How Long Do Cats Grow (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 18 months to 4 years

Generally, the growing stage of the cats starts from the kitten stage to 18 months. During the developing stage, their senses grow, move towards a solid diet and expand of size. Mostly all the kitten’s growth cycle begins in the initial 16 weeks.

These weeks are the quickest phase of their development. After the first week, they grow an ounce with the passage of every three days. The cats grow very quickly and it is interesting to see them grow. Over time they become more active and play around. The basic lifecycle of the kitten is divided into five stages.

How Long Do Cats Grow?

The initial two months are the development stage of a cat. The kitten must spend those initial two months with her mother. After two or three months, little kittens get separated from their mother.

Most people acquired kittens at this stage as their pets. These months are very critical for every kitten. This is the stage when they start devouring solid food after two months of liquid intake.

Like humans, cats are very sensitive. They get depressed very easily. Thus, it becomes a great liability to look after a kitten with so much love and attention. After 3 to 6 months, cats hit their adolescent stage.

It is the puberty phase of the cats. During this phase, you will observe many mood swings in the cats. Sometimes they became very aggressive and need more attention.

After 6to 12 months cats reached their teenage years. At this phase, the cat comes into her full size in terms of development and size. The breed of the cat plays a major role here.

Every cat grows as per her breed. After 18 months, the cats stop growing. This is when the cats officially developed properly. Some cats might grow after 18 months as well but at a very slow growth rate.

When a cat reaches its adult age then its growth stops slowly. These are the different development stages of a cat along with the time span. Though some of the cats only reached to the prime stage.

Why Do Cats Grow So Long?

Some people misunderstood the growth of the cat with their weight. The weight of the cat depends upon the diet or food your cat is consuming. When it comes to growth it describes the length, height, and full size of the cat.

The weight in the adulthood phase is twice the weight during the kitten stage. Around 95% of the cats are grown completely in 18 months. Dwarf cats and Munchkins take six to one year to reach the fully developed stage.

During adulthood, kittens have good metabolism power which helps them in their quick growth. A kitten needs to have enough vitamins for good growth. Cat specialists also advised cat owners to give them nutrition and calorie-filled food to their cats.

Cats attained 50% of the DNA traits from her parents. Looking at her parents, one can assume the growth of her kitten too. During the maturity phase of the cats, they started becoming lethargic.

Their laziness leads them to gain more weight and rise of health issues. The cat stays active and settled in their lives till the prime stage.

Conclusion

It is a little difficult to tell the exact time of the year when cats stop growing. It highly depends upon the breed and quality of the cat. There are no relevant answers to this question. Some cats get fully mature within 18 months whereas some take four to five to come into their full size.

The genes and diet of the cat are the key factors in her growth period. Some cats nurture very fast and attain all the changes in their initial stage. Thus, the health of the cat, genetics, breed quality is highly effective for their development.

Reference

1. https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2176817
2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jvim.14561