Knowing how old your furry friend is can be helpful in determining what kind of health treatments they may or may not need. Also, who doesn’t want to celebrate your cat’s birthday every year? I tend to be pretty purr-suasive and I always have so much fun on my birthday. My human, Jeff, always makes sure I have plenty of new toys and catnip for my birthday every year.
How to Tell How Old a Cat Is
There are many ways to tell how old your cat is. It’s important to remember that you may not always be able to know the exact age of your cat. If you would like to make the most informed guess of your cat’s age you may want to consider bringing them to a vet’s office or specialist for help. In most cases, they will be making an educated guess based on a few factors.
Kitten age by teeth
One way that you can determine the age of your furry friend is by looking at their teeth. When a kitten is about two weeks old, they will get their baby teeth. Their baby teeth continue to grow until week eight. Then, around eight weeks, they will develop their adult teeth. The best time to discover the age of your cat is before they lose all of their baby teeth. All of their adult teeth will have grown in by the age of six months.
Another way that you can determine your furry friend’s age is the health of their teeth. If your kitty has a lot of tartar on their teeth this means they are likely around two years old. However, based on the amount of tartar that is built up on your cat’s teeth, it may hint that they are older than three years. Finally, if your cat is missing some of their adult teeth, this can mean they are 10-15 years old.
Check their eyes
You may start to notice a cloudiness in your furry friend’s eyes as they age. In most cases, the more cloudiness in your cat’s eyes, the older they are. This can be a tricky one to notice or inspect on your own, so you may need to ask an expert’s opinion. Another thing to look out for is your cat’s eyesight in general. As us cats age, we tend to lose our prestige sense of vision. Not me, of course. My eyesight will always be purr-fect :-p. But for other cats, this can happen. Again, this is not something you will likely be able to identify on your own, but your vet can help you to examine your fur baby’s eyesight.
Observe how they bathe
Unlike those pesky, messy dogs, us cats tend to be pretty tidy creatures and take care of ourselves and our surroundings. Not to point any fingers, but we do not have to get groomed as often as our doggy friends do. Cats can keep themselves and their coats clean by bathing themselves with their tongue. We are usually pretty particular about this step. We will almost always make sure that we are doing the best we can to keep ourselves clean and looking fur-bulous.
As your cat ages, they may start to take care of themselves a little less. This can be an indicator of aging. If your cat isn’t taking time to bathe themselves or not scratching on their scratchers as much to trim their nails, you can take them to get groomed at a groomer. Cats don’t usually love water, so please make sure your furry friend is comfortable with getting groomed before you take them somewhere.
How active they are
Just like humans, us cats tend to get less active with age. You can usually tell a kitty’s age based on how active they are. In general, kittens are much more playful than older cats. You know your furry friend best, so it’s best to compare their activity to other times in their lives. Of course, this is something that is difficult to measure so paying attention to this factor alone is not incredibly helpful.
Ask vet’s opinion
Along with any of the indicators we mentioned above, asking your vet (or a specialist) to estimate your cat’s age can always be a helpful tool. In most cases, they will have more experience and can notice smaller indications to determine a cats age. If your vet can provide you with a better estimate of your cat’s age, this can greatly affect their health and well-being. By knowing how old your cat is, you will be able to expect certain normal signs of aging to occur. Knowing their age can also help you figure out if something is out of the ordinary or needs to be checked out at the vet’s office.
There are many ways to determine how old a cat is. The main factors to look out for are the health of their teeth, the cloudiness in their eyes, how they take care of themselves, and how active they are. The main reason it is so important for us to know our furry friend’s age is that we will know the best way to take care of them. All cat parents want their furry friends to live long and healthy lives. In order to do this, you have to know what is normal for their age and what might be a sign of illness. If you adopt your cat from a shelter, they will do their best to make an educated guess on your cat’s age. In a purr-fect world, you would know the exact date of your furry friend’s birth. But unfortunately, this is not always possible. Oftentimes, cats are rescued from the wild and an educated guess on their age will be the best you can hope for. But not to worry, age is just a number! Regardless of how old your cat is, they will love you for being their human. And they will be content living happily ever after with you fur-ever!