How Long Do Cats Live? Average Lifespan, Cat Years in Human Years and the Oldest Cat

Most cats live 12 to 15 years. In the largest UK study of veterinary records, the median age at death was 14 and a quarter of cats reached 17 or older. Cats that roam freely outdoors live a few years less on average than cats kept indoors or in an enclosed garden. Female cats live slightly longer than males.

How long do cats live on average?

Most cats live to somewhere between 12 and 15. A cat of around 20 is unusual but not rare, and a handful of cats have been verified as living past 30.

You will see different averages quoted online, often 12 to 18 years or even 15 to 20. That is partly because sources count differently and partly because many figures have no source at all. The two most reliable numbers come from VetCompass, a Royal Veterinary College project in London that analyses the records of thousands of first-opinion vet practices in the UK:

• 14 years is the median age at death of more than 4,000 cats in England (O'Neill et al., 2015). Half died younger, half older. A quarter reached 17 or more, and the oldest cat in the study was 26.7.
• 11.7 years is the life expectancy at birth in a newer study of almost 8,000 cats (Teng et al., 2024). The figure is lower because cats that die young pull the average down. Once a cat has reached adulthood in good health, it has a much better chance of making it to 14.

For a healthy cat that gets good care, 15 years or more is a realistic expectation. International Cat Care puts the typical cat life expectancy at 12 to 14 years, with some cats reaching their late teens or early twenties.

Cat years to human years

A cat grows up very fast in its first two years and then ages at a steadier pace. International Cat Care uses this conversion:

• the first year counts as 15 human years
• the second year counts as 9 human years (so a 2-year-old cat is 24)
• every year after that counts as 4 human years

Worked example: a 5-year-old cat is 15 + 9 + (3 x 4) = 36 in human years. A 12-year-old cat is 15 + 9 + (10 x 4) = 64.

The old rule of thumb that one cat year equals seven human years does not hold up. It would make a one-year-old cat the equivalent of a seven-year-old child, when in fact the cat is already sexually mature and nearly full-grown.

Cat's age	Human equivalent	Life stage
1 month	1 year	Kitten
2 months	2 years	Kitten
3 months	4 years	Kitten
4 months	6 years	Kitten
5 months	8 years	Kitten
6 months	10 years	Kitten
7 months	12 years	Junior
1 year	15 years	Junior
18 months	21 years	Junior
2 years	24 years	Junior
3 years	28 years	Adult
4 years	32 years	Adult
5 years	36 years	Adult
6 years	40 years	Adult
7 years	44 years	Mature
8 years	48 years	Mature
9 years	52 years	Mature
10 years	56 years	Mature
11 years	60 years	Senior
12 years	64 years	Senior
13 years	68 years	Senior
14 years	72 years	Senior
15 years	76 years	Super senior
16 years	80 years	Super senior
17 years	84 years	Super senior
18 years	88 years	Super senior
19 years	92 years	Super senior
20 years	96 years	Super senior
21 years	100 years	Super senior
22 years	104 years	Super senior
23 years	108 years	Super senior
24 years	112 years	Super senior
25 years	116 years	Super senior

Source: International Cat Care. Treat it as a rough comparison. A fit 14-year-old cat can behave like a lively 70-something, while a cat with kidney disease can seem old at 10.

The life stages of a cat

Vets divide a cat's life up in slightly different ways. The 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines, which many vets work from, use four stages plus an end-of-life stage:

• Kitten (0 to 1 year): rapid growth, socialisation, vaccinations and worming. Most cats are full-grown around their first birthday, large breeds later. More on that in when do cats stop growing.
• Young adult (1 to 6 years): the cat is at its physical peak. The main thing to watch is keeping a healthy weight.
• Mature adult (7 to 10 years): the first age-related problems can appear, often unnoticed. This is the time to keep an eye on teeth, weight and how much your cat drinks.
• Senior (over 10 years): kidney disease, an overactive thyroid, arthritis and dental disease become far more common. Regular vet checks pay off more now than at any other stage.
• End of life: can start at any age once a cat has an illness that cannot be cured. The focus then is comfort and quality of life.

International Cat Care uses a finer split into six stages, which you can see in the table above. Both are guides, and the AAHA/AAFP guidelines themselves stress that individual cats vary a lot.

Do female cats live longer than males?

Yes, on average. In the 2024 VetCompass study, female cats had a life expectancy at birth of 12.5 years and males 11.2 years, a gap of just over 1.3 years.

The difference is mostly down to behaviour. Male cats roam further, fight more often and cross more roads. An unneutered tom does all of that even more. In the 2015 study, entire males died almost two years younger than neutered males. Neutering a male cat removes a large part of that risk.

What affects how long a cat lives?

Some things are out of your hands, such as genetics. But you do have a say in the four factors that make the biggest difference.

Indoor or outdoor

In 2026, researchers at Murdoch University in Australia reviewed the available studies. Their estimate: cats that roam freely live at least 2 to 3 years less than cats kept indoors or in an enclosed garden. The main risks outside are road traffic accidents, fights, falls, poisoning and infectious disease such as FIV.

The UK data point the same way. Among cats that died before the age of 5, accidents and injuries were the cause in 47 percent of cases, often a road accident.

You may also read that outdoor cats only live 2 to 5 years. We could not find a study behind that figure, and the research above does not support a gap that large.

None of this means every cat has to stay inside. Going out gives exercise, stimulation and the chance to hunt. If you live near a busy road, an enclosed garden or a cat run is a good middle ground. Ideas for that are in keeping cats in the garden. If your cat does roam and you want to know how far it goes and how close it gets to traffic, our guide to the best GPS trackers for cats compares the options.

Indoor cats have their own risks: too little exercise, weight gain and boredom. Daily play helps with all three.

Neutering and spaying

Neutered and spayed cats live about a year longer on average than entire cats (VetCompass, 2024). They roam less and fight less, and a spayed female cannot get pregnant or develop a womb infection.

Weight

Being too heavy or too light both cost years. The 2024 VetCompass study found that every 100 grams above or below the median adult weight for the cat's breed and sex was linked to a slightly shorter life. One kilogram too heavy works out at roughly two months less, and excess weight also raises the risk of diabetes and arthritis. Ask your vet what your cat's target weight is. How to choose a good diet is covered in our guide to feline nutrition.

Breed or moggy

Crossbreeds, the everyday moggy without a pedigree, live longer on average than pedigree cats. In the UK data the gap was just over a year. Between breeds the differences are large:

• Burmese and Birman: 14.4 years on average, the highest life expectancy in the study.
• Sphynx: 6.8 years on average, the lowest.
• Maine Coon: a large breed with a number of inherited conditions. The PDSA gives 12 to 15 years. What to expect and which health tests to ask for is in our Maine Coon guide.

If you are buying a pedigree kitten, ask the breeder about health tests on the parents and how old earlier generations lived to be.

What do cats most often die of?

In young cats (under 5), accidents are the main cause, followed by viral infections. From the age of 5, kidney disease tops the list. Cancer and a general decline without a clear diagnosis are also common. Many of these age-related illnesses can be managed well if they are found early. An overview of symptoms is in our article on cat diseases and their symptoms.

The oldest cat in the world

The oldest cat ever recorded is Creme Puff from Austin, Texas. She was born on 3 August 1967 and died on 6 August 2005, aged 38 years and 3 days, according to Guinness World Records. Her owner, Jake Perry, also owned the previous record holder.

The oldest living cat recognised by Guinness is Flossie from Orpington in England. She was born on 29 December 1995 and was given the title in November 2022, when she was almost 27. In early 2026 the press reported that she had turned 30. She is deaf and has poor eyesight, but according to Guinness she was otherwise in good health. Records change, so check the Guinness World Records website for the current holder.

How old is my cat? Estimating age

If you adopted a rescue cat or took in a stray, its age is often a guess. A vet can give you a reasonable estimate. What they look at:

• Teeth: a kitten loses its milk teeth between roughly 10 weeks and 6 months. By 6 to 7 months all 30 adult teeth are in. After that, tartar, wear and discolouration give a clue to age, though diet and dental care play a part too.
• Eyes: in older cats the lens becomes slightly cloudy and the iris can look mottled.
• Coat and body: an older cat grooms less well, has a duller coat, sometimes grey hairs around the muzzle, and a bonier back and hips.

Beyond the age of two, an estimate is usually no more accurate than a few years either way.

Signs of ageing in cats

Many cats show the first signs of ageing between 7 and 10, and most do by around 12 (Cornell Feline Health Center). What you may notice:

• sleeping more and playing less (cats already sleep a lot, so look for a change from what is normal for your cat)
• jumping less high, a stiff walk, trouble with stairs or the edge of the litter tray
• losing weight, or gaining it
• drinking more and weeing more
• grooming less, a matted coat, thick and overgrown claws
• poorer hearing
• wandering at night, yowling or seeming confused

Cornell adds an important warning: never assume a change is just old age. A cat that starts going outside the tray may have arthritis, as explained in why is my cat pooping outside the litter box. An older cat that eats well but loses weight may have an overactive thyroid. Drinking more fits with kidney disease or diabetes. In any of these cases, see your vet. For cats over 10, many vets recommend a check-up with blood and urine tests at least once a year.

At home, a litter tray with a low entry, a step up to the windowsill and a warm bed somewhere easy to reach all help. If you would like an extra pair of eyes on the litter tray between vet visits, our guide to health monitoring cat litter explains what the colour changes can and cannot tell you.

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