How old do cats live and how to give them a long happy life?

Question

The question is pretty much self explanitory..
I have an older cat, and I am just wondering how I can get her live to her full extent.
Also, how old do cats generally live to?

She's an indoor kitty, but has escaped outside before..

Answer 1

Cats can live well into their teens and early 20's!

Cats are considered 'senior' at age 7 and 'geriatric' at age 13. I have 2 seniors and 2 geriatrics!

The best thing you can do for your kitty is regular visits to her vet for a wellness examination and blood work. The 'senior' blood work my vet does checks the thyroid, kidneys, liver and blood glucose. If any of these are out of the normal range, your vet will probably want to re-test in 3-6 months.

The most common illnesses you find in the older kitty is hyperthyroidism, diabetes, kidney failure, but can also have problems with their liver and get cancer. She should have regular dental examinations and cleanings. I do my kitties every two years.

What you can do at home is feed her a good diet, exercise her and keep her environment as stress free as possible.

Cats are carnivores, so they need a diet primarily of meat. I have attached a link to cat nutrition written by a vet and cat lover. She describes in an easy to read, but very detailed, information about cat foods. In a nutshell, avoid most of the dry foods and canned foods with gravy. They are full of grains, carbs and sometimes dyes that kitty doesn't need. Feed a good quality canned food that lists meat as the primary ingredients. I feed the grain free Fancy Feasts, from my research and information on feline diabetic websites. My cats love them and for the first time in 5+ years, my diabetic kitty is insulin free.

Keep kitty as active a possible by playing with her and having toys that enourage her to chase and play.

By stress in the environment, I know things change, jobs, living arrangements. When these happen, make the changes gradually if possible and give kitty some extra snuggling so she knows all is okay.

Mine are 7, 10, 14 and 16. I recently lost my 17 yo to CRF. The 14 yo is diabetic (5+ years) and the 16 yo diagnosed 2 weeks ago with hyperthyroidism. They are all active and playful and love to watch the birds at the feeders and baths (2 windows for their viewing pleasure)!

Purrs and prayers for many long years for you and kitty.

Answer 2

It sounds like you are giving your cat a good, loving home with good food, clean water, and all the necessities of life. OUTSTANDING! I think you'll find that in return your older cat will show her appreciation more quickly than she might have when she was younger.

So what can you do beyond this? Well, there are as many opinions about who makes the best cat food as there are cat food options out there. I'm really not sure I have a good answer for you there other than to discuss it with your vet.

How long will she live? I think cats can generally be expected to live AT LEAST into their early teens. Many will live into their later teens. After that though the odds are going to start to go down. Some cats have been known to live into their 20's and I think a few record setters have broken 30, but that would be like a human living well past 100. What I think is a good guide to go by is this: Year 1 for the cat is like years 1-15 for a human. Year 2 for the cat is like year 16-25 for a human. After that each year for a cat is like 4 years for a human. So a 15 year old cat could be said to be roughly 76 in human years. Certainly not young, but with luck a cat who still has some good years in her.

I hope this helped some and I hope you and your friend have MANY happy years together.

Answer 3

By FAR the best thing you can do to give your cat a long, healthy life is to keep her indoors.

Cats CAN live into their 20s but it is very rare... Late teens is average -- for an INDOOR cat. Average age for an outdoor cat is 8 - 14 years.

Of course you also need to feed her properly, make sure she gets all her shots, make sure she is spayed, take her to the vet when she is ill and LOVE her a lot. It sounds as if you are doing all of these things...

One thing -- more and more has been written about how awful most commercial pet food is. If you haven't already done so, switching her to a human grade food will certainly help keep her healthy. Innova, Wellness, Felidae are a few human grade brands, I'm sure there are others. Unfortunately, you can't ask most VETS about this, because they all seem to be brainwashed by Hills...

Good luck with your kitty!

Answer 4

We had a cat that lived 23 years. He was really pretty old for a cat. He was kept indoors. He had also been fixed. We had to have quiet a lot of stuff done to keep him healthy. He developed Kidney stones and had to have an operation and then go on a special diet.He did not like it and tried to get bites of he dog food but so we had to watch him real careful. He was a very well caredfor cat. He got so old we finally had to have him put to sleep. He was not able to make it to his liter box, his food dish or even to his water when he wanted a drink. He just could not get around. He had never been hit or anything. He was just old. He was a very special cat and had the funniest quirks about him. We loved him dearly. Hope your cat lives as long and is even healthier.

Answer 5

I have had indoor cats that have lived to be 21 and 23 years old. The key is a healthy premium cat food and regular veterinary check ups. I just adopted out a 16 year old cat last year and he is doing great. Good luck to you and your kitty.

Answer 6

An indoor cat will live to an average age of about 17, maybe 20 with good luck. Cats have horrible kidneys, and this is the cause of most of their disabilities in old age. It is critical to feed them properly and always have enough fresh water available. Other than that, keep stress low and give lots of love.

Answer 7

I had one cat live to 21 years.
My vet commented that the average life is 12-14 years.
My cat lived longer than average as she was kept indoors, away from extreme temperatures and stress of any feral cats or other large prey that go after outdoor cats. Also, getting her regular medical care insured that her health did not deteriorate from otherwise avoidable illness and injury.
She was fed both wet/dry food, given an extraordinary amount of love and affection, toys, treats and slept on my bed!
She lived a fabulous life, and is now the guardian angel for my new kitties.
I wish you the very best with your cat.

Answer 8

Cats usually live between 20 to 25 years. Give them plenty of love and keep them active. Also if the cat is over 7 years make sure to put it on senior food. Make sure to feed him a good diet.

Answer 9

I think up to around 15 to 20 years. My sisters cat was 19 and went blind and couldn't do anything anymore so was put to sleep, but not letting them run loose will make them live longer, and yearly checkups would probably help. My two cats are never loose and go to the vets once a year.

Answer 10

I have had cat's that died after a year and I have had a cat live up to 20 years old. It just depends... some cats can get cancer or anything can strike at anything. There is no real to predict how long they will live.

.... And to give them a happy life just love them ☺