The age of cats by human standards

Cat breeders are aware that the growth and development of pets is subject to other laws. They are especially pronounced in the first year of the cat's life. However, during the life cycle, cats grow and age, as do people, although their lifespan is much shorter than that of a human. 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 this data is considered to be approximate. This can be determined based on data from an international veterinary passport of cats. This allows you to track pet age changes in a timely manner, providing him with the necessary measures to maintain health.

Teeth are a kind of age factor. When determining it, a person relies on the condition of the teeth, because over the years, their appearance has changed, despite the replacement of dairy with indigenous ones. Despite the fact that in individual animals they are strong until old age, while others have patients practically from childhood, the age can be determined by such signs as:

• teeth shade;
• stage of wear;
• accumulation of tartar;
• the number of fallen units.

Cats that 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 years available.

Excellent condition of the teeth in cats is a year. At this time they are white, have no ingrained yellowness and deposits of tartar. The incisors at 2 years time begin to erase, which is apparently unnoticeable. A two-year-old cat has yellow teeth only if the owner does not clean them. By four years, the central and middle incisors are noticeably obliterated. At the age of 6 years, fangs and extreme incisors are erased, at 10 years tooth loss begins. In 15 years, individual individuals fall out fangs.

As in humans, cats lose their visual acuity over time, which is explained by the state of the lens, as well as by the iris. Determine the age of the vet. Young animals do not have increased tearing. As for the iris, then the more she has irregularities and inclusions, the older the cat.

Understand the age of a cat, you can on the structure of the musculoskeletal system, which affects the manner of movement. For example, kittens have disproportionate legs, they are long relative to the body. The six month old baby seems lanky, after the end of puberty his body becomes stately and his walk is graceful. Kittens' ears grow faster than the skull, but by the end of growth it becomes imperceptible.

Young cats are different article, they have formed a muscular relief. Their movements are easy and relaxed, at this age they are capable of great distances, and sometimes they even shake the imagination with acrobatic stunts.With age, this passes: older animals remain agile, but over time they have a weakness in the joints. In addition, they can lower the spine, there is a bulging of the shoulder blades, thinning of the muscular relief, weight loss.

You can determine the age of the pet, based on the state of the coat (irrelevant for bald cats). Despite the fact that the method is not so reliable in comparison with the definition of the teeth and eyes, it is no less interesting. For example, in kittens up to one year, the fur coat is softer and silky. There are practically no koltuns on it, the condition is good, indicating good health.

The gray hairs of the cats appear when they are 7 years old. Early gray hair indicates the presence of diseases for which you need to see a doctor. From 8 years old, the fur coat becomes not so attractive, and therefore the owner has to more carefully monitor her health and beauty.

In addition, it can be understood that the pet has reached puberty, it is possible by its behavior. For example, since the age of six months, cats begin to actively mark the area with their own urine, characterized by a strong odor. Relative to human standards, at this time they are like teenagers with their rebellious spirit.

There are conventionally developed tabular data, clearly showing the person how old his pet is. The disadvantage of the data in the table is inaccuracy.

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

For example, the venerable old age among representatives of the snow-shu breed occurs in 10-11 years. Asian tabbies live up to 20 years, tiffany and smoky cats - up to 18, and individual champions of the cat family reach the age of 30 years.

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

Baby kitten is considered in the first weeks from the moment of birth. In the first week of his life, the film that protects the 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, the monthly kitten is comparable to a six-month-old child.

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

The children's developmental stage in an 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 and those of others, tries to socialize, monitors the hygiene of his fur coat, washes himself, licks himself and learns to play.

Someone thinks that kittens at 3 months are comparable to children 2-5 years old. Others believe that this difference may be greater. For a couple of months, kittens develop approximately 3-4 human years.

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

In adolescence, an inexperienced host blames the bad behavior of a pet on childhood, but in reality it is a bit late to forgive mischief at this time. The cat is already quite mature and has its own life position, often complemented by bad habits. At this time, the pet often behaves like a developed teenager, some individuals are capricious, and especially like to test the limits of permissiveness. Sometimes with careful attention to pets, you can notice some coquetry between pets.

The period of youth in animals may be different, on average, it is 3-4 years. In this way, A cat that has become young per year, is considered to be up to 5 years. This is the best time for mating, as the animals are still healthy and active. During this period, they can produce 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.

The characters of pets at this time may be different. Some cats, like people, become balanced and self-confident, others quickly grow up. Still others do not want to part with childhood, and therefore behave like young children, playing for a long time and hiding for an attack, tracking down potential prey.

A cat that has stepped over the turn of six years is considered mature. This period is stretched to 10 years, and for some even less. In general, no major changes in her health usually occur with proper care. However, the owners do not knit pets after they turn 7 years old. This is due to the risk of complications in females that occur during late pregnancy.

As for the relationship with human standards, mature animals correspond to the average age group 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 staid 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 that is 11 years old is equal to people of retirement age. The period of old age in animals 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 manifest themselves. And because pets need increased attention and care.

It is necessary to protect "old men" 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 cold while walking. It is necessary to conduct preventive examinations to prevent health problems.

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

Some individuals may suffer from urinary incontinence, others become weak digestive process.You can not drink their milk, give solid and coarse food. In addition, raw fish with bones is totally 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, they consider that every year a cat lives is conditionally equal to seven human ones. The method is certainly not the most accurate, but it allows the owner to have a rough idea of ​​the age of the pet. Given that the development of cats can occur unevenly, the calculation can be based on other methods.

For example, the counting method is interesting, in which the first year of a cat's life is conventionally equal to 15 human years. For the second year of a pet's life, it develops in approximately the same way as a person from 15 to 24 years old. All subsequent years, starting with 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 method of calculation, which conditionally divides the life resource into three main stages. To calculate the “human” age of a cat, which actually turned from one to five years old, it is necessary to multiply its actual age by 7. The formula for a pet that has reached a milestone of 6 to 11 years old looks like this: x = (z - 5) * 4 + 35, where x is the desired quantity. The formula for purrs aged 12-20 is different: x = (z - 11) * 3 + 59 (here it is necessary to multiply by 3).

Conventionally, we can assume that each subsequent year is equal to four human ones. For pets up to three years, this formula is irrelevant. In addition, it is necessary to take into account such factors as early or, on the contrary, late development of kittens, which is typical for representatives of individual breeds of the cat family.

You can also conduct the calculation in a different way. For example, a cat from one to five years for every 12 months is conditionally living for 7 years. After that, each subsequent year she lives is equivalent to four human ones.

According to the third method of counting feline age by the standards of a person, a special coefficient should be used in the calculations. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account such aspects as the social intelligence of the animal, 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 by means of which a man in the street can find out the approximate correlation of the feline age with the human representation.

Often the correct calculation and comparison does not give the correct results. This is due to various reasons. For example, one of them is the lifestyle of an animal.

Matters and sexual activity. It is proved that in the absence of the ability of cats and cats to implement their sexual instincts in their bodies hormonal failure occurs. And this leads to a deterioration of the condition of bones, teeth, and the work of internal organs. Such pets age quickly, making it difficult to count their average age according to the standards of people.

It is believed that A cat's body can begin to age after the animal marks its fourth birthday. Contribute to this stress and emotional stress, as well as improper diet. Often it is the owner’s laziness that results in loss of smoothness and silkiness of the coat, loss of teeth and accumulation of tartar. The diet of the animal must be balanced and complete. He needs not only nutrients, but also vitamins and trace elements.

Nothing will allow to understand and calculate the age of a cat by human standards, as a table of correspondences with visual data. We draw the attention of the reader to the fact that the data are approximate, and therefore it is not worthwhile to take calculations for the idealization of the basic calculation. They allow you to know the approximate biological age, nothing more.

The ratio of the age of the cat and man

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

Therefore, with the same actual age, they may look radically different in appearance. Animals living on the street are aging earlier. To know more precisely what is the biological age of a cat or a cat, you should contact a veterinarian. Experts of such a plan are taught to be based on the physiology of animals and their external data, and therefore they often give a very accurate estimate.

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