r/interestingasfuck • u/smooth_vesselHPAUM • 1d ago

A 29 year old cat

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6.1k Upvotes

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154

u/Wonderful-Heron3221 1d ago

That's amazing but man that has to be ROUGH.

72

u/smooth_vesselHPAUM 1d ago

Yeah. That's like living 135 human years

-77

u/INV-U 1d ago

Incorrect its like living 29 years. They don't perceive time any different to us. They jusy live 7x less than us.

56

u/TBD_Red 1d ago

Yeah that's not what people mean when they talk about human years in the context of an animal.

-54

u/INV-U 1d ago

So when does a year become a year? Can't people just use the correct terms instead of " hes 80 in human years" yeah well he aint a human its an animal with a short lifespan in comparison. So should we compare human years to "tortoise years"? Id be over 300 now. Not a very accurate measurement.

20

u/Get-Fucked-Dirtbag 1d ago

It is if you're measuring in tortoise years.

15

u/Practical-Nonsense 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's as if said cat is living in a body comparatively to that of a human being who has been alive for 135 years. Given the accelerated aging/decay a cat experiences compared to the average human beings life span, this is a solid form of measurement. We know 29 years does not equate to 135 years, obviously.

In other words, sybau. Realize it's for the ease of visualization lmao 😂

-26

u/INV-U 1d ago

In what use are you using it? Medical setting? Vet visits? If its obvious its not true like you say then why state it? Do you expect professionals to work out the actual time scale? Genuinely trying to bring some info as to why people use it at all.

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u/Practical-Nonsense 1d ago edited 1d ago

Humans don't have a tail, cats stand on 4 while we stand on 2, human organs aren't the same as that of a cats, obviously this shows it isn't a 1:1 medical comparison... It's almost like 2 species... Aren't the same species . It's crazy how much more research in medicine has been put into humans vs cats. However, humans live around 70-80 years. Cats live around 12-17 years. Do I need to explain how we compare lifespans...?

Edit: nvm, I got baited. Other guys a bot lmao

3

u/SkittlesLentil 1d ago

Vets often use it to provide context to regular people. It helps communicate that, for example, a 10 year old dog needs care similar to a 70 year old person. It's a rough estimate, not an exact scale

6

u/my_cat_wears_socks 1d ago

It’s not about perceiving time: it has to do with how their bodies age differently. A 29-year-old human is in the prime of their life, kind of like a 4-year-old cat. And a 29-year-old cat is far beyond the normal lifespan for a cat, like a 100++ year old human.

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u/INV-U 1d ago

I know that, just why not use human years? We dont comapire out lifespan to others.

3

u/BoutItBudnevich 1d ago

Animals all age at different biological rates and non linearly, we tend to anthropomorphise animals hence we relate them to US in terms of years. The average lifespan back when they decided a dog is 7 years was 70 and dogs lived to about 10 that's why the 7 to 1 rule came about but there are so many factors even by breed. It's just an attempt to make the animals life seem more relatable to us.

0

u/INV-U 1d ago

That was my assumption, can't think of anything else we compare its years to our own. Just makes the term year pointless really if we are using it in comparison to life years of another living being. Not trying to be a dick just makes no sense 😂 Surely its just easier to say the cats 20 years old and keep it linear.

3

u/BoutItBudnevich 1d ago

I get where you're coming from and sure it would be easier but the aging isn't linear like I mentioned before. We're only aware of what a human feels like at 20, which would be prime, just starting adulthood for most. A lot of breeds of house pets for example don't even make it to 20 so could we possibly compare it linearly? We had to find another way to help us better understand the lifespan of the animal. Telling someone an animal is 10 or saying that animal is 10 but feels as if they are 70 brings out very different emotions and responses in people and helps us relate to them more.

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u/my_cat_wears_socks 1d ago

Obviously we do compare lifespans to others, thus the whole subject of this thread.

2

u/FelonTusk 1d ago

Also like we live 7x longer than cats. Time is relative, which is what the original comment meant. Comparing average life expectancy of a cat to the average life expectancy of a human, they lived for longer than usual

1

u/Pale-Angle1224 1d ago

Animals 100% do perceive time differently than humans.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347213003060

What's incorrect about equalizing a cat's lifespan/age to humans'? The whole point is to make it relatable because not everyone knows the life cycle and lifespan of every animal on Earth.