How Long Do Cats Live?

Some domestic cats that live indoors can live into their 20s with some claims of cats living to their late 30s. Cats are the favorite pet in the world.

Some cats live inside and never go out. Others live part of the time indoors and part of it outdoors, and other cats are feral and live outside all the time. The life spans of these cats differ.

• A domestic cat that stays indoors can live into their 20s.
• A cat that lives indoors and outdoors has a shorter life expectancy. They usually live into their mid-teens, because of the problems in the outdoors. These include cat fights, traffic accidents, diseases, poisoning, being picked up by the animal control officers, and predators.
• Feral (wild) cats that are outside all the time do not fare well. In addition to all the problems listed previously, feral cats die of starvation, shortening their life span to around four years.

In summary, if you want your cat to live longer, they need to stay inside. 

History of Domestic Cats

On the island nation of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean, evidence of a domesticated cat was found. A kitten had been buried with its owner 9500 years ago. Early Egyptians worshipped a cat goddess and sometimes mummified their cats and even mice. Most historians agree that cats were tolerated when they ventured into towns to hunt mice and their populations grew through natural selection. This means that they had mice to eat so they lived long enough to reproduce.

The family Felis all shared a common ancestry 10 to 15 million years ago and includes lions, tigers, and the domestic cat. Domestic cats (Felis catus) are part of the genus Felis, which is a group of seven small cat species. They are found all over the world and include the African Wildcat, the Jungle Cat of Asia, the Arabian Sand Cat, and the Chinese Mountain Cat.

Cats did not undergo huge changes while they were being domesticated. Because of this, domestic cats can survive in the wild. Certain traits and behaviors made the wildcats suitable for domestication. These include a high intelligence, small body size, playfulness, a social nature, and a genetic tendency to be tame.    

Physical Characteristics of Cats

Cats weigh between 8 and 11 pounds on average, and are about 9 to 10 inches in height, 18 inches long, and have a 12 inch tail. They walk on their toes, like dogs, and each hind paw lands where the front paw went. This is quieter, makes fewer tracks, and gives them more stable footing on rough terrain. They have retractable claws, which also makes them quieter as the claws don’t touch the ground, and prevents them from getting dull. The claws come out for defense, hunting, extra traction, kneading, and climbing.

Cats are natural hunters as they can stalk and pounce and are nimble while using their tail to aid in balancing. They can function in 1/6 the light level needed by humans, have better hearing in higher frequencies than humans or dogs, and have an acute sense of smell. They are carnivorous, and have a rough tongue for grooming and for getting all the meat off of a bone. 

Here are the instructions to calculate a cat’s age in relation to human age.

• A cat ages 15 human years in the first year of its life.
• In the second year, you add nine years. This would make a two year old cat 24.
• For every year after that, add four years.

So if a cat is three, it is 28 in human years. Five is 36, 10 is 56, and 15 would be 76. If your cat is 20, then she is 96 human years old.  

Cat Trivia

• The largest cat ever weighed in at 46 lbs, 15.2 oz. or 21.297 kg.  
• The smallest cat weighed 3 lbs or 1.36 kg.
• The Guinness World Record in 2002 placed the oldest cat at 25, but one owner claimed later that his cat lived to be 37.
• Out of the big cats, the jaguar has the longest life span, sometimes reaching 30 years.