, peer-reviewed, primary data on the average life-expectancies of cats offered good care at home with access to regular medical attention (i.e. have all their shots) differentiated for indoor-only and indoor/outdoor cats.
Note that comparisons of wild or feral vs domestic cats, while interesting for other purposes are not relevant for this question.
Primary sources or sourced reviews/books are what I am looking for. I would strongly prefer data post-2002, as that's when FIV vaccines became widely available.
Your results for the lifespan of outdoor cats is likely to be location-dependant - I just don't recognise the ~2-5 year lifespan that PeppahCat's links reference. Many, many more bad things can happen to an outdoors cat in the US than in the UK. Anecdata I know, but I've met three different outdoor cats in this country who've made it to their late teens.
posted by Urtylug at 1:05 PM on January 30, 2012
posted by Urtylug at 1:05 PM on January 30, 2012
I'm not sure if any studies have been done specifically on this. Here are a couple which might be relevant:
A study on The Epidemiology of Free-Roaming Dog and Cat Population in the Wellington Area of New Zealand has some interesting data on outdoor cats submitted to the shelter there (including both pets and ferals): "the population was highly skewed towards animals in young age groups: 68% of dogs and 55% of cats were less than 12 months at the time of presentation to the shelter. Compared with dogs, greater proportions of free-roaming cats were from older age groups. The median age at presentation for dogs was 10 weeks (range 1 day to 22 years) and 7 months for cats (range 1 day to 22 years). [...] Among the free-roaming animals, 99% of dogs (2049 of 2065) and 53% cats (5539 of 10431) were classified as owned." Only 7% of the roughly 14000 cats examined in this study were older than 10 years, with 32% between 1 and 10.
A US study on outdoor fecal deposition by free-roaming cats found that "One-third of cats were kept inside only [...] Mean age of the 263 owned cats (data not available for 7 cats) was 7.5 years (95% CI, 6.9 to 8.5 years) [...] Fourteen percent of cats were acquired within the previous 12 months, with 26 of 38 (68.4%) coming from within the 3 communities or the San Luis Obispo County animal shelter. Fourteen percent of cats died or disappeared."
posted by vorfeed at 2:01 PM on January 30, 2012
A study on The Epidemiology of Free-Roaming Dog and Cat Population in the Wellington Area of New Zealand has some interesting data on outdoor cats submitted to the shelter there (including both pets and ferals): "the population was highly skewed towards animals in young age groups: 68% of dogs and 55% of cats were less than 12 months at the time of presentation to the shelter. Compared with dogs, greater proportions of free-roaming cats were from older age groups. The median age at presentation for dogs was 10 weeks (range 1 day to 22 years) and 7 months for cats (range 1 day to 22 years). [...] Among the free-roaming animals, 99% of dogs (2049 of 2065) and 53% cats (5539 of 10431) were classified as owned." Only 7% of the roughly 14000 cats examined in this study were older than 10 years, with 32% between 1 and 10.
A US study on outdoor fecal deposition by free-roaming cats found that "One-third of cats were kept inside only [...] Mean age of the 263 owned cats (data not available for 7 cats) was 7.5 years (95% CI, 6.9 to 8.5 years) [...] Fourteen percent of cats were acquired within the previous 12 months, with 26 of 38 (68.4%) coming from within the 3 communities or the San Luis Obispo County animal shelter. Fourteen percent of cats died or disappeared."
posted by vorfeed at 2:01 PM on January 30, 2012
I know that you do not want anecdotal info, but most of the many cats I have had seem to have a 14-15 year expiration date.
posted by Danf at 2:02 PM on January 30, 2012
posted by Danf at 2:02 PM on January 30, 2012
All the data I've seen mixes indoor/outdoor cats with ferals and strays, so the 2-5 year estimate is way off the mark. I've never seen a lifespan study that focuses on well cared for indoor/outdoor cats.
posted by lali at 2:31 PM on January 30, 2012
posted by lali at 2:31 PM on January 30, 2012
Have you considered talking to veterinary clinics in your area? It may not be TRULY scientific, but you'd be getting something from a professional with potentially decades of knowledge ('Old Mrs. Jacobsen brought in Whiskers for almost sixteen years...' etc etc). They might also be able to point you in the direction of domestic-cat lifespan studies.
posted by Heretical at 4:30 PM on January 30, 2012
posted by Heretical at 4:30 PM on January 30, 2012
I don't have references for you - but do you have access to a university-level science library? Most that I have known are open to the public and you could ask the reference desk to help you with a systematic search of the relevant databases. (Does pubmed contain animal research?)
anecdatally - my kitty (mostly indoor) lived until she was 18, as did a friend's very over weight indoor & outdoor cat Cats usually live longer than dogs.
posted by jb at 10:10 PM on January 30, 2012
anecdatally - my kitty (mostly indoor) lived until she was 18, as did a friend's very over weight indoor & outdoor cat Cats usually live longer than dogs.
posted by jb at 10:10 PM on January 30, 2012
Not long enough. :(
My vet gave me a pamphlet that cited outdoor cats as having a lifespan of under 10 years, "half that of indoor cats". I don't have the pamphlet anymore but it was a booklet about age stages of cats, sponsored by Purina, I believe.
My first cat lived to be 21.5 years old. My dear old boy who I put down over a year ago (has it really been that long? *sniff*) was 19.5 years old. My neighbor has a 19 year old little guy. I don't think it's unusual for cats to make it to 20 or beyond, given that they're indoors and well taken care of.
posted by Fuego at 12:54 PM on January 31, 2012
My vet gave me a pamphlet that cited outdoor cats as having a lifespan of under 10 years, "half that of indoor cats". I don't have the pamphlet anymore but it was a booklet about age stages of cats, sponsored by Purina, I believe.
My first cat lived to be 21.5 years old. My dear old boy who I put down over a year ago (has it really been that long? *sniff*) was 19.5 years old. My neighbor has a 19 year old little guy. I don't think it's unusual for cats to make it to 20 or beyond, given that they're indoors and well taken care of.
posted by Fuego at 12:54 PM on January 31, 2012
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posted by PeppahCat at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2012