How to determine the age of a cat?
The appearance of a pet in the house is not only positive emotions, but also additional responsibility, which falls on all family members. The desire to know the age of the animal in this case is not a simple curiosity, and a vital necessity. After all, if for a 6-year-old cat drowsiness and awkwardness is the norm, then for the owners of a three-year-old pet - an alarm signal, which indicates a serious illness. An experienced veterinarian knows, how to determine the age of a cat and be able to do it in two seconds, but the veil of secrecy can be opened without it.
How to determine the age of a cat from 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 every day ??more and more loudly declares his desire to go for a walk, and small puddles of urine began to appear all over the house, that means, that he was about to be fulfilled 7 months. It is at this age that cats begin sexual hunting. With cats is another matter - the instinct of reproduction in them is manifested in 8-9 months of life.
How to determine the age of a kitten by sex - it's clear, but what to do with adult animals? You will have to look at your pet more carefully and thoroughly study his habits. The principle is simple: the more active and mobile the animal, the younger it is. Conditionally the life of a mature cat, as well as the person, can be divided into several periods.
Youth
This period is coming, when the cat is one year old. Outwardly, it no longer looks like a kitten and reaches its "adult" size. The movements cease to be awkward, smoothness and grace appear. Despite this, The young age of the cat is easy to calculate by her playful behavior - she still runs a lot, hiding, trying to catch the tip of his own tail.
youth
Occurs approximately in 18 months and lasts until 5 years. This is the heyday of the cat's life force, especially when it comes to purebred cats. It's time to give offspring and win at various shows. During this period, the animal is strong, agility and indefatigability.
maturity
When the cat is full 6 years, her behavior will change again: it will become more stable, restrained and a little lazy. Maybe because of that, that the consequences of inadequate care and poor nutrition are now being felt. The first symptoms of kidney disease appear, liver, organs of the gastrointestinal tract. From time to time the animal still jumps off the windowsill, to play with the host, but more often just spends it with an indifferent look.
age
The period of decline comes to older cats 10-12 years. They become awkward again, so most of the time it is better to sleep. In addition, the elderly are poorly adapted to new living conditions, so even such a trifle, like changing a tray or bowl, can be a real stress for them. I must say, which is a very optimistic forecast, which concerns rather animals, living on the full provision of a loving host. Street cats are less fortunate - they rarely live to such old age.
Of course, it is not always possible to determine the age of cats only from their behavior. There are breeds, who behave like naughty kittens until old age, and there are some, that can "sleep" all the youth. So, if you are interested, how to find out the exact age of a cat, it is better to focus on physiological features, which will be discussed below.
How to find out the age of a cat by its external parameters?
First, what is striking is, of course, condition of animal fur. Young hunters can boast of a thick coat, due to which it is almost impossible to examine the skin. Bright color, characteristic brilliance and a clear pattern - all this proves, that in front of you is a healthy animal in the prime of life. With age, the coat will become duller, the borders between the colors will no longer be so noticeable. So the striped Matroskin is retired, probably, change your vest to a more or less solid gray body warmer.
It is interesting! Complete alopecia, which they are so afraid of, example, elderly men, old cats are not threatened, but gray hair is a completely natural phenomenon. Graying is especially noticeable on mature animals of dark color.
Much can be said about the cat's age based on its physique. The six-month-old "teenager" is still somewhat awkward and thin. Closer to the year, its relief will become more expressive and plastic. Maturity cats meet with a round tummy, their muscles lose tone and even become sluggish to the touch. Very little 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 the scapulae can be seen even with the naked eye.
Now you can probably easily determine how old the cat is, which you will meet on the street. But all these are only approximate guidelines, and if you want to know the age of the animal to the nearest year, then you have to look at it more closely.
Look into the eyes of the animal
A clear and clean look is typical for young cats. With age, the cornea darkens, the iris changes color and becomes dull. Inflamed eyelids are a sign of old age, who has often watery eyes.
Take the paw
Pads in kittens are tender and silky. Subsequently, the skin on the feet becomes rough, becomes rough. But if you notice pronounced wrinkles or even cracks on the pads of the paws, then there is no doubt - in front of you is an old cat. Taking the paw of a summer cat, you can see the growths.
One more point, on which you need to focus - claws. To study them, gently press your thumb on the pads. Young individuals can boast of sharp long claws. With age, they will become fragile, therefore, they will often break and are unlikely to be able to grow strongly. Picking up a cat on the street, you may find out later, that he has no claws at all. It can mean, that the previous owner performed an operation to remove them. If only a few claws are missing, you hold the paw of a respectable old man - he has lost his fragile claws in the struggle for life, and new ones do not grow at such an advanced age.
If you notice a change in behavior, do not ignore these signals depending, how old is the cat. Source: Flickr (Sylvia_Wrigley)
Look in the mouth
How to find out how old a cat is? Count how many pairs of teeth he has in his mouth and assess their condition. When the kittens are one month old, his baby teeth begin to erupt. This process does not take long: at the age of 8 weeks he will have a full mouthful of milk incisors, canines and molars. Total - 13 steam or 26 sharp snow-white teeth. As soon as they all erupt, the process of replacing them with permanent ones will begin immediately. Six months after his birth, in cats in the mouth can be counted 30 permanent teeth.
By the end of the year, they will have a perfect white color, but over time, tartar will begin to appear, which will cause darkening of the enamel and the appearance of yellow plaque. When the pet is fulfilled 1,5 year, teeth will start to wear out. How to find out how old a cat is? Cutters are the first to be hit, located on the lower jaw. Another through 2 years, the first signs of wear of the upper incisors will appear. If you opened the mouth of an animal and saw, that not only cutters have worn out considerably, but also canines, so this cat recently celebrated its 5th anniversary.
How old would your cat be?, be he human?
cat, lives among people for a long time, becomes not just a pet, and a full member of the family, therefore, his age is of interest to all household members. As in cats, age is considered? I used to think, that one feline year is equal to seven human years. That is, the age of the cat was simply multiplied by 7. This approach can hardly be called objective. It is at least incorrect to compare an adult one-year-old cat with the development of a seven-year-old child.. Therefore felinologists (specialists, who study the physiology and anatomy of domestic cats) derived a different formula. The approximate ratio of feline and human years is presented in the table.
| Cat | Man |
| 1 moon | six-month-old baby |
| 3 months | two-year-old child |
| half year | 14-one year old teenager |
| 1 year | adult |
| 2 years | 25-one year old young man |
After the cat reaches the age of two, each year his life is equal to five human. A five-year-old cat can be compared to an adult 40-year-old cat. After this milestone, the rules of reference change again and one feline year is equated to four human.
Average life expectancy of a pet - 15 years. By human standards, it's close 75, but there are exceptions. Lots of pet cats, from an early age live under human care, without problems survive the 16-year mark and live side by side with the owner to 20 years.
It is interesting! Among cats, as among people, there are long-lived. The two most famous cases in recent times: cat Fluff from Texas, who lived to see 38 years, and Lucy from the UK, which celebrated its 40th anniversary.
If you break up with a furry friend in advance you do not want, try to provide him with the most comfortable conditions:
- Watch it, so that the 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 have too many cereals, which are difficult to digest and cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract).
- Make sure you have a warm sleeping house (cats are very afraid of cold floors and drafts).
- The animal is sterilized in time, otherwise dissatisfied instincts will inevitably cause hormonal disorders.
- Do not forget about vaccination and regular prevention of helminths.
Remember, we are responsible for those, who was tamed. If you notice a change in behavior, do not ignore these signals depending, how old is the cat. Protect your animal from stress, once every six months, see a veterinarian and be sure, that your pet is sure to celebrate its 100th anniversary!