Burmese and Burmese cats have the longest average life expectancy among common pet cat breeds, according to a new study. Sphynx cats, in turn, die younger, on average.
The study, published on May 7 in Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgeryexamined data from almost 8,000 pet cats in the UK that died between January 2019 and March 2021.
“The main motivation was to use data to empower people” to make informed decisions about their cats’ health care, said the study’s co-author. Dan O’Neillcompanion animal epidemiologist at the Royal Veterinary College, London.
The average life expectancy of a cat breed can be a useful metric, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. To get a better picture of the projected life expectancy of cats, researchers have developed “life tables,” which estimate the average remaining life expectancy of cats at any given age, excluding data on cats that died before reaching that age.
Pet cats in the UK had an average life expectancy of 11.7 years at birth, the study found. Overall, mixed-breed cats lived about 1.5 years longer than purebreds. Burmese and Burmese cats had the longest life expectancies at birth, each averaging 14.4 years. The life expectancy of Sphynx cats was less than half that – just 6.7 years – possibly due to a genetic predisposition to heart problems or other illnesses.
Factors other than breed contributed to a cat’s life expectancy. Female cats lived an average of 1.3 years longer than male cats, and spayed and neutered cats lived 1.1 years longer than intact cats.
Cultural preferences, such as whether cats should be kept indoors or outdoors, can also influence a cat’s lifespan, researchers reported. These preferences vary widely but are difficult to quantify. This is because veterinary clinics don’t record whether or how often a cat goes outside, and a cat’s outdoor adventures may become more or less frequent if they are rehomed later in life, O’Neill said.
Life tables give cat owners and veterinarians more information to consider when making important decisions about adoption, medical treatment or euthanasia, the study co-author said. Kendy Tengsmall animal epidemiologist at National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan.
The study also had an unexpected emotional impact on some cat owners. After a friend shared the study results on social media, Teng said, the answers started coming in. “A lot of people said, ‘Time is so short. I have,'” she told Live Science. “This helps the pet owner value time, their connection and relationship.”
