Why are there so many dog/cat years to a human year?

Question

Is this true? Who decided on this stupid so called fact?

Some people got out the wrong side of the bed this morning!

Answer 1

all they have done is seen how long a dog is expected to live and then they have taken the average human life expectacy, divided the second by the first and that will give you the average amount of dog years to a human year, and so forth,
BUT doing it this way doesnt work too well, for at teh moment, if you do it this was, average dogs life is 12, average humans is 80, that would mean 6.6 years to ours, so that is wrong according to what they say is 9 years.

they also do it another way for as to what age the animals are as to what sort of health problems they pick up, and when their body's stop growing and forming etc.

Answer 2

Hello DILLIGAF,

It is simply to enable humans to distinguish the life expectancy of a dog/cat compared with human life expectancy.

As it stands one year in a dog/cats life is comparable to 7 in a human. Therefore a 10 year old dog or cat would be 70 in human years.

A great many dog and cats dogs live a great deal longer than 10 years, some well over 15.

If a dog or cat lives to 15, which is quite common, they would be the equivalent of 105 years old in human terms.

Very few humans live that long and I do believe the 7 dog/cat years to 1 human year needs a rethink. My personal view is that 6 dog/cat years to 1 human year would be more realistic.

Poseidon

Answer 3

To put it quite simply i think its to kind of balance out their lifespan, otherwise your cat might die at 2!

But i totally agree it is a bit wierd...no only is it confusing...but why not rabbits and mice and Guinea pigs? Is it that dogs and cats are more popular than other animals so people only feel the need to make it sound like dogs and cats have had a long and fufilled life?

Sorry i got a bit carried away there but does anyone know if there are any other things like this but for any other animals?
Thanks,
Daisy =]

Answer 4

It is a ratio comparing their lifespan (average of 12 to 15 years) to our lifespan (average 78 years)

The "so many animal-years to human-years" is false. A 1 year old dog or cat is not equivalent to a 7 or 9 year old human. Depending upon breed, it is likely closer to a 15 year old human. A year old dog or cat is typically sexually mature by their first birthday, even if they are not yet physically mature.

And while for a large dog, 11 or 12 years of age is like being a 75 year old human, for a smaller dog it could be like being 65.

Answer 5

instead of using this word stupid, try- who decides on this fact.Much better. So to answer your question- it could be that dogs in particular have a very short life expectancy, if you've noticed in the olden days they didn't have vets to de-bug them right, so it could be because of that.But that's my own opinion.Cat on the other hand I'm not sure of, someone else might answer that.:)

Answer 6

Because animals live shorter lives and its based on the statistical life expectancy of each species.

Answer 7

Because they live shorter lives. It helps to understand whether your cat/dog is likely to die of old-age any time soon.

Answer 8

their heart beats faster and that causes the entire the body to age quicker than humans

Answer 9

Its based on the statistical life expectancy of each species.

Its called statistics....go back to school.

Answer 10

It is merely a ratio for an easier age comparison.