How old is too old?

tashaam

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I have a 5 month old kitten and his mother is a little over a year ..

I was just wondering how old a cat has to turn to be considered an "adult cat" because my momma cat is still really small for a full grown cat.. But shes over a year ..

So any answers?
 

darlili

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From what I've read, it can differ from breed to breed - let's say your cats have any Maine Coon blood - they may fully mature between two and three years. With Oriental blood, a lot younger. But even at a year, my vet says they're more like teenages that full adults. And your girl may just be petite - my girl is about 6-7 pounds - my vet likes to call her his little girl. My boy is more like 13.


Your vet can probably answer more fully next time you have them in for their check-ups. BTW, is momma fixed now? If not, you might want to call your vet pretty darn soon about someone getting fixed pretty darn soon, I think.
 

nekochan

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Cats are usually considered adults at 1 year of age, however they often still "fill out" after that and some breeds mature more slowly. For example I have a Maine Coon and they can keep growing until 4 years old.
 

missymotus

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Usually fully grown by 2 years, but larger breeds take up to 4 year.

Your girl could just be a small cat.
 
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tashaam

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Yeah we kind of figured that she was just naturally a small cat.

Her son is already 3/4 her size, and he's only 5 months old!
 

mira's_mommy

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My Mira looks just like your kitty. She too is just over a year (she turned a year old in October), and she is incredibly tiny as well. Her kittens are only 4 1/2 months old and the females are the same size as her, the male is already bigger than she is. (Their dad was a monster though, about 9 pounds when he was their age, so that may be why.) Now that the babies have stopped nursing she has returned to her normal weight, 7.6 pounds, which I think is still small for a full-grown cat.
 

otto

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Originally Posted by TashaaM

Yeah we kind of figured that she was just naturally a small cat.

Her son is already 3/4 her size, and he's only 5 months old!
as was already said, size and growth vary from cat to cat. In my experience most cats will continue to grow until they are close to three years old. But that's not a given, by any means.

the fact that she carried a litter and gave birth when she was only about 6 months old herself might have something to do with her growth, but I am not positive about that.

I also second, if the mama is not spayed yet, get it done pronto, because cats don't care if they are mama and son. And of course you will want to get boy-o neutered, too, pretty soon.
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by otto

the fact that she carried a litter and gave birth when she was only about 6 months old herself might have something to do with her growth, but I am not positive about that.
I didn't know that part. I'm pretty sure that would have something to do with it. Poor girl.

Hope everyone is fixed now, the boy will start getting interested in her soon.
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by darlili

From what I've read, it can differ from breed to breed - let's say your cats have any Maine Coon blood - they may fully mature between two and three years. With Oriental blood, a lot younger. But even at a year, my vet says they're more like teenages that full adults. And your girl may just be petite - my girl is about 6-7 pounds - my vet likes to call her his little girl. My boy is more like 13.


Your vet can probably answer more fully next time you have them in for their check-ups. BTW, is momma fixed now? If not, you might want to call your vet pretty darn soon about someone getting fixed pretty darn soon, I think.
Persi is just now at age three really beginning to grow fur at a most extaordinary rate! It is so thick and long now, so much more so than a year ago. And so does that mean he is just now becoming an adult? I don't know but I definately agree it is breed dependent along with some other factors that I do not know about.
 

icklemiss21

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Quincy is much bigger than Autumn and he was born in March, she is 4-5 years old. Some cats just are smaller but I am hoping he is done growing soon because otherwise he will be a giant.

Having a litter and giving her a lot of the protein she needed to grow may have slowed her growth too
 

stephanietx

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My Hannah is a small cat. Not really a petite cat, but just smaller in length and height. She was pretty much full grown around 18 mos. old. My older cat was already about 2 when she adopted me, but she's much longer and taller than Hannah.
 

cruisermaiden

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Spooky grew until he was about 2 years old. Mulder seems to be following the same pattern. I agree your girl may just be small, and I've heard of females who have litters at a young age being stunted.
 
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tashaam

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Thank you for all the feedback! I guess she is goin to stay small because we didnt know she was pregnant at such a young age so we didnt give her any extra protein during the pregnancy. Shes going to be my little kitty for a looong time
. And we are taking them both on January 6th to get fixed !
 
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