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How do Pets Age Compare to Humans?

The Age of Pets and Human

Have you ever looked at your cats or dogs and wondered how old are they in terms of human age? You can easily see the aging of our cats and dogs, when they start getting slower, their fur getting greyer, they lose their appetite, weight decreases, and maybe start to lose their vision. When these symptoms show up, you know they are already in the senior dogs’ or cats’ category. But what is their age and how old are they exactly? It is best for you to know how old your pets are so you can prepare yourself to take care of them when they are too old to help themselves up.

 

 

Age of Dogs

Dogs live an average of 12 years. The lifespan of a dog is between 10-13 years, but some of the dogs can live up to 20 years which is very old for a dog to live up to. You can roughly calculate your dog’s age by multiplying 1 dog year by 7 years. That is the most common way people calculate their dog’s age, it is not the most accurate way, but it roughly tells how old their dog is.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the aging of dogs might contradict what we believe that 1 dog year equals to 7 years of human age. Below are statements form American Veterinary Medical Association,

•          The 1st year of a medium-sized dog is equal to 15 years of human age.

•          The 2nd year of dog year is equal to 9 years of human age

•          After the 2nd year, every 1 dog year equals to approximately 4-5 years of human age

Smaller sized dogs tend to grow slower than a big-sized dog. A large dog like a Doberman has a lifespan of 10-13 years while a small dog like a Pomeranian has a lifespan of 12-16 years.

 

Age of Cats

Cats have a lifespan of 12-18 years, slightly longer than dogs. Cats live an average of 15 years, some of the well-cared cats can live up to 20 years and a few of them can live up to 30 years.

Cats' ages are slightly different from dogs, people used to do the multiply 7 years method or multiply 4 years method to know their cats’ age, but it is not an accurate way. The more accurate way would be:

•          The 1st year of cats is equal to 15 years of human age, which is an adolescence age.

•          The 2nd year of cats will be 24 years of human age, same as a young adult.

•          After the 2nd year, every year of cat year equals 4 years of human age.

 

The size of cats does not really affect their growth as the range of size differences of cats are not very wide.

 

Just like humans, dogs and cats do get old just that they grow old at their own pace, which is faster than humans. Your pet will probably only be around for a quarter of your life. While you can, have all of the fun with them and enjoy every moment with your pets.