We all hate to admit it, and sometimes I try to close my eyes to it altogether. But pets age faster than humans. For instance a two year old dog is much more mature than a two year old child.
And its always been said a dog year is equal to 6-7 in human years. But that differs in breed. Normally a dog can live up to 15-16 years, with the smaller dogs being the ones that live a bit longer. But there have been some rare cases recorded of dogs living over 20 years!
The larger breeds seem to age faster than the smaller, although nobody can really determine how much faster. With aging like most, environment, health and wellbeing plays a big part. Which is why we should keep track of our pets age. It’s always good to be aware as your dog gets closer to their senior years, for reasons such as physical and dental health. Just like us, there is routine care as we get older….. Blood Work to check for any underlying conditions, xrays for growths or any abnormalities, and care of teeth to prevent illness from buildup of bacteria in the mouth.
Pedigree has a great dog age calculator that’s pretty spot on for calculating your pets age by breed.
Trying to determine the age of a cat….. Cats go through different stages from kitten to adult. A 1 year old cat is equal to 18 in human years! But it gets tricky, as a 4 year old cat is equal to 35 in human years. But don’t let that scare you , because if you’ve ever owned a cat you know they can live a long time. Some have been known to live 30 years! And in human years that’s over 100!
Of course how long a cat lives also depends on the care and environment. Cats aren’t as obvious when it comes to illness as dogs, so routine blood work is very important as they get older. An indoor cats age will usually differ from that of an outdoor cat. Outdoor cats seem to find trouble ie; fights, contact with unhealthy cats, or food.
LitterRobot goes into great detail about the aging of domestic cats in comparison to human years.
What we do know for sure though is that…
Healthy pets are happy pets and happiness is the key to a long life❤