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In human populations, lifespan has consistently increased over recent years, and this phenomenon shows no signs of abating, advancing on average 2 years per decade(1). In principle, this is very good news; however, there are some down sides. Ageing in humans is accompanied by a progressive loss of physical capability and function, characterised as ‘frailty’, and this can lead to loss of mobility and independence, an increased need for support, creating challenges for public health policy, and increased demand for health and welfare systems. The concept of ageing in pets is well established and recognized by owners and veterinarians. Terms such as senior and geriatric are widely used to describe the ageing pet; however, these life stages are not well defined and are usually assigned based on the chronological age of the pet. This approach is somewhat arbitrary and may not reflect the real ‘biological’ age of the pet or reflect some of the subtle changes that may be recognised by the owner such as activity, food intake, body weight, body composition, time spent sleeping or other changes in behaviour. Research on ageing is highly relevant to the companion animal; after all, they are ageing too. Dogs and cats play a central role in many families; indeed, many are considered fully fledged ‘family’ members, and, as for any other family member, we aspire that they too have long and healthy lives.
Changes in lifespan
Reports on long-lived pets in the popular media and press indicate that some achieve remarkable longevity, with the oldest reported cat reaching an astonishing 38 years(2). There is some evidence that lifespan is higher in pet or domesticated dogs and cats than in feral or ‘wild’ dog and cat populations. The average life expectancy in pet cats (12 – 14 years) is considerably higher than the reported median lifespan in feral cats. It is not known what factors contribute to the striking difference in lifespan between feral and pet cat populations, although accidents, diseases, parasites, availability of food and stresses of multiple and frequent pregnancies may contribute. There is surprisingly little data on changes in the lifespan of pet populations over the past few decades. In part, this is due to a paucity of veterinary databases that record age of death and cause of death in representative pet populations. However, a recent report provides some data on lifespan changes in the North American pet population; over the past decade, average lifespan has increased by 1 and 0·5 years in cats and dogs, respectively(4). The report did not provide any explanation for these changes; however, the provision of good health care and the availability of complete and balanced foods would have contributed to these gains.
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