How Long Do Cats Live

Cats are one of the most loved pets, all over the world. Once you get a cat in your house, you are definite to fall in love with its sleek personality and the so-called innocent look. It becomes a member of the family and that's when one starts getting worried about cat health when this adorable creature even sneezes! Unlike other pets, the life expectancy of cats is not well-known and as in the case of other pets, one does not come to know easily, if the cat is getting old. Read on to the average life expectancy of a cat and the factors which can contribute in increasing its life.

How Long do Cats Live for?

Outdoor Cat Lifespan
The lifespan of a cat depends on various factors. The most important and logical one is the place where it lives. Cat are fragile compared to other pets like dogs. If they live outdoors, there are high chances of cats falling prey to other animals. You must have often seen puppies being born and survive even on the streets. But it is not so with cats. Often, small kittens are killed not only by other animals like dogs, but also by other cats. There are also other factors like accidents, untreated diseases, poisoning etc. These factors obviously decrease their life span. If the outdoor cats are able to survive all the hurdles, they can live to about 5 - 12 years. If you want to know how long do cats live without food, I'm afraid it wouldn't be more than 2 - 3 days.

Indoor Cat Life Span
Indoor cats have a longer life expectancy due to obvious reasons. Cats remain safe in the house, as there is hardly any fear of attack from other animals and nor is there any question of getting killed due to some vehicle. Cat owners also provide the right pet food for their cat which prevents them from premature death. Other factors which increase the life span of an indoor cat is regular cat health care. Cat owners can also protect their cats from regular cat fights. Taking into consideration all these points, it is said that the average life span of an indoor cat is 15 - 21 years.

Things to Remember
Certain things that can be done to ensure a long life for your pet cat are as follows:

• Regular Exercise - Outdoor cats never face the problem of exercise as they are always on a move. But indoor cats are often overfed and as they do not go outside, they hardly get any exercise, which makes them obese and decreases their life. So regular exercise is a must for indoor cats.
• Vaccination - Many fatal but common cat diseases like feline rhinotracheitis, feline panleukopenia, feline immunodeficiency virus and rabies are some of the diseases which can prove fatal, but there are also vaccines available for them. The kitten is given the first vaccine at the age of about 6 weeks.
• Cat food - Cats tend to be curious about everything that comes their way and due to this tendency, they can suffer from food poisoning or other digestive problems like vomiting. So the best way is to feed it with the cat food, which can be homemade or ready-made.
• Medication - Like humans, cats also face many serious diseases which require proper medication. Diseases like diabetes, feline kidney disease and CRF are common amongst even indoor cats. If proper treatment is not provided, it can prove fatal.
• Dental Health - Dental health is included in the health factors, because it is equally important. Experts say that dental health plays an important role in the cat's lifespan. You should visit your vet for dental cleaning of the cat, at least once in a year.

These were all the facts about life expectancy of cats, which I hope you found useful. If you take proper and overall care of your pet cat, it may break the record of the longest living cat, which was of 38 years by a cat named Creme Puff!