A recent article in Cat Fancy Magazine talked about how those extra pounds on your cat can lead to serious medical problems.  Here is what the article had to say about the extra pounds and diabetes:
    "By far the biggest health threat to overweight cats is Type 2 diabetes.  Diabetes is a complex endocrine disorder that affects the body's ability to metabolize sugar.  This disease often affects older overweight cats and can cause cataracts, blindness, gangrene and kidney failure.  It can lead to coma and death.  The good news is that Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by keeping your cat lean and healthy.
     "Even a few extra pounds can cause Type 2 diabetes in cats," says Ernest Ward, DVM.  "An obese cat, 14 or more pounds, has a very high likelihood of developing diabetes.  I advise the owners of obese cats that it's not if, it's when will they develop diabetes.  Type 2 diabetes is a fast-growing and expensive condition.  According to my calculations, treating a diabetic cat can easily cost more than $1,400 a year.  The sad reality is that this disease is completely preventable by keeping your cat lean and thin."
     The signs of Type 2 diabetes include excessive thirst and urination, and increased eating without adding pounds.  In addition to diabetes, heavy cats are at greater risk for osteoarthritis, respiratory problems and several forms of cancer.
     "These are generally chronic, expensive, incurable and largely preventable diseases," Ward says."
     Be responsible and think about your cat's long term health condition the next time you put a little too much food in the dish, or slip in an extra treat.

If your cat is currently carrying too many pounds, you might think about getting a new cat tree that will provide your cat with a means to get more exercise and keep those extra pounds from collecting around its middle.

Equating your cat's age to the human chronological calendar is a bit challenging.  There are different opinions and charts comparing the longevity of a cat to the human standard. 

One of the facts that creates the challenge is that cats age more rapidly in their early years, then slower as they age.  An example given is that cats can reproduce when they are 6 months old.  If you were to reverse the common formula 1 cat year equals 7 human years, it would suggest that humans could reproduce at age 3.5 years.  A more realistic comparison is that a 6 month old cat is about equal to a 15 year old person.

Another fact is that cat bones stop growing at 1 year.  In comparison human bones grow until a person reaches the age of about 24. 

Cats Age            Human Age
6 months                15 years
1 year                    24 years
2 years                  28 years
3 years                  32 years
4 years                  36 years
5 years                  40 years
6 years                  44 years
7 years                  48 years
8 years                  52 years
9 years                  56 years
10 years                60 years
11 years                64 years
12 years                68 years
13 years                72 years
14 years                76 years
15 years                80 years
16 years                84 years
17 years                88 years
18 years                92 years
19 years                96 years
20 years                100 years