Like you and me, any living creature in this world is destined to live only for a certain period of time. But this is based on your health vastly. A healthy creature of the same species will survive longer than its unhealthy or weaker counterpart.
Hence, the average lifespan of a cat depends heavily on many factors such as providing nutritious food, adequate exercise, protection from outdoor risks, and so on.
Having said that, we can broadly divide them as Indoor Cats and Outdoor Cats. Simply because the above factors tend to vary a lot between these two categories. As a matter of fact, any stray animal will usually have less life expectancy than that which is domesticated.
So also, according to vets, outdoor cats have an average lifespan of about 7 years, while housing cats have a life expectancy of around 14 years.
Of course, the numbers are a rough estimation of a dynamic clowder of cats. Some lucky cats live up to 20 years!
Also, another way of breaking this down further is to classify them breed-wise and gender-wise. It is usually the female cats that outlive the male cats. Although there are no scientific grounds to this base, it is still a widely observed, and accepted assumption.
According to a study by Royal Veterinary College, UK, crossbreed cats had a life expectancy of 14 years whereas purebreds had a lifespan of 12.5 years.
MAGIC RECIPE TO IMPROVE THE LIFESPAN OF YOUR CAT
The oldest cat that ever lived on earth according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was Crème Puff, a domestic cat that found its home in Texas, the U.S for 38 years and 3 days (168
cat years… Woah…!!). She passed away on August 6, 2005.
Let us see the reasons for her longevity that her owner, Jake Perry had shared.
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A diet comprising dry cat food supplemented with broccoli, eggs, turkey bacon, coffee with cream
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“An eyedropper full of red wine” for every two days
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Engaging the cat actively at home. For example, wooden steps built for her to climb and a backyard enclosure for her to enjoy outdoors.
Although Puff was a “Felis” breed, the above checklist pretty much suits any cat.
Here is the magic recipe only for you, with hand-picked ingredients from expert vets’ advice…
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First off, focus on a nutritious diet with appropriate food and clean water. This for the most part helps in increasing a cat’s life expectancy.
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Secondly, plan regular visits to vets. This will help in a quick diagnosis of any ailment, so you can immediately heal her.
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Thirdly, vaccinating your cat plays a key role. Now that we are getting our jabs in this pandemic, let us sterilize our puffy friend too. Even if she gets angry a bit :P
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Fourthly, allow some quality outdoor time with exercise. It will refresh her and help her stay more active.
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Finally, keep loving her and send her only positive vibes. Your attention and affection can do wonders.
When we say “Health is Wealth”, let us not forget that the same applies to every living being, including our cute cats!