# Why can't we double or triple the lives of our pets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398 "2015-05-20T02:18:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/41 "2016-10-07T11:59:15Z")
Many parrots and such live quite a long time. If you’re an adult and get one, plan on how your pet is to be taken care of after you die. Also, too many living people get bored with them after a while and there aren’t enough resources to care for abandoned birds. I’d worry there’d be similar problems if dogs and cats lived 60 years. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/42 "2016-10-07T12:09:38Z")
CNN answers the OP’s call: > **[This pill could make your dog live longer | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/06/health/rapamycin-dog-live-longer/index.html)** > > When Paola Anderson and Sarah Godfrey’s dog Momo was at death’s door, they gave him a pill. Just look at him now. > [@](#): > > “It’s been remarkable,” Paola Anderson said as she watched Momo, her 13-year-old white Pomsky, run around the backyard, keeping up with dogs a third his age. > The drug is called rapamycin. After nearly a decade of research showing that it makes mice live up to 60% longer, scientists are trying it out as an anti-aging drug in dogs and humans. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/43 "2016-10-07T14:04:36Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > CNN answers the OP’s call: > > [http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/06/health/rapamycin-dog-live-longer/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/06/health/rapamycin-dog-live-longer/index.html) I want this! ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/44 "2016-10-07T14:05:50Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > So mice die of old age at 3, dogs/cats die of old age at 15, horses at 30 and humans at 80. Animals like lobsters, turtles and some others can live to 200+ and still be healthy, lobsters could possibly live forever if protected from trauma and predators. Huh… so what you’re really saying here is that the longer you live, the more delicious you are! ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/45 "2016-10-08T21:40:00Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > The problem of extending the lifespan of a cat is that they’ll eventually figure out how to kill their owners while they sleep … that’s a bad thing. Says who, _Exactly?_ See post immediately after yours - a perfect match! Gramma in pain, can’t see or walk too good no more, wants out? “Here, Granny! Meet Fluffy! He’s your perfect pet!” “Don’t like cats? Just give him a couple of days - he’ll really _GROW_ on you! Just make sure you keep you bedroom door ajar for him!”. Trust Me!" 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/46 "2016-10-08T22:41:50Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Huh… so what you’re really saying here is that the longer you live, the more delicious you are! No, it’s that they continue to grow bigger as they live longer. And predators (consumers) will pay more for larger prey. Compare the prices of jumbo shrimp to those of large or medium ones, for example. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/47 "2016-10-08T23:05:56Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > This. > > I’ver been an owner of pets that died way too early and known pet owners who’s animals died way too early and find and give comfort in that most likely, the animal lived a much longer and happier life than they would have out in the wild. I had a beloved dog who just barely made it to 10, they came down with cancer. I take great comfort in this, and also the fact that she was part Pit Bull, and if she’d been taken to the shelter back when I got her, wouldn’t have been put up for adoption, but put down as a puppy, due to Pit policies at the time (which have changed). By taking her in, I literally saved her life. And she had a great life. No dog was more cherished. > [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Yes, as others have said, we have already extended life spans in cats and dogs due to access to better nutrition and healthcare. I have a childhood book (written when FeLV was much more common) that stated cats were expected to live 8-10 years, and so did dogs. Now, it is not uncommon for cats to outlive those 8-10 years. And while many bigger dogs are still considered “old” when they reach 10 years, they can still live a few years more. And smaller breeds of dogs can last much longer than larger dog breeds. Also, the lives of street animals can be brutal. And, the fact that Great Danes live to 10, while Chihuahuas live to 20 is a huge injustice. RE: extending the lives of dogs and cats. If we did that, we might extend their puppy and kittenhoods, which means extending the annoying, undisciplined portion of their lives, which isn’t necessarily desirable. Suppose you have a dog that lives to be 40, but will be unhousebroken for two years? You may have to have it in diapers for a year and a half before you can even start housebreaking, and that may bring a host of expenses and problems, like rashes and infections. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/48 "2016-10-08T23:18:55Z")
> [@](#): > > RE: extending the lives of dogs and cats. If we did that, we might extend their puppy and kittenhoods, which means extending the annoying, undisciplined portion of their lives, which isn’t necessarily desirable. You mentioned the annoyances with puppyhood. Are their any with kittenhood? I’ve had kittens, and never really noticed annoyances. They use litterboxes pretty much automatically as soon as they are big enough. They don’t chew like puppies. I haven’t ever really noticed but two annoyances - indoors they’ll climb into a recliner and you have to pull them out - only an issue if you have recliner. Outdoors, you have to worry about them climbing up in the car or getting behind the wheels. Speaking of house-training puppies, I have a question. How much is it lack of bladder/bowel control v. learning the rules for where to relive themselves? If it’s flat-out ability, then yes, the time is extended. If it’s learning, then it’s less so. Though we know humans have concepts that they just don’t grasp until later ages (as a rule), so it wouldn’t be too surprising if the same was true for dogs. I haven’t had much experience with dogs, and they were all outdoor dogs, and that’s why I ask. Really, though, for humans or pets, if we wanted to extend life via medication (or even gene manipulation), I think the focus would be on waiting until maturity was reached and then slowing the clock. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/49 "2016-10-09T04:37:45Z")
FWIW, in the last 25 years, the life expectancy of (indoor) pet rabbits has gone from 3 - 5 years to 15+ (might be even higher). Three times to five or six times as long? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398/50 "2016-10-09T14:50:48Z")
There are some 737’s and 747’s [still in service after 35-40 years.](http://aviationweek.com/blog/friday-trivia-top-10-oldest-jet-airliner-tail-numbers) The B-52 Stratofortress has been in active service since 1955 and has a projected lifespan of nearly 100 years. Just how much longer of a lifespan were you expecting? …oh, sorry, thought the OP said, “Why can’t we double or triple the lives of our _jets?_” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-double-or-triple-the-lives-of-our-pets/720398.md?page=2)