When I was a child, I had often heard the proverb,” Cats live nine lives.” After becoming a cat parent, I realized how much misinformation is floating around us. The truth is a cat does not live nine lives and even if they do, there is no proof of it. People say these lines considering the feline’s long and healthy life.
If you have cats, you may know that these pets age differently than us. Even their growth is much faster than you can imagine. So, how do cats age? Or how will you find out your feline’s age in human years? Read on to the article to get your answers.
How Do Cats Age?
Before moving further, you must have a clear concept of a cat’s life stages. The whole lifespan of a feline can be divided into 6 categories. This is not an official chart, but most experts find this calculation reliable and effective. Take a look at the chart below and find out which phase your pet is experiencing.
Read More: How Long Do Cats Stay Pregnant? A Felines Pregnancy Journey
Cat Age Chart:
| Age of the cat | Life stage of the cat | Additional information |
| 0 to 6 months | Kitten | During this time, the cats are considered babies. They have their baby teeth and are still figuring out the ways of life.
In this stage, the kittens will spend most of their time playing. This is the best time to train your pet. The babies will catch each instruction easily and listen to you. Professionals believe kittenhood is the best time to build up the practice of nail trimming, grooming, coat brushing, and carrier training. |
| 6 months to 2 years | Junior | This is the most important phase of a cat’s life. Even though they are in their junior stage, they will gain most of their maturities in this stage.
Generally, a feline can involve in mating at the age between 4 to 6 months. They attain maturity at 9 to 12 months. It means the pets will be more social and healthy at this stage. Depending on your cat breed, the pet will be fully grown at the age of 2. |
| 3 to 6 years | Prime adult | The felines will act like an adult at this stage. They settle down and their behavior will be more predictable. A regular check of the kitties will help keep them healthy and happy. |
| 7 to 10 years | Mature | How do cats age and grow old? Well, in this phase, your cat is considered old. It will avoid physical activities and become a slob.
The mature stage pets are more likely to gain weight and develop diseases like diabetes. You need to keep these cats under regular medical check-ups. |
| 10 to 14 years | Senior | For most cat breeds, the average lifespan is around 15 years. So, a senior cat will be an old cat.
The senior cats no longer participate in any play or activities. Rather they sleep all day or take rest. These felines will fall sick very often. As a responsible owner, you must keep a caring eye on them. |
| Over 15 years | Geriatric | If your cat is over 15 years, then it might exhibit behavioral changes. The geriatric felines often suffer from delusion and memory loss. |
Cat Age in Human Years
Do you know you can convert your cat’s age in human years? Even the American Animal Hospital Association has declared a list that includes the cat age equivalent to human years. The list is quite standard and easy to understand. Compared to dogs, the age calculation of cats is simple.
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- 0 to 6 months of a cat is equivalent to 10 human years.
- 6 months to 1 year of a cat is equivalent to 15 human years.
- At the age of 2, the feline will turn 24 in human years.
- 3 years of kitty is equivalent to 28 human years.
- At 4, the cat will be 32 in human years.
- From now on, each year of a cat’s life will be counted as 4 human years.
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So, now you get how fast your adorable fluffy ball grows up. A senior cat is almost 70 years old in human years. You can easily calculate your feline’s age from the chart above.
Related: How Many Hours Do Cats Sleep? – During the Day
How to Tell a Cat’s Age
To find out the exact cat age, you might have to take the pet to a vet. He will do some checkups and tell the pet’s age. Here are the factors that help a vet determining the feline’s exact age:
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- Body length
- Bodyweight
- Eyes
- Teeth and gum
- Ears
- Physical health
- Behavior
- Blood sample
- Medical history
- Proper body checkups
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With an experienced eye, you can also determine the age of your pet feline. If you are a beginner, there is no shame in trying, right? You need to look at the 4 factors of the cat. Such as,
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- Teeth
- Eyes
- Muscle
- Coat
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Teeth
Teeth are great indicators of a cat’s age even though they are not accurate, you will notice the first tooth of your kitten at the age of 2 to 3 weeks. The baby teeth will last for 4 months and then they will get replaced by the adult teeth.
Have you noticed yellow stains on a cat’s teeth? These are called tartar. The yellow stains on a few teeth indicate that your feline is somewhere between 1 to 2 years. If all teeth appear with the same yellow stain, it means the cat is 3 to 5 years old.
When the feline will grow older, its teeth start to fall off the gum. One or two missing teeth indicates that your pet is in its senior stage or at between 10 to 14 years.
Eyes
The eyes of a young and an old cat will show some differences. For example, the eyes of a senior cat are watery and cloudy. On the other hand, the kitten has bright eyes.
Muscles
You know the young cats play and do more activities than the old cats. So, their muscles and bones are stronger than the senior or mature cats.
Coat
The furry coating of a feline indicates the age to some extent or at least you can tell the stage. The bright and soft fur belongs to the kitten and young cats. Again, the fur gets thicker and dull with growing age.
How do cats age? Or how to determine a feline’s exact year? I have discussed it all. No matter how old your pet is, do not lack pampering it.
