How old is my cat?

[Tanno]

We got a cat from a rescue centre when it was already an adult. The centre had no idea how old he was. Does anyone know how to tell a cat's age?

Thanks

[undercovers]

cut it in half and count the number of rings present ;)

(please don't)

it appears "There are really only a few times in a cat's life when its age is relatively easy to pinpoint.

The first one is when the permanent incisor teeth come in. This usually happens around 4 months of age. The second time is when the permanent canine teeth (fangs) come in. This usually happens around 6 months of age. For a while after that the teeth are pretty new looking and it is usually OK to assume that the cat is less than a year of age if there is no tartar at all --- but some cats do get older than this and still manage to have great looking teeth.

The next time that it is possible to roughly estimate the age of a cat is when nuclear sclerosis, or clouding of the center of the lens of the eye, occurs. This usually happens in cats around twelve years of age is reasonably consistent if the changes are carefully observed." source http://www.vetinfo.com/catroutine.html

[Emma-J]

You can also ask your vet, if you don't want to fight with your cat to look at its teeth.

(no offence intended undercovers)

[annavc]

I got a rescue cat a few months ago and the centre told me they thought he was between 3 and 5 years old. I then took him to the vet who told me he thought he was 3 at the oldest and possibly younger than that so it difficult for even professionals to tell for certain but it is definitely worth asking your vet - they should be able to give you at least a rough idea.

[funnywebsite]

Ask him

[mycatis]

I'm 28 ha ha ha ha ah Gee I'm funny! (sorry lol)