If you are wondering how long a cat lives, we can tell you straight away that a cat can live anywhere from 12 to 18 years, and in some cases even longer; it all depends on the feline breed and the lifestyle it leads. Let's explore together how cat years are counted and how long a cat can live by following a healthy lifestyle…
How are cat years counted? How long does a cat live?
The average lifespan of a cat is around 15 years; however, assigning a correct and precise age to cats is not so straightforward — even vets often find it a challenge! Generally, how old a cat is can be determined by the condition of its teeth, the shine of its coat, its agility, and its desire and instinct to hunt.
If you want to compare a cat's age with that of a human being, the calculation to follow is the same one used for dogs — that is, one (feline) year is multiplied by approximately seven (human) years. However, there are tables that calculate how long a cat lives in a different way; as you can see from the table below, the seven-year rhythm is not always maintained.
| Cat's age | Human |
|---|---|
| 1 month | 5–6 months |
| 2 months | 2–3 years |
| 3 months | 5 years |
| 6 months | 10 years |
| 1 year | 15 years |
| 2 years | 24 years |
| 3 years | 28 years |
| 4 years | 32 years |
| 5 years | 36 years |
| 6 years | 40 years |
| 7 years | 44 years |
| 8 years | 48 years |
| 9 years | 52 years |
| 10 years | 56 years |
| 11 years | 60 years |
| 12 years | 64 years |
| 13 years | 68 years |
| 14 years | 72 years |
| 18 years | 88–91 years |
| 20 years | 91–96 years |
| 21 years | 96–106 years |
How long can a cat live
As you can easily imagine, calculating a cat's age in relation to human age is always a very approximate exercise; some follow the seven-year rule and others do not — after all, who can say which rule is the right one?! It is also worth considering that a cat's lifestyle plays a fundamentally important role in this regard. Thanks to a healthy lifestyle and the care of loving owners, many cats have lived well beyond 20 years.
The Guinness World Record for the oldest cat in the world is still held by Creme Puff — a cat who lived in Austin, Texas, and passed away at the age of 38 years and three days. Creme's grandfather was also a long-lived cat; born in Paris in 1964 and passed away in 1998 at the remarkable age of 34 years and 2 months. To reach such records, as well as a great deal of good fortune, we need to pay particular attention to our cat's diet, the exercise it gets throughout the day, and veterinary care — which we would always remind you is absolutely essential!
