How Long Do Cats Live? Average Lifespan by Breed
Most pet cats can live well into their teens, and reaching 18 or even 20 is far from impossible. Some spend their senior years sleeping in sunny windows, demanding dinner at exactly the same time every evening and behaving as though getting older is everyone else’s problem
But how long do cats actually live? A major veterinary study published in 2024 found an average life expectancy of 11.7 years among cats receiving veterinary care in the United Kingdom. Burmese and Birman cats had the longest estimated lifespans among the breeds studied, at 14.4 years
Those numbers might seem low if you know someone with a 19-year-old cat. The research includes cats that died young, which pulls down the average. A healthy cat that has already reached its tenth birthday has a better outlook than the lifespan figure assigned at birth suggests
Breed certainly plays a role, but a cat’s everyday life is just as important. Indoor safety, body weight, inherited health problems a