We all like to compare our pets to humans, so it’s only natural that we wonder how old they’d be if they looked like us. Luckily, it's pretty easy to find it out.
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Six stages of cat age
Your cat starts their life as a kitten and stays one until they are 6 months old. This is when your fluffy grows rapidly and is usually not quite sexually mature.
7 months - 2 years mark junior stage where the cat reaches full sizeand learns about life.
It is followed by the prime stage - the peak of your pet’s physical shape.
Once your cat turns 7 years old, they can be considered mature, and once they celebrate their 11th birthday they are a senior.
What happens next? Your cat becomes a super senior, aged 15 years plus. As cats can live longer than 20 years, the last stage can be a lengthy one.
How to calculate your cat's age in human years
Cats develop rapidly in their first two years, reaching the human equivalent of the mid-20s by the time they're 2 years old.
Marty Becker, a vet and founder of Fear Free Pets explains that a 1-year-old cat is the equivalent of a 15-year-old human and a 2-year-old one is 25 human years.
After that it gets much easier: each year of a cat's life is roughly equal to four human years. So, if your kitty is three, they’re actually 29 as an imaginary human, and if they are four, they’re 33. A 5-year-old cat is 37, and a 6-year-old cat is 41. And so on and so on. If your cat gets to 20, she's around 97 human years old. What longevity!
When is your cat considered a teenager and an adult?
Your cat's teens occurs shortly before they turn one and lasts a few months after their first birthday. By that time, she'll be a young adult cat. This is the stage when they'll have finished their physical development and are waiting for their minds to catch up, according to Becker.
Once they are two years old, they are full adults.
How long do cats live?
Recently, the world's oldest cat made it all the way to 31 years old, Daily Paws write.
Three main factors that determine your cat's longevity are heredity, environment, and nutrition. Heredity isn’t something you can change, but the environment is completely up to you. Limiting your cat’s exposure to dangers such as predators, vehicles, and parasites can help them live longer. Nutrition is also something any owner has a say in. Maintaining a healthy weight is key to your kitty's happy life.
Sources used:
- International Cat Care: 'How to tell your cat’s age in human years'
- Daily Paws: 'The Real Way to Calculate Your Cat's Age in Human Years'
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