Cat age calculator
How old is your cat in human years? Enter its age to see the answer from the chart the feline vets' associations publish, and which life stage your cat is in.
AAFP–AAHA chart Life stages: kitten, young adult, mature adult, senior
How the cat chart works
The chart comes from the feline life stage guidelines of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). A cat grows up fast: at 6 months it is roughly a 10-year-old child, at 1 year a 15-year-old teenager and at 2 years a young adult of 24. From then on, each cat year adds about 4 human years, so a 10-year-old cat is about 56 and a 21-year-old about 100. Between the chart's points we draw a straight line.
The life stages come from the 2021 update of those guidelines: kitten up to 1 year, young adult from 1 to 6, mature adult from 7 to 10 and senior after that. They suggest a checkup at least once a year for every cat, and at least every 6 months for seniors, partly so that problems such as kidney disease are spotted early.
Other charts exist and do not all agree. The AVMA's Senior Pets leaflet, for example, puts a 7-year-old cat at about 54 rather than 44. Treat any human-age number as a rough guide.
Sources
- Vogt AH, Rodan I, et al. AAFP–AAHA Feline Life Stage Guidelines. J Feline Med Surg 2010;12(1):43–54. doi:10.1016/j.jfms.2009.12.006 (the cat age to human age chart).
- Quimby J, Gowland S, Carney HC, et al. 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines. J Feline Med Surg 2021;23(3):211–233. doi:10.1177/1098612X21993657 (life stages and checkup advice).
- AVMA, Senior Pets client leaflet and Caring for senior cats and dogs (a different chart, for comparison).
Questions
Is one cat year seven human years?
No. Cats do most of their growing up in the first two years, which count as about 24 human years together. After that the chart adds about 4 human years per cat year. Multiplying by seven makes young cats far too young (a 2-year-old would be 14) and older cats too old (a 10-year-old would be 70 rather than about 56).
When is a cat a senior?
The 2021 AAHA/AAFP guidelines count cats over 10 years old as seniors. The guidelines also say ages are a rough guide: a fit 11-year-old may be treated more like a mature adult, so ask your vet what suits your cat.
My cat's exact age is unknown. What should I enter?
Use your vet's best estimate. For a rescued adult cat an estimate is normal, and the result will be just as rough as the estimate. The life stage is what matters most for care, and a year either way rarely changes it.