ARE CAT YEARS THE SAME AS DOG YEARS?
Have you been going by the 1 dog year equates to 7 human years your whole life? So were we! Well, until we learned that this isn't an exact science. As surprising as this may be, the whole 7 years is a total myth, and when it comes to cat years vs. dog years, it couldn't be further from the truth.
So, how do you work out your dog and cat years? How old is my cat, really? How long is a cat year? Are dog years real?
Although we may not be a walking, talking cat years calculator, we can do our best to break it down. After all, figuring out your purrrfect pets' ages is what being a fur-parent is all about!
CAT YEARS VS. DOG YEARS
We already know that cats and dogs have their differences. However, this applies to their ages too. Yep, you heard us. Dog years and cat years are calculated differently. Is there such a thing as cat years? 1-year in dog years is the same as..?
Funnily enough, the way that you calculate your cat's age is closer to the 7-year myth than with dogs. Generally speaking, the math for cat years equivalent to human years is roughly 1 cat year to 6-7 human years. Remember, there isn't a scientific way to figure this out, but this can be used as a benchmark.
It's important to remember that our pawsome pets' age milestones happen at various stages compared to us hoomans. For instance, the first two years of a cat's life are more or less equal to the first 25 human years. On top of that, the aging process for cats is dissimilar to that of dogs so a cat age conversion chart isn't always accurate.
Working out your dog's age and cat years should be done with a full understanding of our pets' age benchmarks and milestones. Then, of course, their breeds come into play here too. For doggos, the bigger the breed, the younger they are. A smaller dog and medium sized dog's life tend to "mature" faster, but they often live longer. To help you understand this, you can read our dog years vs. human years article here.
HOW TO USE YOUR CAT YEARS CALCULATOR
Now, if you’ve read our dog years vs human years article, then you’d be fur-miliar with working out your pooch’s age. This is a great first step when comparing dog years and cat years. The next step is to dive into what it means to use a cat years calculator and figure out how to tell a cat's age.
If you’re looking for an easy way to figure out your cat’s age, you can always use an automated cat years calculator. Personally, we like to use this one to figure out cats years vs human years. This is pretty straightforward, but it isn’t totally reliable due to discrepancies with your cat’s breed and overall health.
Then, there’s the method that requires you to look at your cat’s well-being and general stature. This is considered to be a more accurate look at where your cat is in their life’s timeline.
The difference in calculating your pet's age is just one of the many ways cats and dogs differ. If you're wondering if you should get a cat or a dog, you should read our post here.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF AGING IN YOUR PETS?
When it comes to figuring out how old your pets are, your best bet is to do a full analysis of their bodies and attitudes. This is a great way to contrast dog age and cat years without using a cat calculator or the 7-year myth.
After all, you don't want to spend all this time getting a cat to trust you only to let their senior years catch you by surprise.
There are a couple of areas you can look out for:
Teeth
The state of your pet’s teeth is a fantastic indicator of their age. Permanent teeth generally start to appear after 4 months of life. When yellow stains start to appear, your pet may be within the first 2 years of their life. If these stains are on all of their teeth, they’re most likely in the 3-5 year age gap. When teeth start to fall out, it may be time to switch to a senior lifestyle!
Eyes
They say that the eyes are the window into the soul, but for your pets, this is more of a window into their lifespan. The younger your pet, the smoother their iris will be. Once they start aging, you may note that their iris becomes more crackly. You may even notice cloudiness as they start to get up to their senior years. Tearing and eye discharge is a clear senior pet alert!
Muscles and Bones
The reason that it's vital for your pet to switch their diet based on their ages is due to their muscle and bone health. When your cat or doggo are still young, they're more playful. Their muscles and bones are stronger and can support an active lifestyle. However, if you notice that they start to move slower or are no longer as playful as they once were, they could be nearing older years.
WHAT ABOUT CAT YEARS VERSUS HUMAN YEARS?
If you're looking into different cat years human years charts or even if you want to compare dog years to human years , you may not find the most consistent results. Cat years to human years is more of an equation than a standard rule.
Working out your cat's age in human years has to be broken up into the stages of their lives. The good news is that we have a whole blog post detailing cat years to human years.
So, cat years vs. dog years - are they the same? In short, no. With that being said, both cats and dogs age differently based on their breeds, size, and general health.
It's like we always say; if you're concerned about your pet's well-being, visiting your vet is your safest option. Getting a professional opinion can help guide you in the right direction and make sure you're supporting a healthy lifestyle for your pet.
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