How to know the real age of a cat is difficult unless we know when the cat was born. But what if we don’t know when the cat was born, how do we know its age?
How to know your cat’s age
To calculate how old your cat is, simply subtract the current date from the cat’s birth date. But if you don’t know when the cat was born, you can do it by looking at its physique and behavior.
How to Identify a Cat’s Age by Teeth
The way to find out how old your cat is by observing the teeth that grow, here’s how to do it:
1. Incisor Starts to Grow at 2 – 4 Weeks
Incisors in cats will generally be born at the age of 2 to 4 weeks. Therefore, when you check your cat, and the data is obtained that only incisors have grown, it means that the age is between 2 weeks and 1 month.
2. Canine Start Growing at 4 Weeks Old
The next tooth growth you can see is the growth of the cat’s canine teeth. When they start to appear, they are estimated to be around 4 weeks old.
3. Molars Grow When Cats Are 4 Months Old
Quoted on Wikihow, cat molars will only grow if your cat is 4 months old. For example, if your cat doesn’t have molars yet, it means it’s not yet 4 months old.
4. Cats aged 6 – 12 Months Have Complete Teeth
Well, if your cat already has complete teeth, then it is estimated that it is over 6 months old.
5. Your cat’s teeth will start to look yellow when they are 2 years old
So if you find that your cat’s teeth have started to turn slightly yellow, then your cat is about 2 years old.
6. Cats’ Teeth Turn Yellow at 5 – 10 Years of Age
The teeth owned by cats will begin to increase in yellow when entering the age of 5 to 10 years.
Then at the age of 10 years, the yellowness will be seen more clearly. Even some cats will also appear to have lost some of their teeth.
How to tell a cat’s age through its fur and body
The next way is to look at the condition of the cat’s fur and body, as the difference between young and old can also be seen from these two aspects.
Here’s how to observe so that you don’t make the wrong estimate:
- Young cats have soft and full fur compared to older cats
- Older cats have a lighter fur
- Older cats usually have coarse, not soft fur.
- Young cats’ skin is usually tighter than older ones
- Young cats’ bodies are more muscular and slender than older ones.
- Cats aged 2 years (middle age) have a chubby and round body
- Old cats have clearly visible and saggy shoulder bones
These characteristics are very useful for determining whether your cat is old or not. But to know the exact age, about how many months. Then it needs the date of birth of the cat.
How to know a cat’s age from behavior
How to find out the age of a cat from behavior can be done by observing its behavioral traits. Look at his daily habits and behavior, then match them with the data below:
- Young cats will look more active and happy to play
- Old cats look calmer and like to stay silent
- When approached, older cats tend to be more aggressive than younger ones
- Older cats are more fearful and nervous, especially when meeting new people
- If the cat likes to hunt, then when old, the frequency of hunting also decreases
- Old cats sometimes have trouble sleeping and stay up late
How to tell a cat’s age from the eyes
Other physical characteristics that we can see to find out the age of the cat is old or not, can be done by looking at the cat’s eyes. Here are the aspects that must be seen:
- Young cats have bright and clear eyes compared to old ones.
- Old cats usually start to develop spots and cataracts in the eyes
- Irises on young cats usually look smoother and cleaner than old ones
- Old cats often shed tears
That’s some way of knowing the age of cats seen from various aspects
How big is a 3-month-old cat
A 3-month-old cat will be twice as big as a 2-month-old cat because the weight of a 3-month-old kitten is about 1.7 kg. Whereas a 2-month-old cat weighs about 900 grams.
