The age of cats by human standards

Cat breeders are aware that pet growth and development are subject to different laws. They are especially pronounced in the first year of the cat's life. However, during the life cycle, cats grow and age, like humans, although their life expectancy is much shorter compared to humans. The material in this article will help readers understand the age of cats by human standards.

It is possible to calculate the age of a cat at home, although these data are considered approximate. This can be determined based on the data of the international veterinary passport of cats. This allows you to timely monitor the age-related changes of the pet, providing him with the necessary measures to maintain health.

Teeth are a kind of factor indicating age. In determining it, a person relies on the condition of the teeth, because over the years, their appearance changes, despite the replacement of dairy with indigenous ones. Despite the fact that in some animals they are strong until they are old, and in others, patients are almost from childhood, age can be determined by such signs as:

• shade of teeth;
• wear phase;
• accumulation of tartar;
• the number of units dropped.

Cats, which owners brush their teeth and visiting the dentist have well-groomed teeth, which sometimes creates the illusion of a younger age. If the kittens have the wrong bite, problems with the teeth cannot be avoided, and this adds age to the existing years.

An excellent condition of teeth in cats happens per year. At this time, they are white, do not have stubborn yellowness and tartar deposits. The incisors at 2 years of age begin to wear off, which is apparently still imperceptible. A two-year-old cat has yellow teeth only if the owner does not brush them. By the age of four, the central and middle incisors are noticeably obliterated. At 6 years old, the fangs and extreme incisors are erased; at 10 years, tooth loss begins. At 15 years old, individual fangs fall out.

Like humans, cats lose their visual acuity over time, due to the state of the lens, and also noticeable by the iris. The veterinarian can determine the age. Young animals do not have increased lacrimation. As for the iris, then the more she has bumps and blotches, the older the cat.

You can understand how old the cat is by the structure of the musculoskeletal system, which affects the manner of movement. For example, kittens have disproportionate paws, they are long with respect to the body. A six-month-old baby seems lanky, after the end of the puberty, his body becomes stately, and his gait becomes graceful. The ears of kittens grow faster than the skull, but by the end of growth this becomes invisible.

Young cats differ article, they have a muscular relief. Their movements are light and laid-back, at this age they are capable of long distances, and sometimes even shock the imagination with acrobatic tricks. This goes away with age: older animals remain dexterous, but over time they develop weakness in the joints. In addition, their spine may fall, bulging of the shoulder blades, thinning of the muscle relief, and weight loss are observed.

You can determine the age of the pet, based on the condition of the coat (not relevant for hairless cats). Despite the fact that the method is not so reliable in comparison with the determination of teeth and eyes, it is no less interesting. For example, in kittens up to a year, the fur coat is softer and silky. There are practically no warlocks on her, her condition is good, indicating excellent health.

The gray hair of cats appears when they turn 7 years old. Early gray hair indicates the presence of diseases, for the solution of which it is necessary to consult a doctor. From the age of 8, a fur coat becomes not so attractive, and therefore the owner has to carefully monitor its health and beauty.

In addition, you can understand that the pet has reached adulthood, according to its behavior. For example, starting from six months of age, cats begin to actively mark the territory with their own urine, characterized by a pungent odor. Correlating with human standards, at this time they are similar to teenagers with their rebellious spirit.

There are conditionally developed tabular data that clearly show a person what age his pet is. The disadvantage of the data indicated in the table is inaccuracy.

As for the more accurate calculation option, for its calculation it is necessary to have an idea about each stage of the animal’s development. This allows you to draw a mental portrait by human standards. In cats of different breeds, the life resource for which a kitten is born, develops and ages, passes at its own pace.

For example, venerable old age in representatives of the breed snow-shu occurs in 10-11 years.Asian tabby live up to 20 years, tiffany and smoky cats - up to 18, and some feline record holders reach the age of 30 years.

Trying on the stages of human development for cats, you can understand how much time they have spent on childhood, adolescence, youth and old age. For example, depending on the specific breed, the children's period in cats can take place from six months to a year.

A baby is considered a kitten in the first weeks from the moment of birth. In the first week of your life, a film protecting your ears disappears. The teeth begin to erupt in two weeks, while in humans this process begins no earlier than 4-5 months. In terms of development, a monthly kitten is comparable to a six-month-old baby.

Kittens of two months of age are equated to children of 10 months. A 6-month-old kitten is developed about the same as a baby at 1.5 years old. He is also actively interested in everything that surrounds him, pulls objects in his mouth, tries to know the world and really needs a mother.

The children's developmental stage in the animal begins from 3 months, proceeding rapidly up to six months. During this period, the pet continues to actively explore the world, communicate with other kittens, and also learns to communicate with the owners. He understands his friends and strangers, tries to socialize, follows the hygiene of his fur coat, washed, licks himself and learns to play.

Someone thinks that kittens at 3 months are comparable with children 2-5 years old. Others are convinced that this difference may be greater. In a couple of months, kittens develop by about 3-4 human years.

Starting from six months of age, the animal begins a period of youth. In adolescence, cats have already formed character. At this time, cats and cats have already completed puberty, however, if males are ready for mating, then it is not recommended to females for up to a year. If breeders ignore this fact, the offspring of such cats is born sick.

In adolescence, an inexperienced owner attributes the bad behavior of a pet to childhood, but in reality it’s too late to forgive pranks at this time. The cat is already quite mature and has its own life position, often supplemented by bad habits. At this time, the pet often behaves like a developed teenager, individual individuals are capricious, and especially adore experiencing limits of permissibility. Sometimes with careful attention to pets, you may notice some coquetry between the pets.

The period of youth in animals can be different, on average it is 3-4 years. In this way, the cat became young in a year, it is considered up to 5 years old. This is the best time for mating, as animals are still healthy and active. During this period, they can give good offspring. According to human standards, her age at this time corresponds to about 20-30 years. According to some data, its borders are more extended and range from 18 to 35 (40) years.

Characters in pets at this time may be different. Some cats, like people, become balanced and confident, while others quickly grow up. Still others do not want to part with their childhood, and therefore behave like little children, playing for a long time and hiding for an attack, tracking down potential prey.

A cat that has crossed the threshold of six years is considered mature. This period she stretches to 10 years, and some have less. In general, any serious changes in her health with proper care usually do not occur. However, owners do not knit pets after they are 7 years old. This is explained by the risk of complications in females that occur during late pregnancy.

As for the ratio with human standards, mature animals correspond to the middle age category of people from 40 to 56 years. With age, these pets allow themselves to play and fool around less and less. Most of them become sedate and solid. However, if agility and curiosity are characteristic of a particular breed from birth, individual individuals do not stop their research activities and do not change their own enthusiasm with which they approach everything.

A cat who is 11 years old is equated to people of retirement age. The period of old age in an animal of different breeds lasts up to 14 years, during which the activity of pets gradually decreases. This does not mean that they become lethargic and lazy, afraid of any physical exertion. At this time, as a rule, diseases make themselves felt. Therefore, pets need increased attention and care.

It is necessary to protect the "old people" from unnecessary stressful situations, to take care of their health. You can not shout at them, it is important to ensure that they do not catch a cold while walking. It is necessary to conduct preventive examinations in order to prevent health problems.

Long-lived cats are pets that turn 15 years old or more. They are like old-timers, quietly living their lives. At this time, animals are less active, they sleep a lot, suffer from weakened joints, wear and tear or lack of teeth, and often because of this they refuse dry industrial food. Like the toothless old people they need liquid food that will not injure the gums.

Some individuals may suffer from urinary incontinence, while others have a weak digestive process. You can not give them milk, give solid and rough food. In addition, raw fish with bones is categorically unacceptable. Weakness in long-lived cats may be temporary.

Calculations of feline age in years of a person can be different. For example, in the simplest sense, it is believed that every year a cat lives is conditionally equated to seven human ones. The method, of course, is not the most accurate, but it allows the owner to have an approximate idea of ​​the age of the pet. Given that the development of cats can occur unevenly, when calculating, you can rely on other methods.

For example, an interesting counting method, in which the first year of the cat’s life is conditionally equated to 15 human years. In the second year of a pet’s life, it develops approximately as a person from 15 to 24 years old. All subsequent years, starting from the third, can be calculated by the formula: N = 24 + (N-2) * 4, where N is the value of the actual feline age.

There is another calculation technique that conditionally divides the life resource into three main stages. In order to calculate the “human” age of a cat, which actually turned one to five years old, it is necessary to multiply its actual age by 7. The formula for a pet who has reached the milestone from 6 to 11 years old looks like this: x = (z - 5) * 4 + 35, where x is the desired value. The formula for purrs aged 12-20 is different: x = (z - 11) * 3 + 59 (here you need to multiply by 3).

Conventionally, it can be considered that each of its subsequent years is equivalent to four human ones. For pets under three years old, this formula is irrelevant. In addition, it is necessary to take into account such a factor as the early or, conversely, late development of kittens, which is typical for representatives of individual breeds of the cat family.

You can also carry out the calculation according to another scheme. For example, a cat from one to five years for every 12 months conditionally lives 7 years.After that, each subsequent year she lives is equated with four human ones.

According to the third method of calculating feline age by human standards, a special coefficient should be used in the calculations. In this case, it is necessary to take into account aspects such as the animal’s social intelligence, its physical development and emotional sphere, comparing it with the human one.

This technique was developed by zoologists and veterinarians. Her data are enclosed in a table whereby the average person can find out the approximate ratio of feline age with the representation of a person.

Often, the correct calculation and comparison does not give the correct results. There are various reasons for this. For example, one of them is the lifestyle of the animal.

Sexual activity also matters. It is proved that in the absence of the ability of cats and cats to realize their sexual instincts in their bodies, hormonal failure occurs. And this entails a deterioration in the condition of bones, teeth, and internal organs. Such pets age quickly, which makes it difficult to calculate their average age according to people's standards.

It is generally accepted that the cat’s body can begin to age after the animal celebrates its fourth birthday. Stress and emotional stress, as well as malnutrition contribute to this. Often it is the owner’s laziness that results in a loss of smoothness and silkiness of the coat, loss of teeth and the accumulation of tartar. The diet of the animal must be balanced and complete. He needs not only nutrients, but also vitamins and minerals.

Nothing will allow us to understand and calculate the age of a cat by human standards, like a correspondence table with visual data. We draw the attention of the reader to the fact that the data are approximate, and therefore it is not worth taking calculations for the idealization of the basic calculation. They allow you to find out the approximate biological age, nothing more.

The ratio of the age of cats and humans

It is important to understand that data may vary between representatives of individuals of the same breed, but of different sexes. Like people, they can have a different type of biological clock. For example, females of elite breeds are rapidly aging, which breeders mercilessly use for breeding and profit. The body of these cats wears out quickly, they weaken, which can cause profuse hair loss, loss or increased grinding of teeth.

And therefore, at the same actual age, outwardly they can look radically different. Animals living on the street age earlier.To know more precisely what is the biological age of a cat or cat, it is worth contacting a veterinarian. Specialists of this plan are taught to be based on the physiology of animals and their external data, and therefore they often give a very accurate assessment.

How to determine the age of the cat is described in the next video.