Causes of death and life expectancy in carnivorous pets (I)

The authors studied causes of death for 1,044 dogs and cats. The main causes of mortality are natural death (17.90 %, N = 187), poisoning (3.80 %, N = 40), road accidents (5.20 %, N = 54), euthanasia (7.60 %, N = 79), infectious diseases (8.10 %, N = 84), cancer (24.70 %, N = 25 8) and chronic organ diseases (28.60 %, N = 299). Animals dying a natural death had 15 years' life expectancy. Poisoning, road accidents and infectious diseases (17 %, N = 178) are associated with a mean life expectancy of 5 years. Euthanasia by cessation of therapy, cancer and chronic organ diseases now constitute most of the mortality causes (57,20 %, N = 597) and are associated with a mean life expectancy of 12 years. Likewise, the survival rates are respectively, 83 % up to 5 years, 75 % up to 8 years, 50 % up to 11 years and 20 % up to 15 years. Thus, campaigns against straying of carnivorous pets and early vaccination programs have contributed to an extensive reduction in early mortality. Concurrently, and as with human beings, geriatric medicine, late-life support and euthanasia constitute new concerns for ethics and preventive medicine.