Why does a person need to know how old a selected kitten or an adult cat taken into the home is? It would seem that puzzling over determining the age of a cat is a waste of time. However, knowing the age of the foundling, the owner will be able to choose the most suitable diet, regulate the degree of physical activity and predict possible health problems. After all, living conditions and lifestyle directly depend on the age of the pet.

You can very roughly determine the age of a cat by its appearance and level of activity. One-month-old kittens weigh about 0.5 kg, at two months the body weight reaches a kilogram, by six months - about three kilograms, and by two years the pet can weigh five kilograms or more. The fur of a small kitten is very soft, plump, and becomes coarser with age. Gray hairs appear in the coat by the age of five to seven years, but in some cats much earlier. Young animals are very active and curious, older animals move carefully, and a certain regularity and solidity appear. Cats mature by the age of two: the “childish” features disappear, their shapes become rounded, and the scrotum is fully developed. Cats mature by seven months: estrus, interest in the opposite sex.

Condition of the dental system

It is quite difficult to determine the age of a pet only by external signs; felinologists have developed a scheme for determining age by the condition of the teeth. However, it is important to remember that lifestyle and heredity affect the condition of the dental system, and therefore this method is also not entirely accurate.

• Three to five weeks – baby teeth are visible;

• Six months – milk teeth are replaced by permanent ones;

• A year and a half – the central incisors on the lower jaw are slightly worn;

• Two to three years – erased central and middle incisors on the lower jaw;

• Three to four years – the central incisors on the upper jaw begin to wear off;

• Four to five years – the central incisors on the upper jaw are clearly worn out and the middle incisors are beginning to wear out;

• Five to six years – fangs begin to wear off;

• Six to seven years – abrasions on the fangs are clearly visible, the outer incisors on the upper jaw are worn away;

• Over seven years old – all the incisors are worn away, especially on the lower jaw, and abrasions on the fangs are clearly visible;

• Over ten years old – the incisors are heavily worn, several teeth are missing, some are loose;

• Over twelve years old – all or almost all of the incisors have fallen out.

How to find out the age of your beloved pet? Usually the owners know how old the cat is, but this question remains relevant for those owners who picked up their pets on the street.

If for various reasons you do not know the age of your pet, you can find out yourself. It is known that the average life expectancy of a cat at home is about 18 years, and in the wild it is less: 10-12 and even 16-17 years. It all depends on the living conditions and lifestyle of the animal.

Find out how old a cat is by its teeth

The first way to find out how old your pet is is to carefully examine the oral cavity. You can find out the age of a cat by looking at its teeth and their wear. This is especially true for the front incisors. If there is no smooth edge or they are worn evenly, then this means that your pet is approximately 5-6 years old.

At the age of 10 years, a cat begins to lose teeth and this process does not go unnoticed.

Although, in order not to guess, there is an exact scheme that guides specialists in veterinary clinics:

• If milk teeth have erupted, then the pet is 1 month old.
• Complete replacement of baby teeth occurs at 5 or 6 months, and this process begins at 3 months.
• The central incisors on the lower jaw wear away by the age of 1.5 years.
• The middle incisors on the lower jaw are worn away by 2.5 years.
• By the age of 3.5 years, the incisors on the upper jaw (central) wear off.
• By the age of 4.5 years, the middle incisors on the upper jaw are worn away.
• At the age of 5, the first changes appear on the fangs - the surface becomes rough.
• The upper outer incisors begin to wear off by the age of 6 years.
• By the ages of 7 and 8, the middle central incisors on the lower jaw change significantly.
• The transverse rubbing surface of the central incisors undergoes changes by the age of 9 years.
• The central incisors fall out by age 10 or two years later.
• All incisors can fall out at 12 years of age or from 12 to 15 years of an animal’s life.

Cats live on average up to 15 years, but in our history there have been cases where the animal lived up to 30 years. This is a record, and if you are in doubt when determining the age of a pet by its teeth, you need to take into account its lifestyle, because the incisors can fall out faster or slower.

Find out how old a cat is by puberty

You can also find out the age of your cat using this method. Cats mature by 9 months, and males by 7-8 months. If you took an adult animal from the street, then wait for these signs and from that moment you can count down.

Remember that some animals mature earlier than the specified dates and are already ready to have offspring at 6 months. So in any case, you won’t be able to determine your exact age, but with a small error of a few months, it’s likely.

How to find out how old a cat is

If looking into your pet’s mouth is very problematic, you can determine the pet’s age by other signs:

• pay attention to the cat's fur. In a young cat it is thin and soft, literally silky. Every year it becomes coarser and can darken if the cat is light-colored and lighten if the animal is dark-colored. Individual gray hairs and even entire areas appear;
• The eyes of a young animal are clear and clean, as well as light. But with age they become cloudy, the color of the iris changes.

How to find out how old a cat is relative to a person's age

Many people compare the age of the animal with their own and multiply this figure by “7”, thus obtaining the age of the cat. But, according to experienced felinologists, this is not so, because the age of an animal can only be compared with the age of the same animal, but calculations can be carried out, only they will be somewhat different.

Experts believe that 1 year of a cat’s life should be equated to 15 calendar years (or the life of a person).

• if a person is 24 years old, then the animal will be only 2 years old;
• 3 years and so on until 12 years, adding 4 years each year. It turns out like this: 12 cat years are 64 human years;
• after 12 years of animal life, years are calculated as follows: for 1 year, 3 human years are given.

The scheme is somewhat strange, but there is a justification for this, because before the age of 8 the cat reaches middle age, and then gradually ages. But if your pet looks great and pleases you with active behavior, then the pet’s age in this case is a very arbitrary matter.

Four-legged friends come into our home in a variety of ways. Someone purchases purebred kittens from breeders - in this case, all the details of their health status, as well as their exact age, are stored in the veterinary passport issued upon purchase. However, not all people go to professionals to buy a long-awaited pet. Owners of cats who purchased them at fairs, secondhand, or even picked them up on the street may not even be aware of the real age of their pet (especially if it found its home already in adulthood). We will talk about how to determine the age of a cat in this article.

The question of whether awareness of a pet’s age is necessary is a logical question that has visited owners more than once. Whether we are dealing with a two-, four-, or six-year-old cat – does it matter? Indeed, some owners, regardless of the age of their pets, feed them the same food and do not change their caring habits for years.

Meanwhile, ignoring age leads to ignoring age-related characteristics and the inevitable changes in the body that occur in a cat’s body as it grows. The simplest example is that as cats age, their teeth wear down and turn yellow, which leads to the need to regulate the pet’s diet. It’s not for nothing that even the most budget-friendly foods have lines distributed by age.

What does the age of a cat affect?

Among the main reasons why you need to know the approximate age of a cat are the following:

1. Knowing the age of your pet, you can more rationally distribute its physical activity and ensure that the cat does not become overtired. Many inexperienced owners literally “flirt” with older cats, whose activity is significantly reduced compared to young cats. The opposite situation is also possible - kittens at a young age lack play activity, which provides an outlet for accumulated energy;

   

2. The age of the cat must also be taken into account when monitoring its health. There are diseases that older cats are most susceptible to, such as cataracts. Caring for and maintaining the well-being of older and younger cats is fundamentally different;

   

Knowing the age of your pet will allow you to choose the best nutrition plan that meets the needs of your body. As mentioned above, cats' teeth do not last forever, even with daily care. With age, the fangs wear down, the teeth turn yellow, acquiring stones and caries. Older individuals are very reluctant to eat dry food, since it is a real test for their teeth, while many young individuals can use it.

As already mentioned, one of the most common mistakes is ignoring the age of the cat when calculating its diet. Refusal of the same food, which an inattentive owner may take as a sign of capriciousness, ultimately often turns out to be an indirect request for a change in food. In addition, older cats lose their sense of smell, which prevents them from fully smelling food and developing an appetite. You can learn more about the specifics of feeding older pets below.

Determining the age of a cat by the condition of its teeth

The method of determining the age of a cat by its teeth in the first months of its life is especially effective, since the replacement of baby teeth with molars adheres to a fairly strict schedule. Subsequent changes in the condition of the enamel and the strength of the teeth themselves also obey certain rules, but have their exceptions to the rules.

The fact is that in addition to the number of years spent in the cat’s jaw, the condition of the teeth is also influenced by such factors as:

The “life path” that each cat’s teeth take is presented in the table below.

Table 1. Age-related changes in cat teeth

Age	Dental condition
Three to five weeks	The first baby teeth appear
six months	Baby teeth are completely replaced by molars
One year	At this age, your teeth are in the best possible condition. There are no tartar or yellow plaque
A year and a half	The first, barely noticeable signs of wear appear on the cat's teeth, consisting in the abrasion of the central incisors of the lower jaw.
Two years	Tooth enamel begins to acquire a yellowish tint, tartar and other dental deposits gradually accumulate
Four to five years	The wear of the central incisors is pronounced; the middle incisors suffer the same fate.
Five to six years	Upon closer examination, abrasions on the fangs are visible. The outer incisors of the upper jaw are subject to wear. There are disruptions in the pigmentation of tooth enamel, resulting in yellowish and dark spots
Seven years	All existing incisors are worn out (some may have fallen out), and abrasions on the fangs are clearly visible
Ten years	The cat is experiencing gradual tooth loss. First, as a rule, the central incisors become unusable, then it comes to the middle and extreme ones.
Fifteen years	If a cat lives to this age, then she has to come to terms with the loss of fangs - one of the means of effective self-defense

Learn more about maintaining dental health

As you can see, the age of a cat has a significant impact on the condition of its teeth. The lifestyle an animal can afford depends on the health of its teeth. Unfortunately, it is rare that an owner is puzzled by the condition of his pet’s teeth, wanting to choose the right type of food for him. Meanwhile, it is enough for the pet owner to show it to a specialist from time to time and consult about the condition of the animal’s teeth in order to avoid their premature wear.

To maintain strong teeth and a clean mouth, special “dragées” may be prescribed, which must be chewed thoroughly. In some cases, owners are advised to use special toothpaste to prevent caries and stones.

Determining the age of a cat by appearance

The easiest way to identify a cat by age, the first one that comes to mind, is associated with an analysis of its external features. However, the results of such analysis are not always clear. As cats age, they do not develop wrinkles that are typical for humans, and changes in fur are not so noticeable. In addition, other factors may also influence the condition of a cat’s coat:

The owner's care for his pet again allows the cat to deceive time and look “younger” than he really is. However, not even the most well-groomed cat can stop the inevitable age-related changes, including appearance.

Wool condition

Of course, there is no exact time frame that would allow us to determine the age of a cat based on the impression of its fur. There are only a couple of generalized signs that can indicate the degree of maturity of an animal.

Table 2. Condition of a cat’s coat depending on age

Age	Wool condition
	The fur of young cats is soft and silky to the touch. Mats or bald spots are very rare and indicate possible diseases or immunodeficiency
	Mature pets can also boast of the excellent condition of their fur coat. Smooth and fluffy, with proper care it retains this appearance for many years. Both the overall “pattern” and each individual hair can be clearly seen. No gray hair
	In older cats, the fur loses its former softness and tends to form tangles that are difficult to comb. It is worth noting that this rule does not apply to all aging pets. Some animals, even at an advanced age, retain their coat in its original form, but gray hair makes itself felt, capturing entire segments of the coat

The method of determining the age of a cat by its fur has a number of disadvantages. In addition to the inevitable errors, there are breeds to which the wool quality indicator simply does not apply. These breeds include all cats with no fur, or with very short and coarse guard hair, which does not allow age-related changes to be detected according to this criterion.

Condition of the musculoskeletal system

Skeletal changes are not the first sign that comes to mind. Moreover, with proper distribution of physical activity, cats are able to maintain ease of movement and agility until a very old age. Despite this, it is the musculoskeletal system that is one of the most reliable indicators of the degree of maturity of an animal.

The strong joints of young individuals allow them to do a variety of “tricks” without harm to health

The kitten's skeleton develops unevenly, due to the rapid development of the body, which is difficult to keep up with. The kitten gains several grams per day, which leads to an increase in the load on the joints (considering the kitten’s initial weight). In this regard, a teenage cat has the following physiological characteristics:

1. Disproportionately elongated paws, giving the impression of “stilts”;
2. Large ears, compared to the ears of more mature individuals of the same breed (there are exception breeds for which large ears are the norm, for example, the Oriental cat);
3. The young pet's body is awkward and lanky, giving the impression that it has not fully undergone the transformation into its final state.

Disproportional features are a natural consequence of a rapidly growing organism

Young and mature individuals develop muscles, thanks to which the body begins to appear proportional and graceful. At the end of puberty and puberty, the cat acquires features characteristic of its breed. Other manifestations of animal skeletal maturity include the following:

1. The appearance of muscle relief;
2. Ease and grace of movements;
3. Ability to overcome various obstacles and make long distance jumps.

Elderly animals, even if they maintain their dashing prowess, by the age of seven or eight years, one way or another, show the first signs of aging, which are not so noticeable at first. Such manifestations include:

1. A “failed” spine and protruding shoulder blades;
2. The gait loses its former lightness. Some movements seem to be difficult for an older cat;
3. The muscles become decrepit, and their overall volume decreases.

All these signs are clearly visible if they are accompanied by thinness, which is often characteristic of aging individuals. If the body of an elderly cat has excess fat, all the criteria mentioned above are smoothed out (apart from the difficulty of movement - with excess weight this is the first thing to appear).

Determining the age of a cat by its eyes

The legend that with age cats lose the “sparkle” in their eyes and the characteristic shine, indicating an excess of curiosity and vitality, remains a legend. Unfortunately, age-related changes affect a much more prosaic side of the issue.

The years a cat has lived affect the degree of cloudiness of the transparent lens of the animal's eye. The iris also fades, losing its former brightness. Sometimes dark blotches and spots appear on it. All of these changes are so detailed that even looking at a cat’s eye under a magnifying glass will not always give a clear answer to the question about the pet’s age. You can read more about what possible vision pathologies threaten pets on our portal.

The following tips will help you roughly determine the maturity of your cat based on the condition of its eyes:

1. Examine your cat's eyes for cloudiness. At the same time, keep in mind that cloudiness is not always a clear sign of aging. Whitish spots may be the first signs of cataracts, which in rare cases also affects young individuals. The prevalence of the disease depends mainly on heredity and is unpredictable. If the opacities are point-like and do not affect the pet’s movement, most likely, this is an elderly cat;

   

2. Take a closer look at the iris. The iris is the diaphragm of the eye, surrounding the pupil on all sides. Its colors are varied and depend on the breed. Indoor cats, the iris is usually brown. The appearance of lines, spots and irregularities on the iris often indicates the advanced age of the animal, while its rich color and sharp contour are characteristic of young individuals;

   

3. Remember how often a cat experiences discharge from the eyes or increased tearfulness. For older cats, such work of the mucous membrane of the eye may be a manifestation of the need to maintain the pet’s vision at a good level. If such symptoms appear in young individuals, there is a high probability of having eye pathologies. If such manifestations are detected, the best solution would be to visit a veterinarian, who will solve two problems at once: help determine the age and examine the pet for possible diseases.

   

Determining age by puberty

It should be borne in mind that puberty precedes physiological maturation. Physiological maturation is completed only by one and a half years. In general, signs of puberty rarely provide comprehensive information about the age of an animal.

Some pets begin to demonstrate behavior characteristic of sexual hunting by five to six months, while others exhibit sexual instinct several months later. Large breeds, as a rule, lag behind their compact relatives by a couple of months in sexual development. In addition, the first estrus in females can occur in the absence of pronounced “symptoms”.

Methods of finding a partner depend on the individual characteristics of the pet and can vary significantly from individual to individual. The unambiguous signs of the awakening of the sexual instinct include the following actions:

1. The pet begins to actively mark its territory. If previously your four-legged friend always relieved himself in the litter box, then during puberty he may begin to pointedly ignore it. The point is not about the harmfulness of the animal, but about the need to place “landmarks” so that the partner can find the individual by smell. In addition, through marking, our pets make it clear to competitors that the territory is occupied;

   

2. Calling cries. The persistent meow that accompanies sexual heat has little in common with the ordinary “language” that your pet spoke to you earlier. The calling cry is distinguished by the predominance of guttural sounds, previously unknown to the animal;

   

3. Ignoring food. During the period of sexual heat, the animal's goals shift, so it may not finish eating for days, leaving a full bowl of food unattended. If fasting is accompanied by other signs of sexual readiness, do not sound the alarm and run to the veterinarian. A decrease in appetite is typical for animals during the period of sexual hunting;

   

4. General changes in behavior. Cats looking for a partner for mating experience anxiety and often rush around the apartment, not finding a place for themselves. It is common for excited pets to try to get outside by hook or by crook in order to cover up the females. Cats waiting for a partner will often roll around on the floor and fawn over people or pieces of furniture. When trying to stroke the pet or lightly press on the lower back, it arches into a position typical for mating.

   

There are no particular problems in identifying signs of sexual arousal in a pet, since its manifestations are quite colorful. However, the fact that animals engage in sexual activity can provide some useful information only if it is a kitten in front of you. Then his age can, with a stretch, be defined as six months.

If in front of you is an adult, then manifestations of sexual heat can hardly provide information about the number of years it has lived. Both male and female cats can mate into old age, producing healthy offspring.

Correlation between human and cat ages

The desire to convert human years into cat years has probably driven man for more than a hundred years. Since it is hardly possible to draw an unambiguous analogy between the age of a person and the age of a cat, people resort to various tricks in order to identify a scheme by which it would be possible to approximately calculate the age of a cat.

The most common scheme allows you to calculate the age of a cat by multiplying the number of light years it has lived by 7. Of course, such a calculation system has errors and does not suit many.

Problems of transferring human standards

The question of how legitimate the ambitious desire to calculate the exact age of a cat by human standards remains open. It is important to remember that cats develop in ways that are radically different from humans.

Yes, cats go through phases of “infancy”, “childhood”, “adolescence”, “youth” and “maturity”. Blooming and fading are characteristic of them in the same way as other living organisms. Meanwhile, one can hardly derive any practical benefit from the assumption that Nikolai the cat is 35 cat years old. However, such methods of calculation allow the owner to “bring the animal closer” to himself and make it more understandable from a human point of view.

We should not forget that attempts to transfer the peculiarities of emotional perception, thinking and other psychological characteristics of a person to a cat are only a projection that has a distant relationship to reality.

A comprehensive ratio of cat and human ages is shown in the table below.

How long do domestic cats live?

The average life expectancy of a domestic cat is 15-16 years, provided that the pet is cared for, monitored and promptly shown to a veterinarian. Compared to stray cats, who live an average of 5-7 years, domestic cats turn out to be real long-livers.

The following conditions contribute to the longevity of a pet:

Video - what affects a cat's life expectancy?

Influence of breed on lifespan

It is difficult to speak with certainty about a clear connection between breed and life expectancy. There are lists that allow you to correlate the breed and the approximate number of years to which its representative will live, but there is no need to talk about exact data. Among the long-livers are the following breeds:

• Australian Smoky Cat;
• Japanese Bobtail;
• Neva masquerade cat;
• Maine Coon;
• Siamese cat;
• American Shorthair;
• Manx.

Among the cat breeds whose life expectancy is quite short are the following:

• Snowshoe;
• Bombay cat;
• Russian blue cat;
• Abyssinian cat;
• Ural rex.

It is worth considering that life expectancy is influenced not only by the breed, but also by the genetics passed on to your pet by its descendants. If a cat is predisposed to a number of serious diseases, then even belonging to a long-lived breed will not save it from an earlier death. Conversely, representatives of the breed, which do not have much time allotted, can live much longer than the “norm” with proper care and good heredity.

By the way! The oldest cat today is the Rubble cat, originally from the UK. At the beginning of the summer of 2018, she celebrated her thirtieth birthday. The long-lived woman belongs to the Maine Coon breed. The record for the longest life lived belongs to Cream Puff the Cat, who died in 2005 at the age of 38.

Conclusion

Determining the age of a cat at home, in the absence of even superficial knowledge of cat anatomy, is a difficult task. If you want to practice your deductive skills, then using the criteria presented in this article, this can be easily done.

However, if you need an accurate result that you want to use in the future in drawing up a treatment or nutrition plan, then the only advice may be to visit a veterinarian. Only a specialist after examining the pet will be able to determine its age.

The appearance of a pet in the house is not only positive emotions, but also an additional responsibility that falls on all family members. The desire to know the age of the animal in this case is not idle curiosity, but a vital necessity. After all, if for a 6-year-old cat drowsiness and clumsiness are the norm, then for the owners of a three-year-old pet it is an alarming signal indicating a serious illness. An experienced veterinarian knows how to determine the age of a cat and can do it in no time, but you can lift the veil of secrecy without him.

How to determine the age of a cat by its behavior?

The determining factor in this case is the appearance of the first signs of puberty. This is the easiest way to calculate the age of a young animal. If your kitten is becoming more and more vocal every day about his desire to go out for a walk, and small puddles of urine begin to appear throughout the house, then this means that he is about to turn 7 months old. It is at this age that cats begin to go into sexual heat. With cats the situation is different - their reproductive instinct manifests itself at 8-9 months of life.

How to determine the age of a kitten based on gender is understandable, but what to do with an adult animal? You will have to take a closer look at your pet and thoroughly study its habits. The principle is simple: the more active and mobile the animal, the younger it is. Conventionally, the life of a sexually mature cat, like a person, can be divided into several periods.

Youth

This period begins when the cat turns one year old. Outwardly, she no longer looks at all like a kitten and reaches her “adult” size. Movements cease to be clumsy, smoothness and grace appear. Despite this, the young age of a cat can be easily determined by its playful behavior - it still runs a lot, hides, and tries to catch the tip of its own tail.

Youth

Onsets at approximately 18 months and lasts up to 5 years. This is the flowering of a cat’s vitality, especially when it comes to purebred representatives of the cat family. It's time to give birth to offspring and win at various exhibitions. During this period, the animal is distinguished by strength, agility and tirelessness.

Maturity

When the cat turns 6 years old, changes will occur in her behavior again: she will become more sedate, reserved and a little lazy. Perhaps due to the fact that right now the consequences of insufficient care and poor nutrition are making themselves felt. The first symptoms of diseases of the kidneys, liver, and gastrointestinal tract appear. From time to time the animal still jumps off the windowsill to play with its owner, but more often it just watches him with an indifferent gaze.

Old age

The period of withering begins for cats at the age of 10-12 years. They become clumsy again, so they prefer to sleep most of the time. In addition, old people do not adapt well to new living conditions, so even such a small thing as changing a tray or bowl can become real stress for them. It must be said that this is a very optimistic forecast, which most likely concerns animals living on the full provision of a loving owner. Street cats are less fortunate - they rarely live to such a ripe old age.

Of course, it is not always possible to determine the age of cats only by their behavior. There are breeds that behave like mischievous kittens until very old age, and there are also those that can “sleep” through their entire youth. Therefore, if you are wondering how to find out the exact age of a cat, it is better to focus on the physiological characteristics, which will be discussed below.

How to find out the age of a cat by its external parameters?

The first thing that catches your eye is, of course, the condition of the animal’s fur. Young hunters can boast of a thick fur coat, through which it is almost impossible to see the skin. Bright color, characteristic shine and clearly defined pattern - all this indicates that this is a healthy animal in the prime of life. With age, the coat will become increasingly dull, the boundaries between colors will no longer be so noticeable. So the retired striped Matroskin will most likely change his vest to a more or less plain gray padded jacket.

This is interesting! Complete baldness, which, for example, older men are so afraid of, does not threaten old cats, but gray hair is a completely natural phenomenon. Graying is especially noticeable on mature dark-colored animals.

You can tell a lot about a cat's age by its build. The six-month-old “teenager” is still somewhat awkward and thin. As the year approaches, its relief will become more expressive and plastic. Cats reach maturity with a round belly, their muscles lose tone and even become flabby to the touch. Quite a bit of time will pass, and the owner will see a 10-year old man next to him - the cat will become thin, his back will sag, and his shoulder blades can be seen even with the naked eye.

Now you can probably easily determine how old a cat you meet on the street is. But all these are only approximate guidelines, and if you want to know the age of the animal with an accuracy of one year, you will have to take a closer look at it.

A clear and clean look is characteristic of young cats. With age, the cornea darkens, the iris changes color and becomes dull. Inflamed eyelids are a sign of an older animal whose eyes often water.

Take me by the paw

Kittens' pads are soft and silky. Over time, the skin on the paws becomes rough and rough. But if you notice pronounced wrinkles or even cracks on the paw pads, then there is no doubt that this is an old cat. If you hold an elderly cat by the paw, you can see the growths.

Another point that you need to focus on is the claws. To examine them, gently press your thumb onto the pads. Young individuals boast sharp long claws. With age, they will become fragile, so they will often break and are unlikely to be able to grow back much. If you pick up a cat on the street, you may eventually discover that it has no claws at all. This may mean that the previous owner performed surgery to remove them. If only a few claws are missing, you are holding the paw of a venerable old man - he lost fragile claws in the struggle for life, and new ones no longer grow at such an old age.

If you notice changes in behavior, do not ignore these signals depending on how old the cat is. Source: Flickr (Sylvia_Wrigley)

Look into the mouth

How to find out how old a cat is? Count how many pairs of teeth he has in his mouth and evaluate their condition. When a kitten is one month old, its baby teeth begin to emerge. This process does not last long: at 8 weeks of age he will have a mouth full of primary incisors, canines and molars. In total - 13 pairs or 26 sharp snow-white teeth. As soon as they are all cut through, the process of replacing them with permanent ones will immediately begin. Six months after birth, the cat will have 30 permanent teeth in its mouth.

Up to a year they will have a flawless white color, but over time, tartar will begin to appear, which will lead to darkening of the enamel and the appearance of a yellow plaque. When your pet turns 1.5 years old, her teeth will begin to wear out. How to find out how old a cat is? The first to be hit are the incisors located on the lower jaw. After another 2 years, the first signs of wear on the upper incisors will appear. If you opened the animal’s mouth and saw that not only the incisors, but also the fangs were significantly worn out, then this cat recently celebrated its 5th anniversary.

How old would your cat be if he were human?

A cat that lives among people for a long time becomes not just a pet, but a full-fledged member of the family, so its age is of interest to all household members. How is age calculated for cats? They used to think that one cat year is equal to seven human years. That is, the cat’s age was simply multiplied by 7. This approach can hardly be called objective. Comparing an adult one-year-old cat with the development of a seven-year-old child is, to say the least, incorrect. Therefore, felinologists (specialists who study the physiology and anatomy of domestic cats) have developed a different formula. The approximate ratio of cat and human years is presented in the table.

After a cat reaches two years of age, each year of his life is equal to five human years. A five-year-old cat can be roughly compared to an adult 40-year-old lady. After this milestone, the counting rules change again and one cat year is equal to four human years.

The average lifespan of a pet is 15 years. By human standards, this is about 75, but there are exceptions. Many well-groomed cats, living under human care from an early age, survive the 16-year mark without problems and live side by side with their owner until they are 20 years old.

This is interesting! Among cats, as among people, there are long-livers. Two of the most famous recent cases: the cat Fluffy from Texas, who lived to be 38 years old, and Lucy from the UK, who celebrated her 40th birthday.

If you don’t want to part with your furry friend ahead of time, try to provide him with the most comfortable conditions:

• Make sure your animal always has access to clean drinking water (this will help avoid kidney disease).
• Feed him healthy food rich in animal protein.
• Eliminate cheap dry food from your diet (they contain too many grains, which are difficult to digest and lead to gastrointestinal problems).
• Make sure you have a warm house to sleep in (cats are very afraid of cold floors and drafts).
• Sterilize the animal in time, otherwise unsatisfied instincts will inevitably cause hormonal imbalances.
• Do not forget about vaccination and regular helminth prevention.

Remember - we are responsible for those we have tamed. If you notice changes in behavior, do not ignore these signals depending on how old the cat is. Protect your animal from stress, take it to the veterinarian once every six months and be sure that your pet will certainly celebrate its 100th birthday!

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Having picked up an animal on the street, the new owner is responsible for its life and health. It is necessary to choose the right housing and feeding conditions. How to determine the age of a adopted cat? The diet, vaccination schedule and other points directly depend on this.

Experienced breeders and veterinarians pay attention to the condition of the animal’s teeth, fur and skeleton, eyes, paws, and behavior.

Dental condition

By carefully examining the condition of the teeth, you can determine how old the cat is. This method is considered the most accurate, although it is quite unpleasant for animals. Not every cat will meekly open its mouth and wait patiently while the contents of its mouth are examined. Therefore, before starting the procedure, it is recommended to wrap your pet in a towel or blanket, securing its clawed paws under it. Now you can start the process.

So, the kitten looks at the following:

• It’s not difficult to recognize a newborn kitten; it simply doesn’t have teeth yet;
• if the teeth are already coming in, then the baby is 2–4 weeks old;
• at 4 weeks the first incisors are already present;
• by one and a half months all canines and premolars are present;
• at 4 months molars are cut;
• at 5–6 months, baby teeth are replaced by permanent teeth;
• at 7 months, a kitten with a full set (30 pieces).

How can you find out how old an adult cat is? After a year of life, the teeth begin to slowly change their appearance in the following sequence:

• at 1 year old, a healthy cat has a mouth full of white, healthy, strong and very sharp teeth;
• by 2 years, you can see the beginning of abrasion of the lower central incisors and a slight yellowing of the entire tooth enamel with a barely noticeable plaque of tartar;
• after 3 years, yellowness becomes more pronounced and signs of abrasion are already present on the upper central incisors, and the fangs also begin to wear out;
• after 5 years, the middle incisors on the lower jaw are severely worn out;
• by the age of 7, the upper central incisors are completely worn out, the yellow color of the enamel is very noticeable, as are all signs of tartar;
• at 10 years old the teeth are very yellow and they begin to fall out (from the central incisors);
• Closer to 15–16 years, the cat also loses its fangs.

It should be understood that this method, although considered the most accurate, may still not give a complete picture of how old the cat is.

The condition of the oral cavity is largely determined by how the animal ate and in what conditions it was kept all these years.

Wool and the musculoskeletal system

You can very roughly determine how old a cat is by the condition of its fur. You need to focus on the following points:

1. Kittens and young animals have very soft and fluffy fur. Each hair seems to be separate, it does not stick together or roll down. If there is a pattern on the skin, for example, stripes or spots, then its contours are clear and well defined. There is no trace of gray hair.
2. By the age of 5–6 years, the contours of the pattern are blurred, the cover becomes duller. The coat is now stiffer, denser and smoother to the touch. Upon closer examination, you can notice individual gray hairs.
3. After 10 years, obvious gray hair appears. Adult cats take much less care of their appearance, and quite often their coat looks unkempt and dull. Even matted areas and tangles appear.

But we must take into account that all these signs, by definition of age, can be symptoms of diseases and poor maintenance of pets.

A lot of information in order to determine the age of cats can be gleaned if you pay attention to the musculoskeletal system of the animal. Young kittens, like teenagers, develop a little unevenly. They are angular and awkward, with overly long legs and large ears.

Grown up young cats are already beautiful and agile. The muscle relief is clearly visible. The physique is fine and strong, the movements are perfectly coordinated and graceful. Cat steps are weightless and soft. The pet happily jumps far and high.

Once the cat reaches 6–7 years old, it will look a little different. She is not so nimble and fast. Her gait is no longer so light and soft. The muscle corset weakens.

In older cats, their shoulder blades begin to stick out and their backs sag. Old animals are excessively thin.

Eyes and paws

This estimation method is very, very approximate. We can say that it is relevant only for kittens in the first months of life, when the diet is very dependent on age (in the event that they are orphans). Everyone knows that they are born blind. At about a week of age, the eyes begin to open. At 2–3 weeks they are still narrow and not fully dilated. And by one month, kittens look at the world with wide open eyes.

Even before 5–7 weeks, an unstable colored iris can be observed.

How to determine the age of an older cat. The young pet has a clear and clean look. With age, the iris becomes less bright and spots appear on it. The look becomes cloudy and dull, the mischievous shine disappears. Sometimes blindness develops. In very old animals, the eyes are inflamed and watery. The eyelids appear inflamed and reddened. The fur on the eyelids is constantly damp.

You can take into account such a determining factor as the condition of the paws. Young animals have very delicate, soft and smooth pads. With age, the skin on them becomes rougher, cracks and growths (corns) appear. You should pay attention to the claws. In older cats, they are dry and brittle. Sometimes animals stop replacing and shed their claws.

Age affects behavior

How to determine the age of a cat by its behavior? Kittens and young cats enjoy playing a lot and often. They are curious and inquisitive, they climb everywhere and try to be in time everywhere. Not a single event should happen without their participation. Every sound, thrown toy or just a candy wrapper arouses keen interest. But by a certain age, animals become more imposing and slower. They play and hunt much less often. Sudden movements can cause them pain due to developing arthritis. What is also a sign of old age?

Many cats develop the habit of resting and sleeping longer.

Owners often “humanize” their pets. A table has even been compiled to match the age of a cat to the age of a person. It is generally believed that 1 year of a cat's life corresponds to 7 years of a human's life. However, this only applies to pets that have reached the one-year mark, which is the animal's “coming of age.” A six-month-old kitten is equivalent to a 14-year-old teenager. A 15-year-old cat will be the same age as its 76-year-old elderly owner.

Now that you know the basic criteria that help determine the age of a cat, it will be easier to properly care for your pet. Most of the food takes into account the age categories of our pets. This is necessary so that they receive the necessary balanced nutrition, vitamins and microelements they need during this particular period of development. But if you find it difficult to decide the issue of age, it is better to turn to an experienced specialist.