Yous've probably heard that one dog year is equivalent to seven homo years, but is the formula really that simple? The conversion formula for both domestic dog and cat years to human years is actually much more complex. Because both of these animals mature at a faster rate than humans, the start years of your pet's life really equate to more human years than the subsequent years. To go a ameliorate thought of how cat and human ages equate, use our cat age calculator:

Why cats mature early Alternative age calculator Indoor vs outdoor cats How erstwhile is my cat?

Your cat'due south historic period in human years

Why cats mature early

Your feline companion is your precious baby, we know, but yous must remember that cats are still animals. They are still much closer to their wild roots than us bipedal humans.

A primary example of this is the style that humans have evolved to have long gestation periods and and then even longer periods of intensive rearing and childcare. Domesticated house cats have a gestation menses of only 66 days and give nativity to kittens that crave just a small portion of the kind of attending and care that human babies require. And the little bit of work they do require can be done with a self-cleaning litter box .

That's why a one-year-sometime kitten is the developmentally equivalent historic period of a 15-year-quondam human being, and the concrete maturity of a ii-year-former cat is roughly equivalent to a 25-year-old homo. Then, for each year after the offset two, equate each cat yr to about iv human years. That would make a v-year-quondam true cat about 36 man years old.

If you're having trouble grasping early maturation in cats, await at this manner: Kittens do most of their growing in the first six months of life. In fact, good for you kittens grow 8 times their size in only about 8 weeks ! By approximately 1 year one-time, cats will weigh at or around their adult weight, which typically ranges from 7 to 15 pounds depending on the breed.

How practise you know when your cat has stopped growing? Near veterinarians agree that your true cat is done growing betwixt 9 months and 2 years old. However, some breeds take years to fully mature . Larn more than nearly true cat life stages, according to American Animal Infirmary Association (AAHA).

An culling formula

Tracie Hotchner, author of " The Cat Bible ," offers a slightly different variation on the aforementioned calculation. In this culling formula, Hotchner delves more specifically into the corresponding ages of young kittens to similarly young human children. Hither, courtesy of Hotchner, is the answer to the question, "How former practice cats live in human years?"

  • A 1-month-old kitten is equivalent to a 6-month-onetime human infant
  • A 3-month-old kitten is equivalent to a iv-year-sometime kid
  • A 6-month-erstwhile kitten is equivalent to 10 homo years erstwhile
  • An 8-month-onetime kitten is equivalent to a xv-twelvemonth-quondam human
  • A 1-year-one-time cat has reached adulthood, the equivalent of 18 human years
  • A 2-year-old cat is equivalent to a 24-yr-former homo
  • A 4-yr-sometime cat is equivalent to a 35-year-old homo
  • A vi-year-former cat is equivalent to a 42-year-sometime human
  • An 8-twelvemonth-former cat is equivalent to a fifty-year-old human
  • A ten-year-old cat is equivalent to a 60-year-erstwhile human
  • A 12-year-onetime cat is equivalent to a 70-year-old human
  • A 14-year-old cat is equivalent to an eighty-year-old human
  • A 16-year-former cat is equivalent to an 84-twelvemonth-old human

cat years to human years

Cat years to human years: The indoor vs outdoor gene

If you lot used our cat years to human years figurer above, you might exist wondering why yous had to specify whether your cat is indoor-but, outdoor-only, or a mix. The sad fact is, a cat's environs largely influences their lifespan. Enquire a veterinarian and they'll tell you: Cats that go exterior are more at risk of harm or injury.

Just equally ancient man lived outdoors and had a life expectancy of 20-30 years, outdoor cats face exposure, predators, harsh conditions, and chronic "wear and tear" that can ultimately atomic number 82 to a shorter life expectancy. Indoor cats are the mod equivalent of pampered, sheltered royalty when compared to outdoor cats or fifty-fifty indoor/outdoor cats.

Speaking of indoor/outdoor cats: Even if xc-95% of your true cat's life is indoors, your veterinarian still needs to know most the small percentage of time spent outdoors. Why? Because it affects how they care for your true cat and what diagnostics, vaccines, medications, and handling they may use.

So, why is a 5-twelvemonth-one-time indoor cat in the prime of his life (36 years old in man years) while a five-yr-one-time outdoor true cat has already entered heart historic period (48 years in homo years)?

Why outdoor cats "age" faster

In that location'due south a difference between an outdoor cat with no abode (i.e. feral or devious), and a true cat with a loving home that but happens to live exterior. The old'due south lifespan is adversely affected by lack of vaccinations and routine vet visits, also every bit not being spayed or neutered . But fifty-fifty if your outdoor cat is vaccinated, sees the vet regularly, and is spayed or neutered, in that location are still a lot of risks with living outside.

First, beingness outside poses trauma dangers. Your cat might become hit past a automobile, attacked past a domestic dog or coyote, injured by the neighborhood swell, or beat upward by the neighborhood tomcat. Veterinarians written report trauma as the #1 effect seen in a veterinary ER with indoor/outdoor cats. Trauma tin issue in fractures, lung bruises, internal bleeding, and fifty-fifty death. And if you're lucky enough to save kitty's life, handling may toll several thousands of dollars for repair.

Side by side, being outside poses poisoning dangers. Something as simple as your true cat eating your neighbor's tiger lilies or daylilies , digging effectually and finding some mouse poison, or accidentally being exposed to antifreeze in your neighbor's driveway can result in death.

Finally, the outdoors pose infection or disease transmission risks that can potentially be fatal to your cat. Fighting with other cats can easily upshot in your cat getting the blood infection feline leukemia (FeLV) or kitty AIDS/FIV . (Learn more nearly FeLV and FIV at Cornell Feline Health Middle.) Also, if your cat goes outside, the risks of tapeworms, fleas, ticks, and other parasites dramatically increment. It's extremely important that your outdoor cat exist vaccinated and upwardly-to-engagement on their FeLV and rabies vaccines, along with year-circular flea, tick, and heartworm medication.

How old is my true cat?

If you adopted your true cat, you lot may not know their verbal age. However, knowing the historic period of your true cat can be important for you to properly care for them. Hither are some characteristics to look for to aid you approximate your cat's age:

  • Fur: Kittens and young cats usually have soft and smoothen coats whereas older cats might take thicker, coarser coats. You might even find some grey in an older cat'due south fur.
  • Teeth: Kittens usually don't get all their teeth until effectually half-dozen months of age, and younger cats tend to accept much whiter teeth. You will likely notice increased wear and tartar build-upwards the older your cat gets.
  • Optics: Young cats may take brighter optics and older cats may take cloudier eyes (but this is not ever the case).
  • Hormonal changes: As early as 5 months of age, an unspayed female kitten might beginning going into heat. Signs include territorial marker, mating calls, or wanting to escape outdoors.
  • Mobility and activeness levels: Older cats tend to move less and be less playful than younger cats. Less activity can also contribute to more weight gain in older cats.

Learn more about how to tell how erstwhile your cat is.

Two ways to look at age

Though the common perspective on cat years and man years is trying to effigy out how old our cats are in human years, that conversion can be practical both means.

That is to say, if you consider the maximum age of a human being to be 100 years, then, based on the True cat Calculator, the maximum age of a cat is xx.viii years. On the other side of the coin, if y'all consider that, equally The Cat Bible suggests, 16 human years is comparable to 84 cat years, so a 100-yr-old man could exist said to be the equivalent of 525 cat years.

Though this is a generally less practical way to consider the relative aging charge per unit, it does serve as an of import reminder… The way we experience time, the length of our human years, and the meaning we assign to certain-numbered years (the big 3-0, for case), is a matter of perspective. Some other oft-quoted ideas come up to mind: " Information technology'southward not the years in your life, merely the life in your years" and " Yous're only as old as y'all feel."

How onetime is your cat according to the cat years to man years formula? Or perhaps nosotros should ask, how old are Yous in true cat years?

Photo past Manja Vitolic on Unsplash