by Betty Carew

Created on: September 29, 2009   Last Updated: September 30, 2009

The life expectancy of cats is determined mainly on what type of life the cat has lived. For example, the normal life span of an outdoor cat and an indoors cat varies greatly. The life of a feral cat has a lower expectancy than that of an outside cat with a home. An outside cat with a home has a life span expectancy of 12 to 15 years (barring any serious medical issues or accidents) compared to the life span of an indoor cat which has an average lifespan 20 years and in some cases longer. A feral cat's lifespan drops dramatically from an indoor cat, with an average life expectancy of 5 years.

Indoor cats

The cat that lives indoors all of its life usually has totally protection such as all his vaccinations; he is neutered or spayed which avoids many diseases and stress for any cat. The indoor cat has no danger from traffic, fighting with other animals or the many poisons that can be found outdoors. An indoor cat is usually kept on a healthy well balanced diet which adds tremendously to their life span. Sometimes the breed of a cat will give a cat another advantage of living longer as genetics also influence the life of a cat. An indoor cat usually gets its exercise from the many toys and interaction with humans to keep them slim and trim. There have been indoor cats reported to have lived into their thirties but this is extremely rare. The average indoor cat lives between fifteen and twenty years old which is a very good portion of a human's life. All of these factors contribute to the life span of the indoor cat.

Outdoor cat

The cat that has a home but lives outdoors faces many more dangers than an indoor cat and drastically shortens their lifespan even if they are neutered or spayed. An outdoor cat is exposed to traffic, fighting with other animals which pose a risk of disease and exposure to the many poisons that are found outside such as pesticides and anti-freeze to mention just a few. There is a potential for the outdoors cat to be stolen or in harm's way from people that don't care for cats. Even if an outside cat is feed consistently they can also eat from garbage's which can be a hazard. If an outside cat is vaccinated there are diseases that they can catch from other animals. All of these factors influence their lifespan and can shorten it to twelve to fifteen years barring that none of the above happens.

Feral cats

Feral cats don't have much of a chance when it comes to a long lifespan. There are just too many factors stacked against them. These cats have never known human contact and they are wide open to any danger you can possibly think of such as disease, traffic, dying from birthing, poison, garbage which they live on, weather and many more dangers. They are not neutered or spayed, they have no vaccinations therefore they are cats that are waiting to die at an early age. Their life expectancy runs at four to five years old.

It is very obvious that the indoor cats are the lucky ones and can outlive an outdoor cat by many years. If you want a long and happy life with your cat make him an indoor cat the rewards are bigger than both of you now that you know the life expectancy of cats.

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