Are you thinking about getting a pet? You are probably not alone in that. In Sweden, it is a popular way to expand the family and make a friend for life.
The most popular pets are dogs and cats. In 2023 there was, according to the newspaper Djurskyddet1,126,000 dogs distributed among 813,000 owners in the Swedish Agency for Agriculture’s register. During the same period, it was estimated that there were 1.4 million cats in Sweden.
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Cat owners risk a fine
You who are cat owners should be aware that there is now a law that all cats born after January 1, 2008 and later must be tagged and registered with the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
The law also covers all cats that have been registered with the Swedish Kennel Club and the National Association of Swedish Cat Clubs.
Those who do not register the cat with the Swedish Board of Agriculture risk a fine. And in the summer of 2024, there were still 900,000 unregistered cats whose owners were at risk of being forced to pay fines.
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All cats born on January 1, 2008 and later must now be registered with the Swedish Board of Agriculture. Photo: Sakchai Lalit/TTThis is how long pets live on average
In other words, it is not unusual that you who are reading this are the owner of a pet.
With the animals also comes the responsibility to care for and take care of them, both for physical and mental well-being.
Sadder, however, is the day your pet dies. The fact is that most pets do not live longer than 10-20 years.
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Below is a list of common pets in Sweden and their average lifespan:
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Photo: Tomas Oneborg/TT & Julian Stratenschulte The pets that live the longest
But there are those pets, common and more unusual, that can live significantly longer than that. In some cases, they can actually outlive you as the owner.
Some aquarium fish can reach the age of 15 years, among them are lionfish and clownfish.
The cross spider tarantella can live as long as up to 35 years.
However, the animals that can live the longest are parrots. Different species live for different lengths of time, but those that can live the longest, up to 60 years, are among others the Amazon, macaw, gray jako, cockatoo and noble parrot.
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Gray jako is the parrot considered to be among the most intelligent. They find it very easy to talk and can learn several hundred words and expressions. Photo: Tomas Oneborg/SvD/TT
Source: The Swedish Poultry Association, Pet Place, Animal insurance