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Lifespan of cats depends on factors such as diet, health, living environment, and many more. Moreover, other types of factors such as cat breed, gender, and domestication also affect how long they live.
Today, we will explain how these factors come into play in determining the lifespan of cats, and what you can do to increase your cat’s lifespan. The first thing you should know is that an indoor cat is completely different from an outdoor one. Let us explain by sharing the life expectancy of both indoor and outdoor cats. Lifespan of Indoor Cats Indoor cats outlive outdoor cats by thrice as much time. They live much longer due to many reasons such as better food, water, and living conditions along with less risk, danger, and stress. Let’s talk about these reasons in more detail, shall we? First of all, indoor cats are vaccinated and sterilized, both of which contribute to better overall health. Secondly, they’re removed from the stresses and dangers of the outside world. Moreover, indoor cats have access to healthier food, clean and fresh water, comfortable beds, and they live in moderate temperatures. All of these factors contribute to indoor cats living a long and healthy life. The average lifespan of indoor cats depends on the breed, but is typically between 13-17 years. Lifespan of Outdoor Cats Outdoor cats don’t survive long because of many factors that negatively impact their physical and mental health. There are way too many factors to list here, so let’s talk about the most important ones. The first factor to come to mind is that outdoor cats include the ones living in jungles. They roam around in the wild where they might get hunted or worse eaten alive. If an outdoor cat is not living in the jungle, then it’s living in urban, suburban, rural or remote areas where risk and danger might be equally high. Moreover, outdoor cats eat unhealthy and unclean food, drink dirty water and live in regions with extreme weather leading to more illnesses. All of these factors contribute to a short lifespan of somewhere between 3-10 years. How Long Can a Cat Live? As we mentioned earlier, the lifespan of a cat depends upon many factors. So, there’s no accurate estimate of the number of years a cat can live. Cats with caring and responsible owners can live a very long time. If you take care of your cat and don’t let it go outside alone, you can expect it to easily live over a decade. Fun Fact: The longest living cat Creme Puff lived for 38 years. What You Can Do to Keep Your Cat Healthy Here’s a list of things that increase the chances of your cat living a long and healthy life:
If you take good care of your cat, then two things are for certain:
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A whimpering dog begging for table scraps or a content cat purring away are familiar scenes for pet owners, and most of the time they know exactly what their pets are trying to tell them. The bond between human and pet is a strong one, and now a new study conducted in Denmark concludes that pet owners develop a special sensitivity to all dogs’ and cats’ whines, whimpers, barks, and meows.
According to the study, based out of Aarhus University, dogs are more effective at conveying distress and negative emotion in their sounds than cats. Furthermore, dog and cat owners even rated the sound of a whimpering dog to be just as sad or emotionally compelling as a crying human baby. “Pet ownership is associated with greater sensitivity to pet distress sounds, and it may be part of the reason why we are willing to spend large amounts of time and resources on our domestic companions. It might also explain why we find interacting with pets so rewarding, and are emotionally impacted by both positive communication signals, like purring and negative, like meows or whines”, explains first author Christine Parsons in a media release. Over 500 young adults took part in the study, and researchers discovered that dog whines sounded “more negative” to dog or cat owners than people who don’t own any pets. However, cat meows only sounded especially sad to cat owners. This indicates that dogs do a better job of expressing their emotions and eliciting a sympathetic response. In fact, dog whines were considered “sadder” than cat meows across the board, regardless of participants’ pet ownership. “The result suggests that dogs, more effectively than cats, communicate distress to humans and that pet ownership is linked to greater emotional sensitivity to these sounds. For sounds that we need to respond to, like a dog that is utterly dependent on its human host for food and care, it makes sense that we find these sounds emotionally compelling,” Parsons elaborates. Researchers pointed out that dog owners typically spend more time taking care of their companions than the average cat owner. Cats are much more independent animals, while dogs require a bit more day-to-day attention. “This difference in animal dependence may explain why dog whines are rated as more negative than cat meows by all adults, including cat owners. Dogs may simply have more effective distress signals than cats,” comments Katherine Young, senior author on the study. The study also dives into psychological differences among dog owners, cat owners, and people with no pets, but found no significant differences among the groups. “For symptoms of anxiety, depression and self-reported experiences in close relationships, we found no differences between adults with and without pets. We’re suggesting that cat or dog ownership is not necessarily associated with individual differences in psychological health, at least as tested here,” Parsons concludes. The study is published in the Royal Society Open Science. original content: https://www.studyfinds.org/study-dogs-communicate-distress-to-humans-better-than-cats/ Our love for our feline friends has been there for thousands of years. But why do people love cats so much?
We’ve heard this question many times, presumably from annoying dog owners. To list every single reason why someone might love cats, we’ll have to write a book on it and then a few more. If you ask ten different cat owners this same question, you will most likely get ten different answers. One reason we hear from time to time is that cats are much like us. How? Each cat is like an individual with a unique personality. This makes it easy for us to relate to them. Another popular reason people fancy cats as pets is because they’re adorable. Can you resist gently stroking a fluffy cat when you see one? We always snuggle and pet the fluffy fur of our feline friends. Touching the silky smooth fur makes us feel good. Hearing them purr in return warms our hearts. If you’re familiar with our blog, you know we love cats of all shapes and sizes. So let us introduce you to our list of Top 3 Reasons Why We Love Cats So Much! 1). They Love Us Contrary to popular belief, cats love us as much as we love them. This has been proven scientifically, as countless studies show that our feline companions love and trust us in abundance. How do we know they love us? First of all, they can sense emotional distress. If there’s a heated argument in the room, your cat is most likely to leave. If you’re feeling down, and not talking or playing with your cat. It will come and sit on your lap or lie down in front of you. It will start playing, or doing something hilarious that will make you laugh. Or it will show its affection by rubbing its head against you. Basically, your cat will know when you’re stressed and offer heartwarming affection 2). They Are Easy To Please Cats are SO easy to please. They are not needy, unlike dogs that require owners to stay with them at all times. If you’re a cat person like us, you know leaving for work is no problem. We can work during the day without having to worry about our pet friend. That’s because we know they can take care of themselves. They occupy themselves in various activities and don’t mind staying alone from time to time. Our feline friends don’t have many daily requirements either. For example, they don’t need daily baths as they are naturally good at keeping themselves clean. To top it all, cats don’t take up any space. They are small and won’t require an extra room or pet house. Speaking from experience, we can assure you that cats are one of the easiest pets to take care of. 3). They Make Us Feel Happy Our cats are our best friends. We live with them and experience life with them. They make us happy and they make us sad. They make us calm and they make us angry. They make us energetic and they make us tired. But most importantly, they make us feel loved and they warm our hearts. Cats are friendly, fluffy, and adorable.
Being a cat owner has many perks, which is probably why so many of us are adopting them. According to a recent survey, 29% of Americans are cat owners. This means 1 out of every 3 Americans has a cat at home. People love cats, not only in the United States but all around the world. Our feline companions are well-known for their loving nature. This is one reason why they are so popular. Another reason is the health benefits of interacting with them. Having a pet cat can do wonders for your health. Don’t believe us? Here, take a look at our list of 5 Scientifically Proven Health Benefits of Having a Pet Cat. 1). Reduced Stress and Anxiety Having a pet cat is soothing. Interacting with them triggers the release of calming chemicals in our bodies that reduce both stress and anxiety. Ask any cat owner and they will tell you how relaxing it is when their cat jumps into their lap. As cat owners ourselves, we can confirm as much. This isn’t something only cat lovers believe, as many scientists also attest to this fact. Countless studies have confirmed that cats are comforting animals and living with them relieves stress. 2). Fewer Allergies Having a cat in your home can reduce allergies, but not for adults. That’s because the immune system of an adult is already fully developed. In children, however, chances of allergies can be reduced by interacting with cats. That’s because their bodies are still growing and open to change. Infants aged less than a year are likely to benefit the most. There have been studies that confirm as much. 3). Lower BP and Better Heart Condition Cat owners have a lower chance of suffering from high blood pressure. They are also at a reduced risk of any heart disease. Both of these are scientifically proven facts. According to a study conducted in Minnesota, cat owners have a 30% to 40% lower chance of suffering from any heart disease. In another study, a room was filled with cat owners who were told to speak loudly, an exercise that naturally raises blood pressure. Once their blood pressure was recorded, they were asked to repeat the same action but with their cat by their side this time. The results were shocking as their blood pressure remained constant throughout the exercise. This study alone proves the soothing qualities of cats. 4). Mood Booster Playing with a cat releases oxytocin, a peptide hormone that relaxes our bodies. Even if you don’t own a cat, you can relax by watching cat videos. We know it sounds ridiculous but this too is backed by scientific evidence. Studies prove that when you watch cat videos, you will experience a warm, fuzzy feeling and be in a better mood. 5). Emotional Support Even though they are only animals, our pets offer emotional support during difficult times. They can help us cope with serious issues like the loss of a loved one. Due to their affectionate nature, cats sense emotional distress and try to make us feel better. |
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