How Old is “Senior”: Life Stages of Cats and Human Equivalents

Above, geriatric and kitten—Cookie at age 15 was technically geriatric, and Jelly Bean at four months still a kitten. They all liked Sister Cookie, and respected her.

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.

The Feline Advisory Bureau developed the life stages as a poster as part of its WellCat Programme, and it’s a great reference for where your cat is in her life. Hmmm, right now I have four “prime” cats and one “mature” cat, after years of “senior” and “geriatric” cats. I’m sure the Fantastic Four adore being termed “prime”, but I’m not so sure Mimi likes being called “mature” (humans aren’t fond of that term in reference to life stages either), and Kelly and Cookie, and Peaches before them, were totally over the “geriatric” tag! 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 Feline Advisory Bureau 2008 Annual Review, www.fabcats.org.

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

Read a wonderful article on Cat Man Do, the blog of Dr. Arnold Plotnick of Manhattan Cat Specialists, Cat Age to Human Age Comparison.

This information and more is also included in my Great Rescues Day Book. The pencil sketches are available as Feline Sketches note cards on my website.

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