Longest-Living Cat Breeds Unveiled: Results from a Massive Study

The Ultimate Guide to Cat Longevity: Insights from 8,000 Cats

Birman and Burmese cats typically live the longest among common cat breeds, while Sphynx cats have the shortest lifespan, according to a recent extensive study of cats in the U.K.

The study, published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery on May 7, analyzed data from nearly 8,000 pet cats in the U.K. that passed away between January 2019 and March 2021.

Study was to utilize data to enable cat owners:

The main aim of the study was to utilize data to enable cat owners to make well-informed decisions about their cat's healthcare, stated Dan O'Neill, one of the study's authors and a companion-animal epidemiologist at the Royal Veterinary College in London.

While a cat breed's average lifespan can offer valuable insights, it doesn't provide the full picture. To provide a more comprehensive understanding of cats' life expectancies, the researchers constructed "life tables." These tables estimate cats' average remaining lifespan at any given age, excluding data from cats that died before reaching that age.

Burmese and Birman cats boast the longest life expectancies:

The study revealed that pet cats in the U.K. have an average lifespan of 11.7 years at birth. Crossbred cats, on average, live about 1.5 years longer than purebred ones. Burmese and Birman cats boast the longest life expectancies, averaging 14.4 years each. In contrast, Sphynx cats have significantly shorter lifespans, averaging only 6.7 years, possibly due to genetic predispositions to heart conditions or other illnesses.

Additionally, factors like gender and spaying/neutering status influence a cat's lifespan. Female cats, on average, live 1.3 years longer than male cats, and spayed/neutered cats live 1.1 years longer than intact cats.

The study also highlighted how cultural preferences, such as whether cats are kept indoors or allowed outdoors, can impact a cat's estimated lifespan. However, quantifying such preferences proves challenging since veterinary clinics typically don't record a cat's outdoor activities, and these activities might change if the cat is rehomed later in life.

Veterinarians with valuable information:

The life tables generated from this study provide cat owners and veterinarians with valuable information for making crucial decisions regarding adoption, medical care, or euthanasia, noted Kendy Teng, a small-animal epidemiologist at National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan and one of the study's co-authors.

Furthermore, the study's findings prompted an unexpected emotional response from some cat owners. Many expressed sentiments of realizing the brevity of time with their cats and pledged to cherish their time together more, indicating the study's potential to deepen the bond between pet owners and their feline companions.