The age of a cat by human standards

Existing calculation methods

Calculations can be made in different ways. It is worth considering the most common of them.

Method 1

The simplest method is considered to be a ratio of cat to human age of 1:7. It is enough to simply multiply the pet’s age by seven and thus you will be able to get its human analogue.

As a result, it turns out that at one year a kitten is a child going to first grade. By the age of three he should have graduated from college. By the age of seven, the animal has already reached adulthood.

True, this method of calculation is not entirely correct. After all, a cat develops differently than a human. For example, in the first year her development is more rapid than that of seven-year-old children. By this period, the pet has already become sexually mature.

Method 2

According to the second method, the first year of an animal’s life is equivalent to 15 human years. By the age of two, the pet is already 24 by human standards. In the future, every year you need to add 4. In this case, the calculations will be more accurate.

The age of a cat by human standards: methods of determining

How people would like to have their pets around for as long as possible - even for their entire lives. Determine the cat's age by human standards and enjoy a pleasant time with your pet.

The average lifespan of cats is 15-18 years.

Unfortunately, domestic animals have a very short life span on earth - the average life expectancy of cats, for example, is 15-18 years.

Therefore, when you get a pet, keep in mind that you can become very attached to it and the loss of your pet will not be easy to bear.

This, of course, is sad, but there is also a positive aspect: you have at least a decade ahead of you in the company of a cute animal.

Although cats do not live long (if, again, in human terms), the allotted time is quite enough for them to go through all the stages of formation and development. But the opinion that the age of a cat by human standards is 1:7 turned out to be a fallacy, although the formula is very convenient.

There are several systems for calculating a cat's age by human standards, and none of them are accurate.

As it turned out, counting one cat year as seven human years is fundamentally wrong - the result is some kind of nonsense: if a 15-year-old cat were a person, then she would turn out to be a 105-year-old old woman. But this is not the most record age for animals; it happens that cats live 20, 22 years, or longer.

Life milestones

Like the life of any other living creature, a cat's life is divided into main stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, maturity and old age. True, each period takes much less time than for people. But it’s okay - the cats don’t complain and everything gets done.

Infancy is a period when the kitten is still blind and cannot walk on its own; the baby’s entire diet consists of mother’s milk. Duration – 2-3 weeks.

Childhood - the kitten begins to see, walk, actively explores the world around it, and gradually switches to “adult food”. The kitten is 1-2 months old, the age of the cat by human standards during this period is 3-6 years.

Youth - a strong kitten looks like a fully formed cat, but its shiny fur and active participation in games give it away as a teenager. A 7-8 month old animal is a 16-18 year old young man.

At this age, cats have a fully formed reproductive ability, but it is better to keep the animal away from “exploits”; early motherhood can especially harm young cats - all the body’s forces will be thrown into bearing and feeding the offspring, and because of this, the cat may become dull and start peel off the fur, it can lose weight and look ugly.

Youth: from one to three years old cats have the most flourishing and joyful period, they are full of energy, active, they can please their offspring and chase a ball like a child - just like young office workers who are not very tired during the day. How can you determine the age of a cat by human standards, other than that it is simply young? 1 year - 18-20 years, 3 years - 30 years.

Maturity. Cats become calmer and more reserved after their third birthday. This is explained by the animal entering a more serious age - what people usually call Balzac’s age. As the age of a cat is considered by human standards, it begins to behave in accordance with it: a little arrogantly and very independently.

Old age: by the age of 12-15 years, the cat becomes slow and tired, the animal feels pain in the hind legs, it is difficult for him to move, the coat loses its former shine and neatness.

How to correctly draw an analogy between a cat and a person

Cats and people, although they cannot live without each other, remain very different creatures. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to equate cat intelligence with human intelligence (although cats, of course, have their own level of “smartness”), just as it is impossible to compare physical data - cats and I are in different weight categories.

Why then are people interested in how to find out the age of a cat by human standards, and they are constantly improving methods of calculation? This can only be explained by a great love for furries and a desire to know as much as possible about them in order to understand them as best as possible.

One system is based on multiplying each cat’s life year by five human years, another by seven, the third assumes that the first two years of a cat’s life are counted as 14 years of a human’s life, and then add four to the subsequent ones.

Then we have the following formula: 2 = 14, 3 = 18, 4 = 22... There is also a problem: at three years old, a cat’s period of youth ends and a period of maturity begins, and according to this formula, at three years old the cat is still quite young, having just crossed the threshold of adulthood.

In the first year of life, a cat gets accustomed to this world and learns to live.

The most correct way to find age matches is not to specify. But people want to know everything, and get to the bottom of the smallest details in cat biographies: when the cat first walked, when the animal began molting, estrus, how many kittens there are.

Peculiarities of cat behavior associated with age

In the first year of life, a cat gets accustomed to this world and learns to live: first, eat on its own, and then get its own food (catching mice) or beg for it from its owners, and take care of itself. During this period, cats undergo puberty, which once again denies the correctness of the coefficient 7 (when seven human years are counted in one cat year of life).

A 2-3 year old cat has already formed habits and character, she feels confident and behaves quite actively. An animal can be cunning, and when it needs something, it can manipulate its owners: all the characteristics of youth are evident.

A 2-3 year old cat has already formed habits and character

A middle-aged cat also experiences a crisis of this age: it becomes uncontrollable, shows character, behaves arrogantly, and may even fall into depression and go on a spree with a young cat. The age of a cat, by human standards, predetermines all the problems associated with it and which are very similar to human ones.

Some of them, like life-loving elderly people, continue to lead a normal life: catching mice, overcoming obstacles, walking at night.

Table of the ratio of cat and human age

There is no way to determine the exact ratio of cat years to human years; they all give only an approximate result.

But to make it easier for you to calculate, we have entered ready-made data on the cat’s age by human standards into the table (the first eight columns are the cat’s age by month, the rest are years):

Age correspondence table for humans and cats

A table will help you accurately determine the age match between your pet and the person.

If the cat's age is unknown

If the animal was found, the owner simply does not know how many months or years old it is now.

True, there are a number of physiological and external signs that allow you to obtain this information:

• umbilical cord Its disappearance is noted 1-3 days after birth. Accordingly, if it is palpable, the baby is no more than three days old;
• eyes . Opens on the 14th day. Before this they are completely closed. During the next week, the eyes are narrow and have a rich blue tint. Their color begins to change around eight weeks. In young cats they are bright and clear, but become cloudy as they age;
• ears . In the first week they are pressed tightly to the head. They open closer to the second week;
• teeth . They begin to erupt closer to two weeks of age. The incisors appear first. By the 21st day, the presence of pointed fangs is noted. The teeth located near them appear as early as a month. All cut through by 4 months. Then, at 4.5 months, the change from dairy to permanent begins. By one and a half years, the centrally located incisors are worn out, by two and a half - the lower middle ones, and by five - the canines. At the age of 12, tooth loss is observed. By the age of fifteen, a cat may be completely toothless;
• weight . In a month the weight reaches 200 - 250 grams, by two - 700, by three - one and a half kilograms. By the age of one year, weight gain stops. On average, a pet weighs 4 – 5 kg;
• puberty . Its onset is observed at 4–6 months. The animal begins to meow loudly, mark its territory, and wriggle. The cat is in her first heat.

What is the average life expectancy of cats?

In the wild, animals live a maximum of 5–7 years.

At home, life expectancy is significantly longer and averages from 13 to 18 years. True, there are also centenarians who are happy to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

Stages of life

The life of a pet goes through several stages:

• childhood . Ends at six months of age;
• youth _ The period lasts from six months to two years. Puberty occurs and changes in behavior are noted. Already at the age of one and a half years, a cat can give birth;
• youth . The stage lasts from two to five years. The blossoming of strength is noted. The pet is active and full of energy;
• maturity _ Lasts until the age of ten. The pet continues to remain active, but reacts more calmly to everything that surrounds it;
• pension and old age . Occurs between 11 and 15 years of age. The animal already requires special care. He is calm, less active. There is a deterioration in the condition of the coat.

How to find out how old a cat is - cat age by human standards

If you are an exemplary owner and take care of your pet, then the question of how to find out how old a cat is should not interest you, you already know this. Well, if for some reason it happened that this information passed you by, then you will be wondering how the age of cats is calculated.

This is not about you being an irresponsible owner or anything else; different situations happen, and you, for example, could pick up a kitten on the street, or a furry little asshole could bump into you when you were returning home from the store or work. Anything can happen and no one is immune from it. In such cases, there are a number of factors based on which you can predict at least the approximate age of the pet.

By the way, the most well-known ways to extend the life of your pet are: proper care of cats, as well as its nutrition.

How to determine a cat's age by its teeth

Carrying out such an experiment will not be easy, since an adult pet is unlikely to allow you to admire its mouth for a long time. The method allows you to determine the age of a cat with an accuracy of up to two months.

Determining the age of a cat by its teeth

1. At the age of 1 month, a small kitten begins to develop milk teeth.
2. A 5 month old pet's teeth are changing.
3. If the central incisors are worn out, this means the approximate age is 1.5 years.
4. When the middle incisors are worn out, the cat is already about 2.5 years old.
5. At 5 years of age, fangs usually wear out.
6. At 6 years of age, the upper jaw undergoes changes as the incisors begin to wear down.
7. The rubbing surfaces of the jaw change between the ages of 7 and 9 years.
8. If the incisors begin to fall out, this may indicate an age of 10 to 15 years.

There is no point in sticking to a measuring scale, since each cat has a different lifestyle. For example, if the cat’s food was of poor quality, then the teeth begin to deteriorate earlier.

Puberty

This method is only applicable for small kittens. The age of puberty in cats can range from 7 to 9 months. However, due to the characteristics of the breed and its lifestyle, this age may occur either earlier or later. This means that if you are hoping to accurately determine the age of a cat, then this method is not for you.

Cat puberty age

Under the best circumstances, the error will be 1 month; under the worst circumstances, it will reach 4 months. Moreover, if you consider that cat years are different by human standards, then such uncertainty will not give you anything.

Cat's age based on fur

This method, like the previous ones, does not provide a 100% guarantee, but many rely on it. So, if a cat has soft fur, then it is likely that she is not yet a year old. But there is such a flaw that with proper care of the pet, it always has soft fur, so it is stupid to focus on such an indicator.

Cat's age based on fur

In addition, depending on the breed, it turns out that it is generally impossible to determine age by wool, since there are those whose hair is hard from birth. These include:

• American Wirehair cat;
• Bohemian Rex;
• Dutch Rex and others.

If you notice that your cat's fur is falling out in clumps, this is a clear sign of illness and it is better to contact a veterinarian.

Is it possible to tell the age of a cat by its eyes?

The older the cat, the more likely it is that its eyes will see worse and this will appear outwardly blurred. These cloudy areas are visible to the human eye, so if you notice the appearance of such areas, it is better to see a veterinarian.

It is difficult to determine how old a cat is based on this sign, but it does exist. However, the appearance of a cloudy look may well tell us not only about old age, but also about such a disease as blindness.

Age of a cat by human standards - table

It is difficult to say definitively how many years cats live at home, since each breed has its own life period.

The ratio of the age of a cat and a person is often interpreted differently, but this does not mean that you cannot take a closer look at it.

If we do not take this ratio into account, then the normal age for a cat is 70-90 years, which by human standards equates to approximately 17-20 years. If the pet lived less, most likely there were health problems.

If you don’t take into account cat age, but only human age, then 18 years in our world is very short.

Cat age by human standards - table

Lifespan of a cat

We have already figured out how to find out how old a cat is. Now you need to determine how long the pet will live approximately based on its routine and the owner’s care for it. There are 6 rules that, if followed, will allow your pet to live happily ever after:

1. Balanced diet. The absence of this directly leads to a deterioration in the quality of life and, as a consequence, a reduction in its duration.
2. Free your cat from stress. Against the background of psychological problems, various diseases may develop in the household.
3. Cats need freedom. There is no need to lock your family member in a tight cage - this violates his freedom. In addition, he may even be older than you, if you remember that a cat’s age by human standards is much higher, then you should understand that at 7-8 cat years a pet is, in principle, considered a bit old.
4. Visit your veterinarian regularly. This precaution will protect your pet from unexpected infections. It is recommended to vaccinate cats according to age in order to ensure a decent and healthy life.
5. Love the cat. Weasel has never caused harm, but has always done only good.
6. Make sure that castration is timely, since if you delay this matter, you can injure the cat’s psyche.

Vaccinations for cats by age table