How Long Do Cats Live? Lifespan Chart by Breed & Lifestyle

How long do cats live? Most pet cats live 12 to 14 years. A 2024 study of 7,936 UK cats put average life expectancy at 11.7 years, and US vet chain Banfield reported a 12-year average. Many cats reach their late teens. Burmese and Birman cats live longest, at about 14.4 years.

Cat lifespan at a glance

Group	Average life expectancy	Source
All pet cats (UK)	11.7 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
All pet cats (US)	12 years	Banfield, 2013
Female cats	12.5 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Male cats	11.2 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Mixed-breed cats	11.9 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Purebred cats	10.4 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Burmese	14.4 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Birman	14.4 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Siamese	11.7 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Persian	10.9 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Ragdoll	10.3 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Norwegian Forest Cat	10.0 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Maine Coon	9.7 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Russian Blue	9.7 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
British Shorthair	9.6 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Bengal	8.5 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Sphynx	6.7 years	RVC VetCompass, 2024
Oldest cat on record	38 years	Guinness World Records

“Life expectancy” is the average from birth. It counts kittens that die young, so it sits lower than the age most adult cats reach. An earlier UK study found the median cat died at 14, and half of all cats died between ages 9 and 17.

What affects cat lifespan

How long do cats live by breed?

Breed makes a gap of nearly eight years between the longest- and shortest-lived cats in the 2024 UK data. Burmese and Birman cats averaged 14.4 years. Sphynx cats averaged 6.7 years, and Bengals 8.5. Large breeds such as the Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat sat near 10 years. Our cat breeds chart covers how to tell these breeds apart.

Some breed numbers rest on small samples, so the ranges are wide. The Sphynx figure, for example, could be anywhere from 4.5 to 8.8 years. Treat breed averages as a guide, not a forecast for one cat.

Mixed breed vs purebred

Mixed-breed cats, the everyday “domestic shorthair,” averaged 11.9 years. Purebred cats averaged 10.4 years, about a year and a half less. For the everyday house cat with no pedigree, the mixed-breed number is the best single guide.

Indoor vs outdoor cat lifespan

You will often see “indoor cats live 12 to 18 years, outdoor cats 2 to 5.” No large study has measured that, so we do not repeat it as fact.

What the data does show is that outdoor risks kill young cats. In a UK study of cats seen by vets, trauma caused 47% of deaths in cats under 5, and about half of those were road accidents. A second study found younger cats were more likely to die from trauma than older ones. Indoor-only cats avoid most of that risk. The AVMA says keeping cats in an enriched indoor space, an outdoor enclosure or on a leash lowers the danger. The Feline Veterinary Medical Association adds that indoor-only cats need play and enrichment to stay healthy.

Spaying and neutering

Spaying and neutering is linked to longer lives in both large datasets. In the UK study, neutered cats that lived past 9 months lived about one year longer than intact cats. Intact cats had 4.3 times the odds of dying before age 3. In Banfield’s US records, neutered males lived 62% longer than intact males, and spayed females lived 39% longer than intact females.

Sex, weight and vet care

Female cats outlived males by about 1.3 years in the 2024 study. Earlier UK research also linked heavier body weight with shorter lives. Cats count as seniors from age 10, according to the 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines. Ask your vet how often your older cat should be checked.

Cat years to human years

Cats age fastest in their first two years, then settle into a steady pace. The conversion used by the AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines counts a cat’s first year as about 15 human years, the second as 9 more, and each year after that as about 4.

Cat’s age	Life stage	Human equivalent
6 months	Kitten	About 10 years
1 year	Kitten	15 years
2 years	Young adult	24 years
4 years	Young adult	32 years
6 years	Young adult	40 years
8 years	Mature adult	48 years
10 years	Senior	56 years
12 years	Senior	64 years
15 years	Senior	76 years
18 years	Senior	88 years
20 years	Senior	96 years

On this scale, the average 12-year-old cat is in its mid-60s, and Creme Puff reached the equivalent of about 168.

How to help your cat live longer

None of these guarantee a long life, but each one is backed by the mortality data above.

• Spay or neuter. The single largest lifespan effect in both the UK and US datasets. Neutered cats lived about a year longer in the UK study and up to 62% longer in Banfield’s US records.
• Limit unsupervised roaming. Trauma caused nearly half of deaths in cats under 5. An enclosed yard, a “catio,” or leash walks give outdoor time without the road risk.
• Keep weight in check. Heavier cats had shorter lives in the UK research. Your vet can tell you your cat’s ideal weight and body condition score.
• Schedule checkups from age 7. Mature adults and seniors hide illness well. Kidney disease, thyroid problems and dental disease are common in older cats and easier to manage when caught early.
• Microchip and ID. Both the AVMA and the Feline VMA recommend it. A lost cat that comes home is a cat that keeps aging.

Cat lifespan compared with similar animals

A typical cat outlives most small pets by a wide margin. Hamsters live about two to three years, and guinea pigs about four years on average, with a ceiling near eight. Rabbits and ferrets usually fall short of a cat as well. Dogs are the closest match, but dog lifespan depends heavily on size, so small dogs often outlive cats and giant breeds rarely do. The pets that clearly beat cats are large parrots, which can live for decades. See the full ranking in our pet lifespan chart, or how cats sit among 100 species in the animal lifespan chart.

Record holders

The oldest cat on record is Creme Puff, a mixed-breed cat from Austin, Texas. Guinness World Records lists her lifespan as 38 years and 3 days, from August 3, 1967, to August 6, 2005. That is more than three times the average.

Records this old are hard to confirm. The AnAge longevity database lists 30 years as the maximum for domestic cats and notes that very high claims are difficult to verify. Even so, cats in their early 20s are not rare.

FAQ

What is the average cat lifespan?

The average cat lifespan is about 12 years. A 2024 UK study of nearly 8,000 cats found an average life expectancy of 11.7 years, and Banfield’s US data showed 12 years. Many healthy cats live to 15 or older.

Do indoor cats live longer than outdoor cats?

Indoor cats very likely live longer, but no large study gives exact figures. The clearest evidence is that trauma, including road accidents, caused 47% of deaths in UK cats under age 5. Keeping a cat indoors removes most of those risks.

Which cat breed lives the longest?

In the 2024 UK study, Burmese and Birman cats lived longest, with an average of about 14.4 years each. Siamese cats came next among purebreds at 11.7 years. Mixed-breed cats averaged 11.9 years, longer than most purebreds.

How old is my cat in human years?

A 1-year-old cat is about 15 in human years, a 2-year-old about 24, and each year after that adds about 4. So a 10-year-old cat is roughly 56, which is when the AAHA/AAFP guidelines class a cat as a senior.

Do male or female cats live longer?

Female cats live longer. In the 2024 UK study, females averaged 12.5 years and males 11.2 years, a gap of about 16 months. Spaying and neutering also raised lifespan for both sexes.

Sources

1. Teng KT, Brodbelt DC, Church DB, O’Neill DG. “Life tables of annual life expectancy and risk factors for mortality in cats in the UK.” Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2024. Royal Veterinary College, VetCompass. https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1760672/life-tables-of-annual-life-expectancy-and-risk-factors-for-mortality-in-cats-in-the-uk
2. O’Neill DG, Church DB, McGreevy PD, Thomson PC, Brodbelt DC. “Longevity and mortality of cats attending primary care veterinary practices in England.” Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2015;17(2):125–133.
3. American Veterinary Medical Association. JAVMA News, “Banfield: Spaying, neutering correlate with longer lives” (2013), https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/130701p.aspx ; AVMA policy “Free-roaming, owned cats”; Feline VMA “2024 Indoor/Outdoor Lifestyle Position Statement.”
4. AAHA/AAFP. “2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines” (life stages and human-age equivalents). https://catvets.com/life-stage
5. Guinness World Records. “Oldest cat ever.” https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-cat-ever ; AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Felis catus entry. https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Felis_catus