Every time we ask how old a cat is, we are actually asking a double question: on the one hand we want to know the chronological ageon the other hand we want to understand “who” we have in front of us, that is, why there are eleven-year-old cats who jump like acrobats, and nine-year-olds who start to slow down. Veterinary guidelines explain that cats go through very specific life stages, where staged changes occur in a cat’s behavior, appearance and health. Concrete data and numbers come from a clinical study he observed 206 cats between 7 and 10 years old highlighting how their body and behavior changebecause it is from there that you really understand their “biological” age: observing their weight, hair, movement, teeth, blood pressure, daily attitude. Today science knows what the real stages of life of cats, such as physical signs accompany aging, such as real percentages emerge from clinical studies, and why there is no need to transform feline years into human years: just look at what the cat’s body says.
Registered age vs real age: a set of factors
The 2021 AAFP–AAHA (American Association of Feline Practitioners and American Animal Hospital Association, respectively) guidelines clearly state that it is normal that two cats of the same age behave completely differently. One may still be muscular, active, with healthy teeth, a firm coat, and normal blood pressure and kidneys. The other may already show a decrease in muscle tonedifficulty in jumping, sleep changes, the onset of hypertension and loss of skin elasticity.
They are the same age in years, but different biological age. This is why vets don’t just rely on the number of birthdays, but insert each cat into its “clinical” life phase to identify their age. Without resorting to mathematical formulas or conversion tables based on human age compared to that of cats, the truly reliable way used by veterinary medicine to calculate the age of a cat is this:
- Identify the age group according to the guidelines;
- Observe the physical signs of age: coat condition, muscle tone, teeth and gums, blood pressure, kidney indicators, behavioral changes;
- Evaluate the two aspects together: the chronological age tells us when he was born, the clinical signs tell how he is really aging.
According to veterinarians, the life of cats is divided into four major stages
Both in 2010 and in the updated 2021 version, AAFP–AAHA guidelines agree on an important point: cat aging is not a switch, but a journey in stages. The 2010 guidelines divided cats into ben six categories: kitten, junior, adult, mature, senior, geriatric, which we could translate as puppy, young, adult, mature, elderly and geriatric (very old). It was a detailed way to help veterinarians monitor problems typical of each stage.
The latest guidelines (2021) they choose a more intuitive division made up of 4 phases (plus the variable “end of life” phase):
- Kittens: up to 1 year
- Young adults: 1–6 years
- Mature adults: 7–10 years
- Senior: over 10 years
This simplification helps owners: it is easier to understand if the cat is a “young adult”, “mature adult” or “elderly”. These stages matter because at each stepin the cat changes occur in metabolismin muscles, sensory abilities and daily behavior; it also changes the risk of disease renal, thyroid and cardiac.
As a cat ages, more concrete factors come into play. Dowgray’s large clinical study observed cats aged 7–10 years, therefore precisely those who are in the border area between “mature” and “senior” and in which the owners notice surprising transformations. In the study the 53% of owners saw physical changes in their felines, the 47% behavioral, the 41% changes in the way you eat, the 40% a reduction in activities. This shows that the cat’s body begins to “speak” long before full-blown old age.
How to tell a cat’s age: teeth, fur and bones
There are several factors that help understand how old a cat is:
- Hair quality: it is a very strong indicator of age. In a 2016 review, Bellows and colleagues found that cats with dental problems were more likely to have matted fur, the coat may become drier or greasy, areas of white hair appear due to reduced activity of the melanocytes and the nails become more fragile. Bellows also describes a curious phenomenon: in older cats, while the fur may turn white, i whiskers become darkera change visible especially in light-colored cats.
- Weight and muscle mass: the most frequent alterations concern precisely this aspect (Dowgray reports that the 45% of the cats was overweight and the 12% obese). As explained by Bellows, in fact, during adulthood the weight tends to increase, but over 11 years many cats begin to lose muscle masseven if they eat normally. It’s an expected step: tissues renew more slowly and the body absorbs less protein.
- Musculoskeletal alterations: Dowgray’s clinical study found that the 58% of the cats visited presented these alterations and that often these were cats that did not “show” the pain, but they avoided jumps, they changed their posture or slept more. The 2016 review clarifies that they appear in the joints rigidityreduction of elasticity, small chronic inflammations and changes in posture during sleep. They are signs of a body that moves differently, even if the cat continues to behave with great dignity.
- Mouth and teeth: in the study group the 54% of the cats analyzed had one dental disease, associated with irritability, increased sleep and neglected coat. The mouth is greatly affected by age: gums that become inflamed, teeth that require more frequent care, more delicate chewing.
Finally, blood pressure and internal organs in particular should also be monitored kidneys and thyroid are affected old age. From the same study the 10% of the cats had azotemia (possible sign of the onset of kidney disease), the 5% had high blood pressure (>160 mmHg) and the 3% was hyperthyroid. These are numbers that confirm what was observed in the guidelines: after 7–8 years, the risk of kidney and thyroid problems rises significantly.
