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Cat Owner's Manual › Chapter 7: Cat Growth & Development › Calculating Age in "Cat Years" ›Calculating Age in Cat Years
A popular misconception is that cats age seven years for each calendar year. In fact, feline aging is much more rapid during the first two years of life. A cat reaches the approximate human age of 15 during its first year, then 24 at age 2. Each year thereafter, it ages approximately four "cat years" for every calendar year. Thus, a 5-year-old feline would be approximately 36 in cat years. It should be remembered that a cat who lives outdoors ages far more quickly, perhaps even twice as fast, than an indoor cat.  Chapter 7: Cat Growth & Development
Comments for This Page (24) | Post a CommentThis is a VERY interesting article. Are you sure it's correct. My cat is 15 and defying the aging process. According to your chart, she is OVER 72 years old. But you say cats that GO OUTDOORS AGE FASTER. I find that hard to believe. They get fresh air and exercise and natural sunlight. Wouldn't a cat that is STUCK INSIDE throughout it's life, FORCED to BREATH the nasty, dusty air and sit around all the time AGE SOONER To Jennifer, nope. There are a lot of dangers that outdoor cats face, including disease, potential poisoning, being trapped, fleas, ticks, etc. I think this age thing is for a SOLELY outdoor cat.. but an indoor cat will always live longer than outdoor cats because there's much less risk when living indoors. I would just like to point out that the info above isn't correct. You have the outside life expectancy as a higher number then the inside expectancy. The first part up to age 3 is correct but from age 3 on, the numbers are not in the right places. D B -- The outside number is higher because the chart is showing that outdoor cats tend to have a shorter lifespan and therefore "age" quicker than indoor cats. Now, that's outdoor cats in GENERAL, and ones that spend all or most of their time roaming the streets. There are, of course, exceptions, but typically outdoor cats face a lot of dangers and unfortunately don't live as long as indoor cats. Jennifer -- Why would you base aging off of what air a cat breathes? Unless the cat is living with a smoker, I highly doubt the air in most houses is really contaminated enough to shorten a cat's lifespan. Also, indoor cats can be just as active as outdoor ones given their caretaker isn't keeping them in a cat carrier 24 hours a day (which no cat lover does). My girls are highly active because I provide them with plenty of toys, climbable cat furniture, and I also take time out of my day to play with them. I am so impressed with my previous cat Colombo who was indoor/outdoor, she lived to be gee, nearly 23..... she must have been methusala...but she was always so spry and active, even until the end.!!! I however now only have indoor cats due to one of my previous outdoor cats costing thousands of dollars in medical care due to outdoor hazards, I can never put myself in that emotional or financial position again, nor would I be able to subject my babies to the risks now a days..... so many horrible people and things - Us humans can barely make it outdoors! MOL! This is really interesting! My Old Terri Cat is almost 20, so i think that makes her about 96 or something? shes got a little arthritic and mild cataracts, but i think shes still going ot be around for a while. shes got all her teeth still even! The age chart doesn't go far enough. A friend of Bitu's recently died at 16 and the chart only goes to 14. Whoever made the chart should have extended it a little more. I have a cat named kitty who is 17 years old now. She is off the chart. LOL My cat is 19 years old - way off this chart. And seriously, a 14-year-old outdoor cat is equal to a 120-year-old human? How many 120-year-old humans do you know? I personally have never met one, I have met several over-14 outdoor kitties, though. And why is the age different for the outdoor kitties? I agree it's more dangerous for them, but it doesn't make them age quicker. This is like saying a 20-year-old human addicted to extreme sports is more like a 40-year-old. Actually, with all the stuff I've read about cats, that chart is about right on, except it doesn't go high enough. But there is more to consider: weight, diet, general health, behavior . .etc. To find out your cat's purrrsonal age in human years, go to www.catage.com, they have a dogage and a realage too. Well my OUT door cat is 15 .. and still going strong ! My first cat, Sylvester, lived to be 14 years old despite having FUS. I was very sad when I had to put him down. Tika is now 10 and she's a sweetie. OMG a 27 yr old siamese! I could only HOPE Mia lives to be that old! Good Lord! According to this chart all my cats are as old as Methuselah! Dang that's pretty darn good for being little old men in fur coats ;) I hope I have their energy when I get to be 120! lol! The chart doesn't go far enough! Plus I don't agree with the outside kitty thing. Being in cat rescue for many years, I've seen cats that would die of depression if kept only indoors. It's up to the cat's purrrrsonality. There are house cats and outside cats. We have some that live in and out, they have free range of our 7 acres totally fenced and their own house (because of not having inside manners). They go to bed at dark then are let out early in the AM. I don't think a cat living in a place that didn't have fences or land should be allowed to roam. But the house cat living longer thing is not a true statement. Bernadette -- Cats don't die of depression from being indoors, I'm sure there were other health issues present there. A cat CAN become depressed from being inside if it was an outdoor cat for all of it's life, but it's not going to die from it. The only cats that would get depressed by being kept inside are ones that were raised to be outdoor cats, so the solution is to not raise them like that OR (like you said) keep them in a fenced-in area. I completely agree that it's okay for cats to be outdoor as long as they are fenced in for protection, but that's generally not the case. Despite what you think, house cats DO live longer than most outdoor cats because they aren't kept in safe conditions. If more outdoor cat owners were like you, then yes, outdoor cats would live just as long indoor ones. I'm dumb, my last comment was obviously targeted at Cat Smith-Ward =( Also, I do suppose a cat can die from prolonged depression, but it's the caretakers fault for not giving the outdoor cat enough things to do inside. I wish the chart indicated more years. I have a cat who is now 17 years old. He spends half of his time outdoors. I have another cat who is 15 and indoors nearly all the time. The chart stops at 14 years. :( I thought that the information on this page was really helpful deffently with me have two 9 almost 10 year old cats and a 8 week old kitten so thank you Catster for the information that you put into this Cat Owner`s Manual! Post a Comment for This Page
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The Cat Owner's Manual is a basic guide to cat care.
Very good, Morgan is a rescue and I have had her for the past 4 years, I treasure Her and am proud to make her golden years the best that they can be. My precious Angel is off your charts at the age of 15 so she is over the age of 76 and she holds her age remarkably even with the medical problems that she does have. I highly recomend to adopt an older cat if you want to have joy in your life from a kitty who will give you all of the love that you give to her.