How to determine the age of a cat?

In the event that you do not know the exact date of the birth of your pet, you can try to find out the cat’s age yourself. The result will be approximate, for the most correct assumption, you should contact your veterinarian.

Observing the maturation of the pet and changes in appearance suggests how to determine the age of the cat.

How to determine the age of a cat by teeth

An easy way is to take a good look at the mouth. Fully teeth in cats grow after six months from the date of birth. Up to six months, you can try to determine the number of months lived by the kitten. An important indicator is the incisors growing by the month from the moment of birth. In a month and a half, fangs erupt. By four or five months, they grow in their entirety, like premolars. The youth of the pet is confirmed by the presence of milk teeth, youth – by whiteness and the absence of calculus on the teeth. Pay attention to the degree of their wear: it, like a yellowish coating, is noticeable in a cat that has exceeded a year.

A thorough examination of the animal’s mouth will help determine the age of a cat or cat by its teeth. In a two-year-old individual, the middle incisors began to be erased from below; discreet yellowness is noticeable on the tooth enamel. In a three-year-old cat, tartar is formed, in a five-year-old cat, pronounced yellowness of the teeth, incisors and fangs are worn out. Between 5 and 10 years of age, a cat’s incisors continue to wear down, and the teeth become increasingly yellow and prone to falling out. In an individual over 10 years old, tartar and yellowness are so obvious that it cannot be confused with a young cat. In an elderly cat, incisors fall out, then fangs.

Kitten teeth at 3 months

How to determine the age of a cat by the condition of the coat

Thinking about how old a cat or cat is, take a closer look at your pet’s coat – its condition indicates, among other things, age. So, in an adult, but rather young cat (up to five years old), in most cases, the coat is shiny. Such an individual has a soft and smooth, often thick hairline. In the elderly, it noticeably thins, looks dull and is characterized by fragility.

When evaluating the quality of a pet’s coat, do not forget about factors affecting it, such as molting (take into account the time of year) or breed characteristics. It is also important to understand that the coat of a pet raised at home will clearly differ from the coat of an uncastrated street cat, which daily encounters parasites and bacteria and is unlikely to avoid fights with relatives.

The condition of the coat may indicate that this cat is about 8 years old.

Determining the age of a cat by body type

You can determine how old a cat or cat is by observing the pet’s activity, behavior and appearance. The height and weight of the animal also indicates the phase of its development corresponding to a particular age. In this sense, they are very similar to people: in childhood they are especially playful and curious, in their youth they are active and muscular, in maturity they are stately or even fat, in old age they are thin and more lethargic. Due to this similarity, the age characteristics of cats are correlated with human ones, however, in a certain respect.

When assessing the physique of a pet, do not forget to take into account the traits inherent in its breed, the presence of diseases and the consequences of past diseases. The state of the animal’s body and its activity directly depend on them.

Body type of a 7 month old cat

Determining the age of a cat by the eyes

Thinking about how old a cat or a cat is, look into the eyes of a pet – sometimes the answer lies in them. So, young cats are distinguished by a clear look: the eyes are shiny, smooth, the pupil is even, and the iris of the eye has an even pattern. Older cats are characterized by a cloudy look: clouding of the cornea and a change in the structure of the iris are possible.

Please note that an outdoor cat can injure his eyes in his natural environment or injure them in a fight. In animals taken from the street and at a young age, clouding of the cornea is sometimes observed.

Kitten eyes at 8 weeks

17 May 2021

Updated: 17 May 2021