Old and quite cat, Thinkstock image
Dear Dr. John,
My cat is just 7 years of ages, however I simply checked out the oldest living dog worldwide. Apparently, this dog is 30 and resides in Portugal. I believed that cats can usually live longer than dogs and question how old my cat may live to be. What are the most typical things that old cats pass away from and what I might do to keep my cat alive as long as possible? I presume that durability is associated with a great deal of things and question what enables some to live longer than others. D.M.
Dear D.M.,
I, too, check out with interest about the 30-year-old dog in Portugal. The dog is of a breed not usually seen here in the United States, a Rafeiro do Alentejo, which is a farming dog utilized to secure animals. One never ever understands what enables a dog, cat, or human to live for extended periods of time, however a lot of would acknowledge that it is a mix of genes, diet plan, workout, way of life, and preventative care.
By contrast, the oldest individual to ever live was 122 and the oldest cat was 38! The oldest cat alive today according to the web is 27, and cats usually do live longer than dogs. The oldest cat I have actually ever seen was 23 and the oldest dog 19. Smaller dogs live longer than big breed dogs and blended types in both dogs and cats usually live longer due to heterogeneity. Even though the dog in Portugal is male, women usually live longer than males in all types as held true of the oldest cat and human.
As for the most typical causes of death in old cats, I would state that they are cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and cancers with lymphoma being the most typical, followed by different hormonally based issues like hyperthyroidism and diabetes. In order to promote much better health and durability, preserve your cat at a healthy weight, bear in mind good diet plan, keep your cat active at home, decrease possible tension in the cat’s life, and have actually the cat seen by your vet a minimum of when a year and potentially every 6 months when the cat is a geriatric client. Good luck!
Dr. John de Jong owns and runs the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic.He can be reached at 781-899-9994.
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