Aging in cats facts for kids

Reliable information on the lifespans of house cats is hard to find. However, research has been done to get an estimate (an educated guess) on how long cats usually live. Cats usually live for 13 to 20 years. Sometimes cats can live for 22 to 30 years but there are claims of cats dying at ages of more than 30 years old.

The Guinness World Record for the oldest cat was for a cat named Creme Puff, who was 38 years old. Female cats seem to live longer than male cats. Neutered cats live longer than cats that have not been neutered. Mixed breed cats also appear to live longer than purebred cats. Researchers have also found that cats that weigh more have shorter lifespans.

People sometimes guess how long a cat will live by comparing it to how long a human usually lives. You can estimate a cat's age in "cat years" by multiplying the cat's age in normal years by 7. A better guess for cat years used by veterinarians is: the cat's age times 4, then plus 16. You can use this math for cats who are at least 2 years old.

This is an example of both ways of estimating cat years for a 5 year old cat:

The life expectancy of an indoor cat is around 17 years, but the life expectancy of outdoor cats is 5.6 years.

See also

In Spanish: Esperanza de vida del gato para niños