How Old is My Cat?

While most of us are aware that our feline friends tend to age much quicker than humans, do we know how much faster that really is?

According to popular legend, one human year equals 7 cat years but we can’t help feeling that a cat at 1 year old is much more mature than a 7-year-old child.

 We researched further and found that the first year of your cat’s life is equivalent to 15 human years, then the second year you would add 9 years to your cat’s age and after that 4 human years per cat year.

We did some calculations for you 

Cat Age               Human Age

2 months             3 years

6 months             9 years

1 year                   15 years

2 years                 24 years

3 years                28 years

4 years                32 years

5 years                36 years

6 years                40 years

7 years                44 years

8 years                48 years

9 years                52 years

10 years              56 years

11 years              60 years

12 years              64 years

13 years              68 years

14 years              72 years

15 years              76 years

16 years              80 years

17 years              84 years

Guessing your cats’ age.

Unless you know exactly when your cat was born, it can be difficult to determine your cat’s age, but by examining its features, you may get a better idea.

Cats Teeth

As your cat ages, they show it in their teeth, hair and behaviours. You can check your cat’s teeth first by counting them.

They go through different stages of dental development so when your cat is happy and relaxed you can try identifying which teeth they have to get an idea of their age.

 From the age of 6 months to 1 year, a cat will have all their teeth. At this age, the cat’s teeth should be white and not show signs of wear or yellowing but as your cat ages, the teeth will show evidence of ageing too.

  Yellowing teeth are a sign your cat is an older adult and the degree of yellowing helps identify their age. At around 2 years your cat will have slight yellowing.

At 3 to 5 years old your cat will have increased yellowing of their teeth gradually getting more yellow. By 10 years old your cat’s teeth should all be yellow so please do check for wear and tear.

 Worn-down teeth are also an indication of an older cat so look out for teeth especially worn down which have lost their points. 

Between 5 and 10 years old your cat will show signs of tooth wear, tooth loss and a buildup of plaque which enables you to get more accuracy in guessing their age.

Coat and Fur

Checking your cat’s fur for how thick it helps determine their age, as cats, when kittens have thick fur which gradually thin out and become softer and lighter. Then as your cat gets older and ages, their fur thins further, becomes coarse and can get matted. Arthritis in older cats and general ageing makes them neglect grooming themselves as much as they did when they were younger so a rough matted coat is more likely on an older cat.

Look into their Eyes

As cats get older their once clear and bright eyes tend to look a little blurry or foggy and developing cataracts is quite common in older cats. It is worth noting the general condition of your cat’s eyes in determining their age.

The life stages of cats are categorised and between the time of birth to 6 months old your cat will be known as a Kitten.

From 7 months to 2 years they are called Juniors 

From ages 3 to 6 years old they are Adult cats

From 7 to 10 years old the cats are known as Mature cats.

From 11 years to 14 years old your cat is known as a Senior cat

From 15 years and older, your cat would have the grand title of being known as a Super Senior

How Old is My Cat?

 

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