How To Calculate The Cat’s Age Correctly
When it comes to assigning the human age to animals, the speech is often quite chaotic. The reason for the owners’ interest in this data lies in the need to get to know their four-legged friend better and, consequently, to devote adequate attention to them based on their age.
If, for the dog, the thesis of the ratio of 1 to 7 has been cemented for years now (a canine year would correspond to 7 of man), for cats this ratio is not correct. Recent studies have established that the life of cats has considerably extended. Here then, in this article, we will explain how to calculate the age of the cat correctly.
How old can your cat live?
Again, we are not talking about simple curiosity. Knowing how old your cat is is the easiest way to take care of it properly. Without making mistakes and thus protecting his health and psycho-physical well-being.
Reinforcing the need to update the cat age chart now comes a study from the University of Cornell, United States. Scientists have shown that while in the past cats almost never exceeded 6 years of life, now they can reach and even exceed 20.
The best nutrition, vaccines and veterinary care, as well as the greater attention from owners and families, are crucial elements in the radical increase of their longevity.
Generally speaking, a cat of 12 years or older is considered an elderly cat. Often, however, the first signs of old age can occur between the ages of 7 and 12. This shows that each specimen has its own, different biological and genetic characteristics. Therefore, it is not always right to limit oneself to a cold calculation of age.
Especially considering the cases in which the cat reaches up to 30 years. An age extraordinarily superior to human expectation and which creates, as a consequence, a new question about the correct calculation of the human years of cats.
Here’s how to calculate the cat’s age
It is clear, therefore, that the rule of multiplying your cat’s age by seven is no longer a reliable count. A two-year-old cat now looks more like a 20-year-old human than a 14-year-old teenager. The formula needs to be revised.
Modern practice has established that it would be more correct to assign 21 human years to the first two of the cat. But how do you calculate, for example, the human age of a 10-year-old cat? Below we give you the answer. In order to calculate the cat’s age correctly, you need to:
- Remove 2 years from those of your cat: in the case of the 10-year-old feline, 10 – 2 = 8
- Multiply the reduced quantity by 4 : 8 x 4 = 32
- Let’s add 21, the basic age of the cat’s first two years: 32 + 21 = 53
Thanks to this formula, we can say, with a good approximation, that a 10-year-old cat corresponds to a 53-year-old man. This is a really simple calculation and you can easily apply it even if you are not a math genius.
Dogs or cats: who lives longer?
Also in this case, for many years there has been the mistake of assigning the same index of longevity to canids and felines. A consequence of the aforementioned rule (wrong for felines) of 7 to 1. A dog, generally, can reach a maximum age of 12/14 years. On the contrary, as we have seen a little while ago, there are cats that are well over 20 years old.
Why this difference? The reasons can be manifold. If we leave accidents, sudden trauma and genetic pathologies to one side, it is possible that the advantage of cats is determined by three main factors :
- Smaller physical size.
- Greater general hygiene.
- Poor contact with the external environment.
How old is your cat?
However, it’s not fair to be too rigid when calculating your cat’s human age. There can be a big difference from specimen to specimen. In addition, there are elements such as maturity, general physical state and degree of activity that can affect your cat’s seniority.
Use the age calculation system just described to have a starting point. Knowing the approximate age of your four-legged friend means learning to respect his habits and behaviors. One more way to show him that you will always do everything to have a dignified, peaceful and healthy existence.
Now the word goes to you: how old is your cat? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
