"mature" cats

I was looking at the food I feed my cat, and it mentions it is for 1-6 years old, and the mature formula should be given at 6 years and beyond. I think it's interesting that we consider cats "mature" at 6 years old, when many of them can live to be 15-20 years old. On the long side of that scale, that means that 3/4 of a cat's life is spent as mature, on the short side about 60%.

I understand that health problems start arising at that age, and diets must be changed accordingly. I just think its weird to be considered old for that much of one's life. Think about what that would mean in human terms. It would be like us humans retiring (the age I start thinking of people as "mature" in the same way old cats are) between 25 and 40 (assuming lifespan of 100 years without diseases, etc) or, if we retired at the same age as we do, it would be like us living to be 162 - 260 years old.

rad65, I don't think "mature" in that sense is equivalent to retirement age for humans. I'd guess it's more like age 40 for humans, an age when metabolism starts to slow down. Those cat food formulas for mature or senior cats are usually lower in calories for that reason.

I've usually read that the first two years of a cat's life are equivalent to the first 25 for a human, and each year after that is equivalent to about 4 years for a human. So a 6 year old cat is approximately equivalent to a 40 year old human. A 12 year old cat is equivalent to a 65 year old human. And a lifespan of 15-20 years for a cat is equivalent to human lifespans of 77-97 years.

Ahhh, that's an interesting point. I guess it is dependent on when you consider a human mature as well.

Oh, and sorry for any of you who thought this was a real cat health issue. I posted this in the cat lounge for off-topic discussion, but it got moved here?

It may not be a urgent matter in your house but I am sure many will be helped by the replys...

I was taught 1st yr of kittys life = 16 human then 5 there after ... Which basically = s what someone else posted...

Just like humans as mentioned cats start having middle and old age issues... By 7 (46 ) 10% of kittys have Crf already starting.....that is a example of organ breakdown..

Of the many vets I have talked with the average age of a "mature " cat varies from 7-10 ....Most saying 8 for bloodwork and possible diet changes... Six used to be the senior point but now cats are living past 10-12 on ave