Toat shovelers all have a common wish:
Cats stay away from the pain of diseases and live healthily and happily for a longer time!
The car general who accompanied us to check the information and code every day, so sometimes he will inevitably worry sentimentally:
How long can my kitten stay with me?
What factors affect the lifespan of TA? What diseases can kill cats?
What is the average life span of a cat?
The earliest average life expectancy of cats was estimated to be between 5 and 8 years, and later increased to 9 years... In multiple statistical analyses over the past 10 years, the average life expectancy of cats has increased to 14 years+, and it is getting longer and longer~
For example, a random sampling survey of 118,016 cats in the UK in 2014 showed that the median life expectancy of cats was 14 years old.
Last year, a Japanese insurance institution counted the life expectancy trend of cats in 2008 to 22 years, with the latest data being 14.7 years old.
Further subdivision found that there are large differences in life spans of cats in different groups.
What factors affect cat life span?
From the data statistics, the main influencing factors include: gender, sterilization, weight, feeding environment (medical maintenance), and variety.
① Female cat > male cats, the median lifespan of female cats is 15 years (11-17.4 years), while male cats are slightly lower, 13 years (7.6-16 years);
② Sterilization > non-spained, the median lifespan of sterilized cats is 15 years, while non-spained cats are only 11 years;
③ Non-purebred > purebred, the median lifespan of non-purebred cats is 14 years, which is also slightly higher than 12.5 years of purebred cats.
④ Light weight > obesity, in the statistics of small and medium-sized cats (≥3.5kg), the median life expectancy of cats decreased by 0.2 to 0.5 years with weight gain (1kg).
⑤ Good feeding environment and medical conditions > Semi-stocking, free-range, and deworming are not in place. [This may be the most important of many factors]
⑥ As for the influence of breeds, there is some controversy...
Are there long-lived cat breeds? When recommending cat breeds, the external network often lists a "Long-life Cat List":
Many statistics say that there are obvious differences in life spans of cats of different breeds. These statistics cover a wide range of areas (multiple countries), and the data is huge (thousands to hundreds of thousands of cats). Each article seems to be quite reliable when viewed separately.
But when they are sorted together, these data have a "slap" in the face.
For example, the Bengal cat has been smooth sailing in Japan, and it is difficult to go to the UK so at this stage, it is difficult to draw the conclusion that "the XX breed cat lives higher".
But in the high life list, there are many flowers blooming:
35-year-old Burmese cat Kataleeena, 34-year-old Sphinx cat Grandpa Rex, 29-year-old wandering "little earth cat" Flossie, 31-year-old Siamese Scooter, 39-year-old mixed-breeding Creme Puff...
After seeing these long-lived cat grandpa and cat grandma, has you greatly increased your confidence?
If you want a cat to live long, you must strictly guard against diseases that may kill cats!
What are the causes of sudden death of a cat?
In two statistics in Germany and the UK, researchers found that the high-risk age group for sudden death of cats is around 1 to 3 years old and 5 years old.
This does not match the general perception of some parents (young and elderly).
For this reason, many cat shovelers never expect the cat to leave themselves, and ignore the relevant risk assessment and prevention.
The main cause of trauma for 1 to 3 years old is trauma (estrus, injury after going out), and the respiratory system, heart, and kidneys are increased by around 5 years old.
What specific factors need attention? Compared with previous surveys in Canada, this data does not differ much in the ranking of other factors except for the higher proportion of "unknown causes". Researchers speculate that this may be because there are many "Tuo" poisonous snakes, spiders, etc., and many cats died of accidental poisoning and were classified as unknown reasons.
In this way, as a domestic cat who is fully fed indoors, sealing the windows + packing the food plants that may cause the cat to be poisoned + doing a cardiovascular physical examination can prevent at least 80% of the causes of sudden death in cats.
In addition to these "accidents", what should we pay attention to and prevent in common cat diseases?
What are the causes of cat death due to illness? In 23, the University of California conducted a statistical analysis of the causes of death of cats in its veterinary teaching hospital for autopsy over the past 20 years.
Divide by organs where the disease occurs:
Divide by pathological causes:
This study subdivided the causes into 55 categories, among which the top four causes of death account for 58.52% of the total causes of death in cats:
Among them, the first cancer (average 11.4 years old) has a very high mortality rate. Among the cats with confirmed cancer, more than 80% died of cancer;
Although renal disease ranks second, it is a hidden "big boss". Because researchers found that only 20% of cats with kidney disease died simply from renal failure (average 9.4 years old). But it shows that there are 80% of kidney disease cases, hidden among other causes of death in the disease, and the number of kidney disease in cats is very large!
Among the cases of death from heart disease, HCM is the most common cause, accounting for 37%; followed by endocarditis, myocarditis, and myocardial fibrosis.
In summary, for cats who are over 8 to 10 years old and are entering middle-aged and elderly, we must focus on preventing cancer, kidney disease, and thrombosis. The shoveler had a regular physical examination (kidney, heart, liver) to avoid cat stress (abdominal transmission), and built a 70% line of defense.
Although the data tells us that the average life span of cats is between 14 and 15 years old.
But Yaojiu always feels that as long as you take care of yourself and keep it scientifically, it is not a problem for a kitten to survive to 20+!
Tom in the hospital next door is almost 12 years old and loves to wander around every day...