You may have heard from different cat owners about the number of years that cats live, and some may even have made some outrageous claims of having their cat alive for x number of years. Regardless of that fact, cats are family for you.
You love them with all of your heart just like you would love your children, and you would never want to part with them. But as the rule of life is, every living thing has to face death. Nonetheless, the thought of death scares you; you don’t want your beloved feline to experience death’s call. So what do you do? Like every person who prepares for the worst.
How Long Do Cats Live?
Do you search for how long do cats live to prepare yourself for that inevitable time? And hence, here we are about to find out how much and why cats live for x number of years.
So how long is a cat’s life expectancy?
Cats’ Life Expectancies
Cats have different life expectancies based on their breed. Indoor cats are more susceptible to early deaths, and hence, they can live for as little as 2 years but at max for 16 years. However, for wild cats that are living outdoors, their life expectancy is drastically reduced by half to 8 years due to the various dangers and animals that they are preyed on.
However, without factoring in danger and the various scuffles that wild cats often get into, their life expectancy increases by 7 years up to 15 years, usually a teenage human’s living years.
Mortality Rate of Cats: Causes
The main causes of death in cats are usually fungal or parasitic infections. These feline infections account for nearly 30% of the total causes of death which is a huge chunk. Other significant causes of death include lymphoma, which takes up nearly 45% of the death toll, and trauma from motor vehicle accidents on the road which is at 11%. However, if you are wondering that there are visible signs of your cats becoming ill, then that is not true. Often some owners express concerns that their previously healthy cats had passed away. That happens when there is a heart disease present which accounts for up to 15% of the total death toll in cats.
In short, the major causes behind the mortality rate of cats are lymphoma and feline infectious diseases, which determine how long do cats live.
Kittens’ Life Expectancies
As a baby cat, the mortality rate is extremely high, and there is a danger for kittens much more than there is for adult cats. You see, kittens are vulnerable and dependent on the mama cat, who tends to leave her cats after a month of feeding them. Once their mother abandons kittens, their survival rate goes down. Until and unless they are not adopted by a human and kept indoors away from the potential eyes of prey, they can easily die.
Mortality Rate of Kittens
Most kittens often die due to starvation because they are unable to hunt or catch their prey. Hence, they are completely helpless. That is one reason why kittens tend to die quite easily without their mother’s protection. Kittens are also preyed on by other adult male cats that try to overpower them—resulting in kittens getting heavily injured with scratches on their body. Some of these kittens succumb to their injuries if they are malnourished. Hence, that can cause their life span to shorten to a few weeks from a few years.
A kitten’s life expectancy can be increased if they are adopted by humans and kept inside away from the eyes of potential predators. By feeding them kitten-appropriate food and taking care to keep them warm, the kittens will not only become healthy but will live for a longer period.
So what practices can you adopt to increase the life expectancy of your cat?
Practices That Can Make Your Cat Live Longer
We all want our pets to live as long as we do and maybe even longer. It hurts you to see that you may witness the time when they would be near death, and you want to make sure you make their chance of meeting death as less as possible. So here are a couple of practices that you can use to make your feline companion be with you for a longer period.
Get Their Medical Check-up Done Frequently
Your cat won’t be able to voice their pain or complain about not feeling good. So you need to make sure you get your cat to the vet’s clinic frequently to ensure they get a thorough medical check-up. There are different vaccines that a vet will administer to your cat to prevent them from getting into contact with viral infections that have a very high mortality rate. Failure to get your cat vaccinated on a routine basis can make them vulnerable to feline infectious diseases.
Exercise and Playful Activities
Physical activity is good for not just humans, but nearly all living things, and your cat is no exception to that. Exercise in the form of playful activities or a little hunting of tiny animals like mice or lizards keeps your cat active and has their blood pumping more. Physical activity can be in the form of allowing your cat to offer you dead animals as gifts from their hunting or playful expedition. You can even give them interactive toys or cat towers to keep them occupied mentally and physically
Diet
Cats need a proper diet, including giving them wet cat food rich in nutrients, so your cat stays healthy.
Our Final Thoughts
We know now that cats can live up to 16 years of age, but that only happens when you keep them safe and protected from harmful infections, give them a great diet and get them routine checked up. Otherwise, your cats are as susceptible to death as any other animal or human. Next time if anyone argues about how long do cats live, tell them to read this.
