Birman cats are one of the longest-lived cats.
Nils Jacobi/Alamy Stock Photo
A study of thousands of pet cats in the UK found that the longest-lived cat breeds, such as Birmans and Burmese, live more than twice as long as the shortest-lived breeds.
“Very little research has been done on cats when it comes to life expectancy,” he says. Dan O'Neill At the Royal Veterinary College. “Scientifically, they are invisible, especially compared to dogs.”
To learn more about cat lifespans, O'Neill and his colleagues analyzed data from UK veterinarians on 7,936 cats that died between 2019 and 2021.
Overall, the average lifespan of cats was just over 11.7 years. Female cats lived longer than male cats, with an expected lifespan of 12.5 years compared to 11.2 years.
Hybrid cats tended to live longer than purebred cats, with the two groups having an expected lifespan of 11.9 and 10.4 years, respectively.
The data shows 15 or more deaths in 12 breeds, including hybrids, enough to estimate life expectancy. Topping the longevity list are Birman and Burmese cats, both with an average lifespan of 14.4 years. At the bottom of the list are the Bengal cat and the Sphynx, with average lifespans of 8.5 and 6.7 years, respectively.
Unlike dogs, cat lifespans do not seem to correlate with traits such as body size.
“Cats are boring. The only difference between cats is usually the length and color of their fur,” says O'Neill. “We're not talking about breeds that have curved spines or don't have muzzles, like in dogs.”
The research team also created so-called life tables that predict the life expectancy of cats of different ages. This will help cat owners decide how to treat their sick pet.
“If your cat is 11 or 12 years old and only expected to live another year, it probably isn't worth the surgery, for example,” O'Neill says.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
