Feline Life Stages in Human Years
Above, geriatric and young adult—Peaches at age 20 was considered geriatric, and Giuseppe at 18 months a young adult. Giuseppe adored her, and stayed close with her in her last months, escorting her around the house and napping with her to keep her warm.
So just how old is a senior cat, and when do cats go from being kittens to being adults? And are there stages in between, and beyond? And do we count five years for every year to equal the human equivalent, or seven?
While we can generalize over the course of a cat’s life using “7” to multiply to reach a human equivalent, the result is way off the mark at the beginning and end of life. Consider that they can have babies as young as four months old in some circumstances, yet if we multiplied “7” by, say “.5”, we’d get “3.5”. To reach a real human equivalent for the ability to reproduce we’d have to figure it out another way.
Right now my entire household is “Mature” though Mimi is “Senior”. She’s also officially “older” than me though she can run up the stairs faster than me any day. Kelly and Cookie, and Peaches before them, were totally over the “geriatric” tag, and for the first time in years we’ve had “Kittens” and “Juniors”! But even without their attitude about the titles of the stages, it’s a good indicator of where they are and what they need.
And if you’re wondering about adopting an older kitty, this may help you understand where they are in their lifespan.
This information was contained in the American Association of Feline Practitioners 2010 AAFP/AAHA Feline Life Stage Guidelines.
Kitten, birth to 6 months
0 – 1 month = 0 – 1 year
2 – 3 months = 2 – 4 years
4 months = 6 – 8 years
6 months = 10 years
Ready for Play, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
Junior, 7 months to 2 years
7 months = 12 years
12 months = 15 years
18 months = 21 years
2 years = 24 years
Prime, 3 years to 6 years
3 = 28
4 = 32
5 = 36
6 = 40
Mature, 7 years to 10 years
7 = 44
8 = 48
9 = 52
10 = 56
Senior, 11 years to 14 years
11 = 60
12 = 64
13 = 68
14 = 72
Geriatric, 15 years+
15 = 76
16 = 80
17 = 84
18 = 88
19 = 92
20 = 96
21 = 100
22 = 104
23 = 108
24 = 112
25 = 116
Download a guide to Feline Life Stages and Human Equivalents
I’ve designed a guide sheet with the information above in PDF and JPG format so you can view it easily on either a desktop or a mobile device.
Read a wonderful article on Cat Man Do, the blog of Dr. Arnold Plotnick of Manhattan Cat Specialists, Cat Age to Human Age Comparison.
The pencil sketches are available as Feline Sketches note cards on my website.
This information was first published in Great Rescues Day Book
In addition to featuring the portraits and stories of rescued cats and their families in Great Rescues Day Book, I also wanted to provide basic care and welfare information that was easy to find and reference. The “Resources” section includes basic wellness covering food, water, litterboxes and toys, plus specific information on kittens and seniors including spay and neuter and eldercare, household toxins, life stages and human equivalents, strays and ferals and pet loss.
Great Rescues Day Book an undated monthly journal to record the dates of birthdays, anniversaries and events featuring sixteen of my commissioned portraits of rescued cats along with their rescue stories. Click here or on the image of the book at left, or either of the links above to read more.
Also, read about Great Rescues families, those who appear in each of the two volumes so far. I’ll be featuring one story each month corresponding with the portrait that appears in the book for that month. That means there are four extra, and I’ll slip those in when the story itself feels appropriate.
Browse some rescued cats and kittens!
All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item. Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter. © 2022 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski Weekly schedule of features: Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters Tuesday: Rescue Stories Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork Thursday: New Merchandise Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
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© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
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PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS WEBSITE
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL
