How long can a cat live?

Question

My cat is 15, she is healthy and active, I was wondering how long a cat can live.

She is an indoor cat, and thanks everyone for the encouragement!

Answer 1

I was at the annual Cat Show at Madison Square Garden in New York, this month, on the 15th & 16th. I was watching a woman explain various breeds of cats, because it really was interesting and informative. When she finished pointing out the breed-specific characteristics of Maine Coon cats, a woman in the audience raised her hand. Called upon to ask her question, the woman stated that her really beloved Maine Coon cat had died that summer -- at the age of TWENTY-SIX! I personally know of a cat, named Alex, a non-pedigreed, backyard rescue, who outlived his owner and was taken in by a shop that sold expensive pedigreed cats, to live out his final days in peace. Like his owner before him, whom the shopkeeper had known, the lady who ran the shop bought him a tuna fish salad sandwich for lunch every day a the deli -- not supposed to be good food for a cat, but Alex loved it, and at the time he was 22 years old, so what the hey. He passed quietly in his sleep on a chill winter night, curled up in his poofy-woofy bed, at the ripe old age of 23. When they opened the shop that morning, he was gone to sleep with the fathers, sweet old man.

With cats as with people, age ain't nothin' but a number. The length of time they live has a lot to do with genetics -- and also with the care they get, the food they eat, the level of stress they have to endure. If you ask the experts, they will say that 15 is "age" for a cat, a normal life expectancy. But it is just a number, not a rule. And if your cat is vigorous and spunky at 15, then, lucky you, you get a bonus.

Answer 2

Well, the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is 3 to 5 years, while the average lifespan of a cat kept strictly indoors is around 14 and 20 years, and ever increasing due to advancement of veterinary care. If your kitty is an outside cat, I would recommend bringing her in during colder weather (or at least letting her sleep inside whenever she wants to), or even taking her inside altogether, as she is, after all, getting on in the years. Some cats have been known to live over 25 years, so I can only hope that for your cat.

Answer 3

15 is old for domestic cats. Generally 12 is a full life for a cat, although Guinness mentions a 29? yr old. Dogs usually live a couple years longer than cats. Good luck!

Answer 4

I had two cats, a brother and sister of a stray that wandered in and they both lived to be over 19 years of age. They were both healthy until about the last 6 months of their life and then their age caught up with them, their kidneys started to fail, they started to lose weight and I could tell that it was their time to go. But they had a good and healthy life to that point.

Answer 5

Average life span is 14 to 16 years. I believe the oldest on record is 24. My mother had a cat live to be 21.

Answer 6

Average lifespan is 15-20 years, but cats have been known to live to 25 and even longer. My old cat died last year at 19 (half Simaese). Siamese, Burmese, Birmans and Himalayans tend to live longer than the average cat.

Answer 7

I belive a cat can live anywhere from 12 to 20 years.

Answer 8

I have a cat who is 16. It depends on things...how healthy it is, its food quality, does it have tumors or cancer or any illnesses. etc. Some cats dont live long but others live to like in their 20s.

Answer 9

A lady I know just had 2 cats (one was 20 yrs old, the other was 21 yrs old) euthanized due to health reasons. She still has other cats, of similar age.

Answer 10

My friend had her cat for 24 years. The cat was a young adult when my friend got her, so the cat was probably at least 25 years old when she died.