How Long Do Cats Live? What 7,936 Cats Show

Written by Marc Brannigan, Co-Founder & CEO of HempMy Pet. Last updated 28 October 2026.

How Long Do Cats Live? The Numbers, Side by Side

Two large UK veterinary studies, two different questions. Both come from the RVC's VetCompass programme, which collects records from primary-care vets.

Why 11.7 and 14.0? Different methods and different years. Teng et al. found most breed figures were 0.68–1.24 years lower than in the 2009–2012 data behind the 2015 paper.

Read this before you trust any single number

• They are UK cats under veterinary care. Cats that never see a vet, such as strays and feral cats, are not in the data, and neither are cats that die before their first visit.
• 83.7% of the deaths were euthanasia, which the 2024 authors say likely understates how long cats would live if they died unassisted.
• Deaths in the first year are probably undercounted. The 2024 paper found a lower risk of death in year 0–1 (0.039) than in year 1–2 (0.047), the opposite of what biology predicts, and says so.
• Averages are not promises. The 2015 spread ran from newborns to 26.7 years; the middle half of cats died between 9.0 and 17.0.

How Many Years Does an Older Cat Have Left?

Life expectancy goes up for every cat that survives another year. This is the table that answers "my cat is already 12 — what now?"

Source: cohort life table, Table 1 of Teng et al. 2024. Total lifespan is age plus life expectancy; the share column is the table's count of cats alive at each age divided by 7,936.

The practical reading: a cat that gets through the risky first years is likely to live well into its teens. By 15 the yearly risk of death has climbed to about 21%, and by 17 to about 34%. Those are the years when a vet-led plan and daily comfort matter most.

Life Expectancy by Breed

Table 6 of the 2024 paper, for the 12 breed groups with 15 or more deaths. The last column shows how many deaths each figure rests on.

Source: Teng et al. 2024, Table 6. UK cats dying in 2019.

How to read it. Burmese and Birman are the long-lived pedigrees. The confidence intervals for Burmese and Birman sit entirely above the crossbred average; those for Maine Coon, British, Bengal, Sphynx and (just barely) Ragdoll sit entirely below it. Siamese, Persian, Norwegian Forest Cat and the Russian group overlap it, so the data cannot separate them from an ordinary cat. Norwegian Forest Cat (15 deaths), Russian (19) and Sphynx (18) are small samples with wide intervals.

Two caveats from the authors: the Ragdoll and Bengal figures improved from the 2009–2012 data (median lifespans of 10.1 to 12.22 years for Ragdoll and 7.3 to 8.40 for Bengal), and the Sphynx result stands out because there is little peer-reviewed mortality data on the breed. For the size, weight and health profile of the biggest breeds, see our largest domestic cat breeds guide.

Sex, Neutering and Weight: What the Data Link to Longer Lives

Three things an owner can influence or at least understand.

Purebred cats also had 1.83 times the odds of dying before 3 compared with crossbreds, and lived 1.27 years less after adjustment.

Indoor vs Outdoor: The Biggest Lever

That is the estimate from a 2026 review by Mike Calver, Heather Crawford and Trish Fleming at Murdoch University (DOI 10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04067). The review gathers roaming risks: European estimates that 18–24% of cats are struck by a car in their lifetime and about 70% of those collisions are fatal; poisoning; fights; and in one Australian tracking study of 428 cats, an average of 4.8 road crossings per day. About two-thirds of Australian owners reported having had a cat die while roaming.

It is a review rather than a trial, and "indoor" is not a guarantee. But it fits the death data: in the 2015 study, the five leading causes of death in cats of all ages were trauma (12.2%), kidney disease (12.1%), non-specific illness (11.2%), cancer (10.8%) and mass lesions (10.2%). Trauma is the one an owner can most directly design out. A catio, a harness, or a fenced run gives most of the enrichment without the road.

Cat Life Stages and What to Watch For

The 2021 AAHA/AAFP life stage guidelines divide a cat's life like this.

Source: AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines (2021). The ranges overlap at age 10 in the source. For how those stages play out in practice, see when is a cat considered a senior.

Signs a mature cat is slowing down that deserve a vet visit, not a wait:

• Drinking or urinating more, or weight loss despite eating — common early signs of kidney or thyroid disease
• Using the litter box less, or avoiding boxes with high sides — a sign of sore joints
• Not jumping onto the couch, counter or bed as before. Cats rarely limp, so this is how joint pain shows; see why cats don't limp
• Yowling at night or seeming lost in the house — see cat yowling at night for the vet-first checklist
• Bad breath, drooling or dropping food — dental disease is common and treatable

Where Hemp Fits — and Where It Doesn't

The honest limit: the evidence for hemp in cats is thin. It is mostly small safety studies, and cats process hemp differently from dogs — see why cats process hemp differently and whether CBD is safe for cats. The 93% result on this page's author box is from a dog joint trial, not a cat trial. Start low, use weight-based servings from our cat serving guide, and talk to your vet first if your cat is on medication. For the fuller senior picture, read hemp for senior cats.

Hemp for Cats → Hemp for Senior Cats

When to Call the Vet

Go now if:

• A male cat is straining in the litter box and producing little or no urine — a same-hour emergency
• Open-mouth breathing, collapse, or a sudden inability to use the back legs
• Sudden blindness — dilated pupils, bumping into things
• Not eating or drinking for 24 hours

Book this week if:

• Weight loss, a bigger appetite or increased thirst in any cat over seven
• Any change in litter-box habits that lasts more than a few days
• A cat who has stopped jumping, grooming or climbing stairs
• Any new night-time yowling or confusion in a cat over ten

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should an indoor cat live?
There is no published life table for indoor-only cats, so any single number is an estimate. Two anchors help. The 2024 UK life table puts life expectancy at birth for all pet cats, indoor and outdoor together, at 11.74 years, and the 2015 study found a median age at death of 14.0 years. A 2026 review from Murdoch University estimates that outdoor pet cats live at least 2–3 years shorter than contained cats. Putting those together, an indoor cat that stays at a healthy weight can reasonably be expected to reach the teens — and trauma, the biggest single cause of death in young cats, is largely a roaming risk. That last step is our reading of the evidence, not a published figure.

Is there a 3-3-3 rule for cats?
Yes, but it is about adopting, not lifespan. The 3-3-3 rule is a shelter guideline for a newly adopted cat: in the first 3 days the cat may hide and eat little, after about 3 weeks it starts to settle and show its personality, and by about 3 months it usually feels at home and bonds with you. Every cat adjusts at its own pace. It matters here because senior cats are often adopted, and an older cat may need the full three months.

How old is a 12 year old cat in human years?
About 64. The common conversion, attributed to the AVMA, counts the first year as 15 human years, the second as 24, and every year after that as roughly 4 — so 24 + (10 × 4) = 64 at age 12. It is a convention, not biology. In veterinary terms, the 2021 AAHA/AAFP life stage guidelines classify a cat of 12 as a senior (10 years and older), and the data above show a 12-year-old cat has about 4.2 years of life expectancy left.

What is the average age of a cat when it dies?
Two numbers answer it. In the 2015 VetCompass study of 4,009 cats, the median age at death was 14.0 years, with the middle half of cats dying between 9.0 and 17.0 and the oldest at 26.7. In the 2024 life table the average life expectancy from birth was 11.74 years. They differ because they measure different things, over different years, and the later study found most breed figures lower than the earlier one.

How long do indoor cats live compared with outdoor cats?
Outdoor pet cats live at least 2–3 years shorter than cats kept contained, according to a 2026 review by Mike Calver, Heather Crawford and Trish Fleming of Murdoch University. It is a review of existing evidence, not a single trial. European estimates it cites put 18–24% of cats as hit by a car in their lifetime, with about 70% of those collisions fatal. A secure outdoor enclosure (a catio) or harness walks give most of the enrichment without the road risk.

How long do Maine Coon cats live?
In the 2024 UK life table, Maine Coons had a life expectancy at birth of 9.71 years (95% confidence interval 8.42–11.00, from 69 deaths) — about 2 years below the crossbred average of 11.89. That is lower than many owners expect, and the sample is small, so treat it as a caution rather than a verdict. Maine Coons carry a known heart-disease gene variant and are prone to hip dysplasia; our large cat breeds guide covers both.

How long do Siamese cats live?
The 2024 life table gives Siamese cats a life expectancy at birth of 11.69 years (95% CI 10.56–12.82, from 88 deaths), essentially the same as the crossbred average of 11.89. In the earlier 2009–2012 data Siamese were in the group of breeds with median lifespans of 14.0–14.3 years. Both say the same thing: Siamese are a long-lived pedigree breed, in line with ordinary cats.

How long do Ragdoll cats live?
The 2024 UK life table puts Ragdolls at 10.31 years at birth (95% CI 8.86–11.76, from 69 deaths), about 1.6 years under the crossbred average. The same paper reports a median age at death of 12.22 years for Ragdolls, up from 10.1 in the 2015 study, so the trend is improving. Ragdolls are also prone to heart disease; our heart murmur guide explains what a vet listens for.

Do tabby, calico, tuxedo and black cats live longer?
The studies analyse breeds, not coat colours, so there is no data saying a coat colour changes lifespan. Tabby, tuxedo, calico and black are patterns found mostly in ordinary crossbred cats, so the crossbred figure of 11.89 years (14.0 median in 2015) is the best guide. One related fact: calico and tortoiseshell cats are almost always female, and females lived 1.33 years longer than males in the 2024 data — that is a sex effect, not a colour effect.

Do neutered cats live longer?
In the data, yes. After accounting for sex, breed and weight, neutered cats lived 1.07 years longer than entire cats on average, and entire cats had 4.29 times the odds of dying before age 3. This is an association: entire cats are more likely to roam, fight and breed, and the study cannot separate those causes from the surgery itself. It is still one of the clearest differences in the paper.

What is the oldest cat ever?
Guinness World Records lists Creme Puff, who lived in Austin, Texas, as the oldest cat ever: 38 years and 3 days, born 3 August 1967 and died 6 August 2005. For scale, the oldest cat in the 2024 UK dataset lived 26.69 years and the oldest in the 2015 dataset 26.7 years, and in the life table only about 4% of cats reached 20.

Can hemp or CBD help my cat live longer?
No study shows that hemp or CBD lengthens a cat's life, and we will not claim it. The most common causes of death in cats — kidney disease, cancer and trauma — need veterinary care, not a supplement. Where hemp can fit is everyday comfort and calm in a vet-checked senior cat, at a cat-specific serving, alongside weight control and regular checkups. Cats process hemp differently from dogs, so start with our cat serving guide and talk to your vet if your cat takes any medication.

Hemp for Cats → How Long Do Horses Live

Hemp for Senior Cats · Largest Cat Breeds · Hip Dysplasia in Cats · Cat Yowling at Night · Heart Murmur in Cats · Cat Safety

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This article is general information, not veterinary advice. If your cat is unwell, contact your veterinarian.