How to Determine Your Cat's Age
first heat estrus cycle sometime between the ages of 5 and 9 months though the length of daylight and weight of the cat also have some effect on the time of the queens first estrus cycle. A female cat will tell you it is experiencing estrus very visibly and vocally. A female cat is most fertile between the ages of 18 months and 8 years although it can become impregnated much earlier or later depending on fertility overall health and access to intact male cats.
However many veterinarians now practice early spay and neuter. It not only helps prevent early pregnancies which are harder both on the mothers and on the kittens but the surgery itself is said to be easier on the cats at a younger age 2 This can make determining the age of a cat a bit trickier.
Coat Development
A kittens fur or hair is babyfine and soft but as a cat ages its coat will thicken and coarsen. It may also change color becoming darker or lighter in shade. When a cat attains senior status it may even develop patches of white or gray individual hairs much as humans do upon aging. While its not a guarantee of age the coat helps a vet determine the age of a cat.
Additionally how well a cat grooms itself can help indicate how old the animal is. Cats are very clean creatures but an older cat might begin to slack on caring for its coat as it gains weight with age when dental problems cause the cats mouth to hurt or if arthritis make it painful to perform the characteristic twists and turns displayed during feline selfgrooming 3
Healthy kittens and cats in their early adult years have eyes that are very clear and bright with no evidence of tearing or discharging. Cats
in their later years though may develop a cloudy appearance of their eyes including tearing andor discharge 4 This doesnt usually happen until the cat is at least 10 years old. Cats beyond the age of 10 often show changes to the iris of their eye which is the colored part. The iris might develop a wavy edge or not open and close with exposure to light as much as it did when the cat was younger.
