Most of us might think a year for a dog equates to seven human years – but when it comes to our feline friends’ age, it often remains a mystery.
Thankfully, the answer is at hand as a vet on TikTok explained the six distinct life stages that cats experience to give owners a better grasp of their pet’s behaviour. Operating under the handle @cat_the_vet on social media, the animal specialist enlightened viewers.
She said: “How old is your cat in human years? It’s actually a really helpful question to ask ourselves as it makes it so much easier to ask ourselves about their lifespan and their health in this way.”
Explaining a chart from Cat Care for Life, she detailed how a one-month-old kitten correlates to a one-year-old child in terms of human years, while a 25-year-old cat parallels a grand 116 human years.
She elaborated: “By the time they are six months old, they’ve gone from the equivalent of being a baby to a 10-year-old child.
“Despite the fact they are pretty much fully grown by the time they are 12-months-old, we still consider them junior so really young, fit and healthy until the age of about two.
“Between three and six, they are adults. They’re mature, sensible, just enjoying their life.
“Aged seven to 10, they are starting to mature a bit and becoming the equivalent of a more senior human but definitely not ancient by any stretch yet. Then we come to the senior and super senior categories and we need to be more vigilant for problems such as arthritis, kidney disease and over active thyroid glands.
“While many of our senior cats can remain healthy throughout those years, our super seniors will need some more help.”
Many found the video useful and took to the comments section to leave their thoughts. One astonished viewer gushed: “Mine’s 116 in human years….go Jess!”
Another added: “We have a Norwegian forest cat. He doesn’t stop growing until he’s three years old. He’s currently 10 months and 6kg.” And a third remarked: “My cat is 19 so 92, damn.”
Meanwhile, another user chimed in: “Mine is 60. No. She’s just a baby.” And yet another said: “My cat is 18 and still going strong. Love him to bits.”
