Top Cat: Longest Lifespan

CATS WITH THE LONGEST LIFE EXPECTANCY

 

We tend to be very attached to our pets, and when they "leave" us, it takes us a long time to recover. Inevitably this happened to me, I'm not going to describe my state of mind, anyone who experienced a death of a pet, knows the feeling. But time heals, and once again I planned to get myself a furry friend, but the fear to eventually go through the same pain made me wonder - which cat breed has the longest life span.

I decided to search the answer to that question on the Internet. And immediately realized, that it is impossible to give a definitive answer to this question. Let me explain why. I was primarily interested in the life expectancy of Ragdoll cats. And I was a surprised that their life expectancy is 10 -15 years, and they usually suffer from a lot of health problems.

This was a revelation for me. Our cat (Ragdoll) lived for 17 years, and barely had any health issues (few minor infections and some wounds from "brawls"). Very surprising, considering that he spent every summer with us in a countryside, where we could barely control his "life style". And in addition to that, he was not neutered, not vaccinated.

Then, I've found out, that Persian cats are leaders in "longest life span" category. Which, yet again, I find surprising, since Persians are prone to a lot of sicknesses. But Persians prefer to spend their time laying on the bed, instead of chasing prey, maybe, this is the key to long life expectancy. After all, turtles live up to 200 years, while ostrich usually barely makes it past 40, so much for an active life stile. :)

Next on the list - Siamese cat. From personal experience: 2 cats, both lived for more than 18 years (none of the relatives can remember their exact age), could have lived longer, but after their owner passed away, they became very inactive, refused to eat, and soon quietly left this world. Sad story, I know, but it only proves, how attached Siamese cat can be to a single person.

Then there is Oriental Shorthair. No arguments here, excellent immunity, they are not afraid of most feline diseases.

Russian Blue and Egyptian Mau can live up to 19 years, but only in perfect conditions. The problem is, that we have different ideas about "perfect conditions". For us - it's when a cat eats carefully selected and well balanced meals, and spends the day lying on the couch. For them, it might be "lying on the bed of grass, which can also serve as a breakfast". Who knows... Anyway, back to the list:

Life expectancy up to 20 years:

♦ Thai

♦ Siamese

♦ American Shorthair

♦ Manx

Life expectancy up to 19 years:

♦ Egyptian Mau

♦ Russian Blue

Life expectancy up to 18 years:

♦ Devon Rex

♦ Japanese Bobtail

Life expectancy up to 17 years:

♦ Australian Mist

♦ Maine Coon

Life expectancy up to 15-16 years:

♦ Persian

♦ Arabian Mau

♦ Abyssinian

♦ British Shorthair

♦ Asian Shorthair

♦ Cymric (Manx Longhair)

♦ Selkirk Rex

Life expectancy up to 13-14 years:

♦ Exotic Shorthair

♦ American Bobtail

And the last on this list, with lowest life expectancy are:

♦ Bombay

♦ Snowshoe

This list is not full, and I still can't decide, what breed to chose for myself. Was hoping get a clear answer, but instead got confused even more. Nevertheless, I hope this list will help you choose the healthy and long-living cat. Good luck!