Methodology and sources

Names: meanings and popularity are different kinds of evidence

8 records have a directly linked meaning source; 3 are flagged for review and 605 remain unreviewed. A dictionary headword can support a word association, while a character page can support a fictional reference. Neither automatically establishes the name’s etymology, cultural origin or popularity. Unverified glosses are labeled in the expanded card and hidden from default list previews. Translations have not all received independent native-speaker review.

Generator modes are editorial selections. Recorded registration counts belong to the named city, species and dataset snapshot; they are not worldwide rankings or evidence of a year-on-year trend. See the municipal name data and methodology.

Age conversion: published chart and explicit interpolation

The default dog comparison reproduces the AKC chart, including giant-dog values of 12 at one year and 45 at five years. Between whole years FurStage interpolates linearly; below one year it scales the selected size’s first row. Above 16 it extends the last slope and shows an extrapolation warning. The legacy method key “avma” remains for saved links and API compatibility; it is not an AVMA endorsement. The optional UCSD comparison uses 16 × ln(age) + 31; its Labrador research cohort does not establish an individual lifespan prediction for every breed. Below one year the interface uses the selected-size chart. Cat human-age values are educational comparisons, separate from the current clinical stage framework.

Life stages: guideline boundaries and editorial care guides

Dog senior timing uses 75% of an expected lifespan entered by the user. Without that assumption, the tool shows an age comparison but no dog stage or senior countdown. It does not infer individual lifespan from breed. Puppy, junior, adult and mature care guides are editorial subdivisions; they are not a five-stage AAHA clinical classification. Cats remain mature at exactly ten years and enter the senior stage above ten. The 15+ geriatric guide is an editorial subdivision of senior care. A planning boundary cannot determine health or replace an individual assessment. Each care page includes a checklist that can be read without email registration.

Feeding: disclosed factors, not a safe minimum

The calculation is RER = 70 × weight in kg to the power 0.75, then daily energy = rounded RER × the selected factor. Merck supplies adult and growth factors; AAHA Box 1 supports the weight-loss factors of 1.0 for dogs and 0.8 for cats using a veterinarian-agreed target weight. The light-work option uses 2.0, the upper end of AAHA’s 1.6–2.0 range. This is a starting estimate, not a minimum guaranteed to be safe. There is no separate senior-only multiplier. Food energy density is required for cups per day; individual response and body condition determine adjustment.

Growth: an illustrative scenario with visible assumptions

The growth tool divides current weight by an assumed fraction of adult weight. Its hand-authored species and size curves are displayed beneath the result. Between points it interpolates and rounds the fraction to two decimal places; before two months it uses the first point, and after the terminal point it uses 100%. Terminal points are 12, 15, 18 and 24 months for small through giant dogs, and 18 months for cats. These are editorial scenario assumptions. They do not implement the measured centiles in Salt et al., and no prediction accuracy or confidence interval has been validated. The output therefore has no invented uncertainty band and must not be used as a growth target or feeding prescription.

Weight tools: units are exact; health interpretation is not

Unit conversion is arithmetic. Body-weight interpretation is more complex. The weight tool can help users record a current and target weight and frame a discussion about trends, but it cannot assess body condition, muscle loss or a safe rate of change from a number alone. FurStage deliberately separates a conversion result from health guidance and points to veterinary sources for nutrition and weight-management context. Where a tool shows a target-weight scenario, it is a planning aid rather than a treatment plan.

Breed facts: evidence attached to individual fields

Each published profile links its lifespan and adult-weight figures to a specific source field. Registry lifespan ranges are distinguished from the UK study’s life expectancy at birth and confidence intervals. Sex and variety restrictions remain visible where the source requires them. Exact minutes of daily activity and maturity windows are editorial planning estimates, labeled as such beside the figure and in comparisons. Their presence does not mean a breed organization measured or endorsed them. The API exposes the same field evidence, locator and check date. Other qualitative breed traits support a shortlist, not a measured match probability or a diagnosis.

Change control and updates

The source registry and calculation datasets are versioned in the project and validated during production builds. A broken row count, unknown citation or invalid data shape fails the build before publication. We also keep canonical URLs, localized metadata and sitemap entries under automated checks so an editorial update does not quietly remove a published page from discovery.

• September 2026: corrected chart values, scoped source checks, field evidence and explicit editorial assumptions. An update date records a page change; it does not claim veterinary review.
• June 2026: localized routing and build-time data validation became part of the public site architecture.
• July 2026: visible bylines, review dates, source links and the editorial policy were added across health-adjacent pages.
• August 2026: this methodology page made the source registry, dataset scope and update controls easier to inspect in one place.

What FurStage does not do

FurStage does not diagnose conditions, prescribe diets, calculate medication, estimate life expectancy for an individual pet or decide whether a pet is safe to breed, adopt or travel. It does not claim that a breed profile predicts a particular animal. The tools are designed to support clearer questions for a veterinary visit and more informed everyday planning. For a concerning symptom, rapid change or urgent situation, contact a veterinarian or emergency clinic rather than relying on a tool result.

For details on editorial standards, corrections and translation disclosure, read the FurStage Editorial Policy.