Do You Know Your Cat or Dog's Age?

Photo by Moyan Brenn / CC BY-ND

It is a common belief that one human year equals seven dog years. But is this really true? And what about Kitty?

When I started writing today’s blog, I wanted to speak on the importance of annual check-ups for pets. However, I found a really interesting fact during my research. This led me down another train of thought for this blog: do you really know your cat or dog’s age? It is a popular belief, for example, that one human year equals seven dog years. Right? Wrong!

Dogs mature much more quickly in the first couple years of life compared to the following years. At about the one year of age mark, the equivalent for a dog is a 15-year-old human! By the second year of age, your dog is more comparable to a 24-25 year old person. After the second year, the canine maturing process slows down to be about 4-5 dog years per human year. However, larger dog breeds do age more quickly than small ones. By the time your pet reaches its sixth birthday, it is equivalent to either a middle-aged human (small breeds) or a senior citizen (large breeds).

Now, what about our feline friends? Just like with dogs, cats mature very quickly during the first year of life. When your furry friend turns two, it is the equivalent to a 25-year-old person. Who knew that dogs and cats could be so alike?! After the age of two, felines mature much more slowly. Then, each cat year equals about four human years.

However, the overall health of your animal affects how it ages. Feeding it a healthy diet, staying on top of annual veterinary checkups and exercising daily can all help your pet feel and look younger. That’s all good for their owners, as well!

So now you know. Send us a picture of your pet cat or dog, and using the information above, include his “real” and “human” ages.

How old is your pet? Tell us in the comments!

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Source: Blog