Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Cat breeds with longest and shortest life expectancy revealed

Burmese cats have highest life expectancy among pet feline breeds

Vishwam Sankaran
Wednesday 08 May 2024 11:40 BST
Comments
Ginger cats came to Britain with the Vikings

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Burmese cats have the highest life expectancy among pet feline breeds while the Sphynx has the shortest, according to a new first-of-its-kind study of companion cat varieties in the UK.

Researchers created the first-ever “life tables” for the UK pet cat population, representing a major step towards understanding the lifespan of companion cats.

The new table, described recently in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, predicts the remaining life expectancy and probability of death across age groups in any cat population.

Understanding the remaining lifespan can help pet owners and rehoming centres predict how much longer a cat may live, scientists from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) say.

“The development of life tables for the UK companion cat population represents a significant milestone in understanding the life of cats,” study co-author Kendy Teng from Taiwan’s National Chung Hsing University said.

“Knowing the expected lifespan of their cats, we’re not just raising awareness, we’re helping the owners to make ‘pawsitive’ decisions for their cats,” Dr Teng said.

Science Explains Why Cats Always Land on Their Feet

In the research, scientists assessed data on 7936 confirmed cat deaths under primary care at clinics.

The 7936 deaths included 819 purebred cats, 6998 crossbreds and 119 cats without recorded breed information.

Researchers found that the overall average life expectancy for UK companion cats was 11.7 years.

Burmese and Birman breeds had the greatest life expectancy from birth at 14.4 years, while Sphynx cats had the shortest at 6.8 years.

UK cat breeds and their life expectancy
UK cat breeds and their life expectancy (Vishwam Sankaran)

Bengal cats also had a short life expectancy of around 8.5 years.

Crossbreeds and Siamese had a life expectancy in the first year of over 11.5.

Scientists also found that purebred cats and felines with non-ideal bodyweight may have shortened life expectancy.

The study found that the odds for purebred cats dying before 3 years of age were “1.83 times higher” than crossbred cats.

“These new life tables finally enable owners of cats to do just this and to predict the future life expectancy for their cats based on novel scientific methods and the power of Big Data,” Dan O’Neill, another author of the study from RVC, said.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in