Human Age to Cat Years Calculator

The cat or domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) is one of the oldest pets of man. The domestic cat belongs to the feline family (Felidae). The word kitty is also common, sometimes more specifically in the case of a female cat. A male cat is called a tomcat, and a young kitten is called a kitten.

The scientific name of the cat was published in 1758 as Felis catus by Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of Systema naturae. The name of the wild cat, from which the domestic cat descends, was published in 1777 by Johann Christian von Schreber as Felis silvestris. The scientific name of the vast majority of animals that have been domesticated is derived from the name of their ancestors living in the wild. In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature stated in Opinion 2027 that this principle should be followed for all domesticated species, and that the name of the wild species takes precedence over that of the domesticated form, even if the latter has been published previously. If the domestic cat is considered a subspecies of the wildcat, then the correct name for the species is Felis silvestris, and the trinomial for the subspecies Felis silvestris catus.

The lifespan of domestic cats is approximately the same as that of other felines. After ten years, a cat can be considered elderly. Cats die on average after fourteen to sixteen years. The oldest Dutch cat was 28 years old. The oldest cat in the world lived to be 38 years and 1 day old. In general, ages are difficult to control because cats do not have birth certificates. Purebred cats do have this, but on average live less, about 10-13 years. This is due to congenital diseases that are more common in purebred cats as a result of a high coefficient of inbreeding. A similar picture can also be seen in purebred dogs.

In addition to pedigree-less domestic cats, there are also about forty bred cat breeds. This can be classified according to origin. Some cat breeds are original phenotypes that have their own appearance that they have been in a certain area for centuries, others have been developed by crossing or resulting from mutations. Each breed has a specific appearance and character.

There are many colors and patterns in the cat. It is striking that unlike many other animal species, the pigments eumelanin (black) and pheomelanin (red) are located on the X chromosome. As a result, cats that show both colors (popularly called calico cats) are always female. The rare males that show this color variety are usually of genotype XXY (Klinefelter's syndrome) and are usually infertile. Furthermore, there are many other color and pattern genes such as dominant white (W), partly white in the coat (S), an agouti gene (A), a number of tabby patterns (Ta/T/tb) ("cypers" in popular speech ), a gene that decolorizes the underside of the hair (I, silver effect) and partial albinogens (cs and cb), which are responsible, among other things, for the "siamese coloring" that can only be seen on the extremities of the body. The different genes in combination provide a wide palette of combined coat patterns and colors.

The oldest find of a domesticated cat is in a Neolithic tomb near Shillurokambos in Cyprus from about 9,500 years ago. The cats found on this island were brought by boat from Asia Minor by immigrants who already had cats as pets. On a clay tablet found with a removal inventory, a cat was also mentioned at the livestock. The cat was domesticated about 9,000 years ago from the African wildcat, attracted to synanthropic animals such as mice that preyed on grain. Domestication took place in both the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt from about 9,000 years ago. From Asia Minor, the cat was taken very early on by travelers and emigrants to Europe and deeper into Asia.

Human to cat years calculator: How old am I in cat years? A human's 1 year is equal to about 0.20 to 0.26 years of a cat's lifespan. We've created an easy-to-understand chart that shows your age by converting it to a cat's age.