What affects Cats Growth | 7 Cat Breeds with different Size

Many cat parents often ask how they will know when their adorable kitten is fully grown. As we all know for humans, we have a defined age of 18 when considered mature.

But what about your feline member of the family? There is no way to say your cat is fully grown, but it will hit some stages somewhere the cat is termed as an adult; its behavior may not change.

Your cat will go through different development phases as a sign; it’s maturing up, but there is no magic way of knowing if your cats growth. Here is to anticipate as your cat goes through change.

Life Cycle of Cats

• 0-2 Months: This is the most vulnerable stage for a cat. It’s also a stage in a cat’s life where they experience rapid growth. You may be surprised by how fast your kitten is growing. At this stage, the kittens need a motherly figure as they are exclusively breastfeeding.
• 2-3 months: Most kittens’ at this stage are separated from their mothers. The actions can indicate their development smoothly to gradually significant nourishments.
• 3-6 months: This is the young stage where your kitten will experience puberty. Your cat may go through some ups and downs and can gradually become powerful. Is it a short phase of your cats’ life? Do most vets advise fixing a cat at this stage?
• 6 months: This is the youthful year of your cat, and can be compared to the high school stage of humans. The cat is big and almost fully grown in size. The size can depend on the feline breed. The average weight at this stage is 8-15 pounds.
• 1-2 years: Most cats get larger at this stage, where cats are their largest size. Most of the breeds can stop growing larger even though some still grow bigger. The growth is much slower, and the weight much higher.
• 3-6 years: It’s the prime time of a cat’s life; they are very active and settled down.
• 7-10 years: Just like humans, as the cats grow older they become less productive and gain weight. Due to their weight gain and age, they are likely to suffer from diabetes and kidney disease. 
• 7-14 years: the estimated lifespan of a cat is 15 years though it can vary. Senior cats are prone to more health issues, and they can deteriorate fast.

When Do Kittens transform to adult cats

Kittens generally grow up to around 12 months though they may grow a little more. A 12 months cat is like a 15-year-old human. By 18 months, they are fully extended to their size. Eighteen months old a cat is equal to an 18 years old human.

Things affecting Your Cats growth

These are the things that can affect your cats growth such as diet, health, neutered, breed, gender, breeding method, and order of birth.

Diet

At around one and a half years, cats attain their full size. Their bones will not grow any longer, and they will not get any taller, but they still grow in their weight. A cat can add or lose weight.

Felines gain and lose weight like humans. When a cat takes more calories than it can burn, it will gain more weight and appear more prominent in size, and when a cat takes fewer calories than its output, it will lose weight and appear smaller in size. When the calorie intake is the same as the output, it is likely to maintain the cats’ weight.

A cat may gain weight by overeating food with minimal or no exercise. It’s easy to tell when a cat is overweight by the extra wideness and round stomach from the top that hides the muscles. The cat may look cute, but they are most likely to get health problems associated with more weight like breathing problems, leg and hip injuries, and heart problems.

On the other hand, a skinny cat looks small and thin, especially around the hip area, and the bones can be seen and felt. Unlike a healthy cat whose bones cannot be supposed, cats are prone to various health issues like immune disorders.

Health

There are kittens born with some genetic conditions affecting their growth and overall size. The typical situation is dwarfism, and it comes in two types.

When the growth hormones reduce in pituitary glands, it causes a condition known as maturity dwarfism. It causes slow growth and development, and in extreme cases, some kittens stop growing earlier when they are still in their kittenhood. The survival of kittens with this condition is meager because their organs don’t get a supportable size.

Cats with Osteochondrodysplasia have a higher rate of survival. The type of dwarfism is when cats have short legs, but other organs grow familiar to a typical cat except for the usually shorter portions. A cat can live a long life with their reduced size though they may be susceptible to health issues later in life.

Neutered

Neutering cats can affect cats’ growth in different ways. A neutered cat is likely to gain weight due to reduced hormones without adjustment of their food intake.

Some people neuter their cats early before they get to puberty, while others wait for the cat to reach puberty. Due to the different ages of spaying, some cats may look more significant than others due to hormones.

A cat spayed before it attains puberty will look smaller than a cat spayed after puberty. Like teenage cats, hormones develop rapidly at puberty, and male cats can have more muscles and get broader than their counterparts neutered before puberty.

Breeding Method

Kittens are defined to be nursed by their mother for faster and healthier growth. There is no nutritious food for kittens like mother milk. Kittens who have been served by their mother have a higher growth rate and lower risk of health issues than kittens half-fed.

Like breeders, many people usually half-feed the kittens to get used to people early. Even though the kittens grow well, their late is slower than those nursed by a mother. It can be a great concept to know what to feed a kitten when their mother cannot assist them. But it should be done when the mother is unable to provide for the kittens.

Order of Birth

When a kitten is born, the last to come out is usually the smallest. The once that was out earlier is likely to have fed, and its growth rate is higher. The smaller kittens generally grow slower as they get the least feeding. The larger kittens typically get first to feed while the smallest gets the reminder as it may not fight to get the first place.

When a little kitten has many kittens, they are likely to fight to feed, and the smallest kitten will get the least. Even in adulthood, the tiniest kitten will be smaller.

Gender

Male cats are usually more prominent than females. A male cat will be a few inches long and a little extra pounds than females of the same breed and living way.

Breed

It is one of the main determining factors in how a cat will grow in size. Some breeds grow to massive sizes while others remain in smaller sizes—most of the cats that we keep are a mixture of either big or small breeds.

To understand more about a cat’s size, let’s look at different measures of famous breeds.

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Main Coon

It’s one of the giant cats breeds; when does it stop growing in size and measuring approximately 25 pounds and four feet. They are the longest cats and can be compared with the wild Eurasian lynxes. To achieve their immense size, Maine coon can take three to five years to complete their full length compared to smaller breeds that take one to two years.

Bengal Cat

These beautiful cats are unique in their shape and spots; they are across the breed of cat and Asian leopard. They may look intimidating by their long, skinny leopard look. They weigh around 22 pounds and can take two years to get to their full size.

Norwegian Forest Cat

Sometimes compared to Maine Coon in the European version. The Norwegian cat is big and fluffy, weighing between 18-and 20 pounds. They can take two years to get to their immense size.

Ragdoll

They take more years like the Mine Coon of four years and expand. They weigh 10-15 pounds. Their growth is much slower and gains compared to other cats. They are born white and start changing color once they are two years of age.

Siamese Cats

These lovely felines attain their full size of 10 pounds in ten to twelve months. Nevertheless, they are considered adults once they click their second year. These cats appear darker and continue to get darker as they age, but they have to notice.

Persians

Persian cats take around two years to be fully grown compared to normal cats. They range from 7- 12 pounds.

Domestic Short Hairs

They weigh 11 to 22 pounds and can take three to four years to attain their ideal size and weight.

Tabby Cat

Tabby is not the real cat breed. It is the way your cat’s fur goes on the body. When they are one year, they stop growing in size. But that mainly depends on the breed.

Does kitten Paws indicate how big they will grow?

There are myths about kittens’ paws; it’s believed that the larger the claws, the bigger the kitten will get. It’s just a myth, and kittens with more giant paws than the rest are not guaranteed to be more significant. Feet cannot determine the size of a kitten. A kitten’s breed and health factors will determine how long the cats get.

Do Male Cats Grow Faster than Females?

Male cats attain their full size faster than females. Usually, the male cats are more extensive than females, mostly with two pounds and inches.

Why Size is Important When Picking a Pet Cat?

When picking a cat, whether, from a friend or shelter, it is useful to consider what kind of cat is right for you according to its size. If you live in a small apartment, it will help get a smaller breed to fit well and get more space to explore.

Larger cat breeds require bigger spaces where they can stay and also explore. Before you bring a cat home, there are many factors to consider size being one of them.

Conclusion

There is no exact time to tell when a cat will stop growing as it depends mostly on the breed. Giant breeds like Maine Coons can take 4 four years to develop while the typical cat can one to one and a half years to attain its full size. It varies as cats of the same age and breed can have different growth rates one time, your cat will stop growing in size but may gain weight if overfed.