We are trying to determine the age of a stray cat that we adopted in April of 2016. We would like to estimate how old he was when we adopted him, and by extension his current age. The estimates have been all over the board. I have included photos from various times, marked with approximate dates.
Initial conditions (April 2016)
May 2016
January 2017
July 2018
May 2020
July 2020
August 2022
Initial conditions (April 2016)
- Body - large, significantly overweight (about 18#). Originally suspected a pregnant female until we discovered that he was in fact an unneutered male
- Head - wide, with pronounced jowls. I later learned that this was a result of him being unneutered
- Teeth - missing roughly 1/2 of his teeth, with advanced tooth decay on multiple others
- Fur - unkempt and dirty, though he had been outdoors for about 2 weeks that we had observed
- Eyes - look to be in good condition
- Movement - limited running and jumping onto lower surfaces. No jumping directly onto counters, tables, or higher surfaces from floor level. Stairs seem somewhat labored (likely due to weight). Very heavy sleeper.
- Interactions with people - expert lap cat and bedtime snuggler. He was clearly not suited to outdoors and had no interest in going outside
- Interactions with other cats - not aggressive or territorial with other cats, despite initially being unneutered. All other cats were spayed/neutered.
- Body - weight loss, down to 13# and steady for about 3 years. Ideal is probably 12#. He was neutered a few weeks after we adopted him
- Head - jowls reduced in size
- Teeth - 3 rounds of tooth extractions, starting in 2016 with most recent in early 2022. He has about 1/4 of his teeth remaining: upper canines and a few molars. The lower canines were either missing or part of 2016 extraction.
- Fur - being brushed is one of his favorite activities, so he is brushed frequently. Does show a "clumped" fur look last 3 years
- Eyes - look to be in good condition, no apparent change
- Movement - limited running, will get short bursts of "zoomies" out of the litter box or into a crinkle tube. Will typically clamber up onto lower surfaces (e.g. couches and chairs) after some hesitation, rather than a proper jump. Deep sleeper, spends much of the day sleeping in isolated space such as the closet. We don't have stairs where we live now, so we can't evaluate.
- Interactions with people - continues to be expert lap cat and bedtime snuggler. He has never returned to outdoors or attempted to go out.
- Interactions with other cats - generally very friendly. Will groom other cats. Short bursts of playfulness, but would not describe him as playful.
- Mental / cognition - no obvious signs of mental decline or cognition change since he was adopted
- Additional medical info - he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in the summer of 2021. This was successfully treated with radiotherapy.
May 2016
January 2017
July 2018
May 2020
July 2020
August 2022