How do shelters tell the ages of an incoming animal with no history?

Answer 1

IT is an "educated" guess. We cannot tell for sure. Some animals have had it harder than other, and their teeth and general health may reflect that...so teeth are not always that accurate.
It is kind of a "general stab in the dark". We may list a cat as 3-5 years. Or a dog as "around 4". There is no way to tell for sure in a mature animal. Puppies and kittens are easier, becuase the loss of the baby teeth are more predictable.

Answer 2

I've heard that they can pin it pretty close as long as they are under 22 months for a pup and 18 months for a cat, by the development of their bodies, specifically feet and teeth. Think about it...it is easier to say whether someone is 12 or 22, harder to tell if someone is 42 or 52.

Beyond that vets and techs can just tell from experience, (close to anyway) how do you tell how old a stranger is????same thing.

Answer 3

their teeth -
when animals are young their teeth fall out in a specific pattern so the vet or vet tech will look and see which teeth are adult and which are baby and calculate the age based on that...
for adult animals its guess work based on the condition of the teeth...
I once worked at a shelter where an owner relinquished his own cat and told us he was 2 years old... the tech looked at the teeth and said the guy lied and the cat was probably 8yrs or more so called the guy back and turns out the guy was right.. he had the papers from when he got her as a kitten - she was 2 yrs BUT he had only fed her canned food and it rotted her teeth so bad she looked older...

Answer 4

Normally we look at the body condition, the personality, and yes the teeth. The amount of tartar and the wear of the teeth are both examined. Then we take all of the previous, put it "together" and give our best guess based on the amount of experience we have.

Answer 5

you check their teeth! and most times its a pound per month... it's what some vets will tell you, although that can sometimes be wrong if the animal is in bad condition. and cats and dogs get their adult canine teeth when they are 6 months..

Answer 6

i'm a vet tech, and most of the time we look at there teeth to try to get a good estimate

Answer 7

They don't they just guess and look at their teeth .CAUTION!! some job workers do not know what their age is!!

Answer 8

The vet looks at the wear of their teeth, the size of their feet, the wear on the pads of their feet and on their toenails, the proportion of their body, etc.

Answer 9

They can tell by the way the animal looks and how mature they are. They can also look at their teeth to figure it out.

Answer 10

teeth. length and condition