It isn’t quite true that one year in a cat’s life equals seven years in a human’s life. Just like human babies, kittens go through a variety of life stages as they age into adult cats and beyond.

A cat in the first year of its life, which according to “The Special Needs of the Senior Cat” is equivalent to sixteen human years, is a kitten.

Although technically not a kitten after that first year, most cats still display kitten-like behavior, and begin to settle down around age two.

Kittens usually have a strong desire to be with you. It’s not at all uncommon for them to try to climb you as if you were a cat tree just to be with you. Although it’s a good idea to discourage this behavior, because having a fifteen pound cat climb you isn’t so pleasant.

As they become adolescents, usually a bit before age one, just like human adolescents they begin to test their boundaries more — and to become rather aloof and independent. Just like your kid no longer wants to kiss or hug you because it isn’t cool, your former snuggle bunny may take to curling up far away from you.

The good news is that they usually begin to get snuggly again somewhere around the age of four or five. Even if they weren’t very snuggly as kittens, you may all of the sudden find your cat in your lap until you’re way past uncomfortable.

At age seven, cats are usually considered to be seniors. That’s just two years away for the boys! Hard to believe. Hopefully, you won’t see a lot of changes in your senior cat, other than perhaps sleeping longer. The boys used to love to lay out in the kennel through the heat of the summer, but now it seems they prefer the air conditioning. Somedays I really don’t think they move from about 9 am until maybe 3 or 4 pm. I want to come back as my cats!

I couldn’t really find much info, but I believe there’s a distinction between senior cats and geriatric cats. Cats are usually considered geriatric around age thirteen or so. This is whey a lot of illnesses common to older cats rear their ugly head: kidney disease, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes. It is definitely the time to monitor your cat closely and get twice yearly, thorough wellness checks.

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