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Your cats years to human years

Your cats years to human years
by Lucinda Beeman

Read time: 3 min

You always hear dog parents saying that one human year equals 7 dog years. While this isn’t entirely accurate (it fluctuates depending on their life stage), it’s still fun to imagine their age in relation to our own. It’s the same with cats. Each age stage can be related to a certain number of human years. 

So what’s your cat’s age in human years? You’re about to find out. 

What is a cat year?

For their size, cats actually have quite long lifespans. Usually, the smallest animals like mice and hamsters only live 2-3 years. And bigger animals like elephants can live to be about 80. Despite their small-ish size, cats can live up to 20 years. Which is pretty unusual for animals of a similar size. (Rabbits – which are only a little smaller – usually live to 8 years-old).

In general, by the time your cat is 1 year old, they’re the equivalent of a 15-year-old in human years – but hopefully without the moody teen vibes.

How many cat years are in a human year?

It depends on each lifestage. The first two years of your cat’s life are roughly equal to 24 or 25 human years. If your cat is older, you can add 4 human years for every cat year. So if your cat is 6 years old, they’re around 41 human years. This is approximate of course.

How old is my cat in human years?

Depending on where they are in their life stage, your cat will be a different age in human years. For example, when they’re 1, they’re around 15 human years-old. When they reach 2, their age is closer to 24 or 25 human years. Cats who live to be around 20 years-old are close to being 100 years old in human years – truly OACs (old age cats).

Cat age chart

A table showing cat age vs human age - 6 months in cat age is 10 human years, 5 years is 36 human years, and 10 years is 56 human years.

The best way to help your cat live a long, healthy life is to feed them the best diet possible. KatKin does cat food differently from commercial brands. Where kibble and canned food is filled with hard-to-digest carbs, fillers, additives, and preservatives, we take only the best human-quality meat (and a good dose of our vet-formulated nutrient mix) and gently cook it. It’s then frozen (to stay fresh without preservatives) and dropped off on your doorstep. Formulated to your individual cat and easy to serve, our fresh cat food is delicious. And keeps them feeling like kittens. No matter their age. 

Learn more about how long do cats live with our in-depth guide. 

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