Calculating Age in Cat Years

A popular misconception is that cats age seven years for each calendar year.
In fact, feline aging is much more rapid during the first two years of life.
A cat reaches the approximate human age of 15 during its first year, then 24 at age 2.
Each year thereafter, it ages approximately four “cat years” for every calendar year.
Thus, a 5-year-old feline would be approximately 36 in cat years.
It should be remembered that a cat who lives outdoors ages far more quickly, perhaps even twice as fast, than an indoor cat.

Calculating Age in Dog Years

A popular misconception is that dogs age 7 years for each calendar year.
In fact, canine aging is much more rapid during the first 2 years of a dog’s life.
After the first 2 years the ratio settles down to 5 to 1 for small and medium breeds.
For large breeds the rate is 6 to 1, and for giant breeds the rate is 7 to 1.
Thus, at 10 years of age a Great Dane would be 80 years old while a pug would only be 64.