You will be able to understand your cat's development more easily if you have a general idea of his age in human years. This method and the accompanying age chart will point the way for you.
Keep in mind that variable factors, such as heredity, diet, environment, and physical and medical care may affect your cat's comparative age to that of a human. Although you probably don't have any control over heredity, you do have options for controlling the other factors which control your cat's aging process.
The kitten shown here is 6.5 weeks old. As you can see, he's far advanced physically over a human baby of that age.
- Allow 15 human years for the first year of your cat's life.
- Add nine years for the second year. A two-year old cat will approximate 24 human years.
- Add four human years each for successive years of his life.
- When all else fails, refer to the accompanying chart.
- This method utilizes averages only. Some purebred cats, such as Maine Coons, mature much slower and don't reach full development for three or four years. Finally, like humans, cats age in relation to genetics, diet, exercise, care at home, and veterinary care.