Black cat life expectancy

Black cat life expectancy should be good and indeed better than average. This is because the gene that causes the cat to be black also provides a resistance to disease or its presence leads to a greater resistance to disease.

This is somewhat anecdotal and I you will find it difficult to find hard research to support that.

Also, I have to qualify the opening sentence. Black random bred cats will, on average, live longer than black purebred cats. This is because purebred cats are normally bred for appearance not health.

Inbreeding to varying degrees is required to maximise the appearance of a purebred cat. Inbreeding can compromise the cat's immune system which in turn can shorten the cat's life expectancy.

Random bred cats come from a much wider gene pool usually. This ensures better health all other factors being equal.




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