How To Tell The Gender Of A Kitten
While its exciting to meet a litter of newborn kittens, it can be tricky to tell if your fluffy new friends are male or female. Even experts can have trouble distinguishing the gender of a kitten. There are a few tell-tale signs to look for, though, and once you know the difference between the genitals of male and female kittens, its much easier to work out which they are.
Comparing Male Vs Female Cats
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Although both make good pets, there are some major differences between male and female cats, and even then there is a big difference between the behavior of unneutered and neutered or spayed cats. But thats not all so check out the chart below to learn a few more of the main differences.
| Female Cats | ||
| Sexual Maturity | ||
| Larger and heavier with wide, round cheeks | ||
| Behavior | Aloof, stand-offish, territorial, prefer to be alone, less likely to play with others | Playful, sociable, affectionate, forms strong bonds |
How To Tell If A Cat Is A Boy Or A Girl In General
Surprisingly, male cats are more playful and social. A male pet will form strong bonds with its owners or any other cat in a household quickly. It is easier to cuddle with the male cats because of their ability to mix with the owners quickly. The females, on the other hand, are more standoffish. These cats are also more playful and more active than the female ones. So if you have decided to get a male pet, then get ready to wake up in the middle of the night. Female cats are more independent than males. They can spend a lot of time alone in an apartment. So if you are looking for a pet that can spend a long time on its own, female cats are the best option. These cats can entertain themselves perfectly. Even though a spayed female cannot get pregnant, the maternal instinct of such cats remains strong in them. They are very loyal to their owners, and they will always be by your side when you are feeling sick. A non neutered male is more likely to spray urine around the house than the female cats. They are also much more aggressive than the female cats and have a habit of escaping from their owner’s home searching for females.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how to tell if a cat is a boy or a girl, then why not take a look at how often to change cat litter or why do dogs eat cat poop?
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Sexing Cats Based On Genitals
To see the cats genitals, youll need to gently lift up the tail. If the cat is relaxed and amenable to being handled, this is easy enough. Its a good idea to sit down with the cat on your lap, so you wont drop the animal if things dont go well.
If the cat doesnt co-operate with you lifting the tail, try scratching the animals back at the base of the tail. This often causes the cat to lift up its tail instinctively.
A more nervous or hostile cat can be tricky to handle its better to have someone else hold the cat while you perform the examination. It might be necessary to wrap the cat in a towel or blanket.
De-sexing cats makes them happier and easier to care for, as well as protecting them against various diseases.
How To Tell The Gender Of A Cat
With cats, it is possible to tell the gender of a cat based on the color of the collar. On cats with black or dark-colored collars, the males will be significantly larger than the females. On cats with orange or light-colored collars, the females will be significantly larger than the males. On both types of collar, the cats eyes are a lot smaller than their body size.
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How To Tell Cat Gender By Face
By: Author Sarah Davis
Although its not an exact science, its possible to tell the difference between male and female cats by other means.
Cats exhibit a degree of sexual dimorphism, with this being more or less pronounced in different breeds. Females tend to be smaller than males.
Perhaps most distinctive, though, are the facial differences between male and female cats. With practice, you can often distinguish between the sexes.
How to tell cat gender by face: Male cats tend to have a more rounded, fuller face than females. The cheek pads on a male cat develop more, especially in an entire male, giving these cats a jowly look. Female cats tend to have a few narrower face with a more delicate muzzle.
Youve landed on this page because you want to learn how to distinguish between male and female cats. Perhaps you cant get near enough to perform a genital inspection. Maybe the cat is a stray and wont let you get close, or perhaps youre curious about a neighbours pet.
Male Vs Female Cats: Urine Marking
Although not every male cat does it , urine marking outside of the litter box is a notable difference between males and females. Quite simply, this is because males have much more reason to do it than females. Urine marking is when a cat sprays a small amount of urine onto a surface. Just like big cats in the wild do, domestic cats spray urine to mark their territory and state their presence in the area.
However, cats also use it to send other messages, such as to advertise that they are looking for a mate. Therefore, unneutered males are far more likely to urine mark as they are driven by their testosterone. But even neutered males can still do it too. Even some females urine mark but they are far less likely to do so than males.
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Male Vs Female Cats: Genitalia
The main difference between male and female is their genitals. If youve ever brought a kitten home and wondered whether its a boy or a girl then there are a couple of things to look for, although its definitely more difficult to tell in small kittens than in adult cats.
The shape to look for in males is two dots, or a colon shape .
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How To Determine The Gender Of A Cat
Before you buy a cat or kittendo you want to know their gender first and foremost? Some people dont have a gender preference for their new feline friends, others have their hearts set on tomcats or feline queens. However, if you have an existing cat, or youd prefer one over the other, you should know for sure what you have.
Plus, if youre buying a cat on a budget, you might want to know the costs of spay and neuter surgery beforehand . Lets discuss how to know for sure if your fluffy cat is a boy or girl.
Male Vs Female Cats: 4 Key Differences Explained
When it comes to our feline friends, have been beside us for centuries. They make great companions and there is a vast array of different breeds and different colors available. But what about gender? Do male cats make better pets than females or vice versa? What are the differences between them?
Quite often it can be a tough choice to decide between a male and a female cat, and its a really important choice as your new friend will be with you for years to come. Weve all heard the myth that females are aloof and standoffish while males are entirely driven by testosterone, but is it true? Join us as we discover all of the key differences between male and female cats!
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Are All Orange Cats Male
About 81 percent of orange cats are male, says Bell. While female cats will inherit an orange coat only if they carry the orange gene on both X chromosomes, if a male carries the orange gene at all, he will be orange, says Konecny.
As the frequency of the orange gene is much less than the frequency of the black gene in the general cat population, the chance of having two orange genes is much less frequent. This makes male orange cats more frequent than orange females, Bell says.
What does this all mean for their offspring? If a mother cat is orange, her male kittens will be orange regardless of their fathers color, Konecny says, and if a mother cat is tortoiseshell , half of her male kittens will be orange while the other half will be black.
To get an orange female kitten, both the mother and father must be orange, Konecny says. If the mother cat is tortoiseshell and the father cat is orange, half of the female kittens will be orange, she says.
Illustration: Josh Carter
How To Tell If A 3
The genitals become prominent when they are three weeks old, and one can use the previous techniques to determine the gender of the cat.
Kittens do not develop specific personality traits at this stage. So, one should not make a decision by judging the personality of the cats.
Knowing the gender of the kitten is very crucial for the better fostering of the cat. One should be aware of the gender-specific health or behavioral problems that may occur to cats.
For example, urinary tract problems are much common for male cats, and they are at higher risk of having a blockage in their urinary tract than female cats.
One can always take the kitten to the veterinarians to take a look if there are any doubts regarding gender. No matter what, cats will always be a tender and loving companions.
Reference & Citations:
1 ) https://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/outreach/Pet-Health-Topics/categories/procedures/cats/determining-gender–of-a-kitten#:~:text=Lift%20the%20kittens%20tail.,the%20male%20than%20the%20female.
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How To Tell If A Cat Is Pregnant
This article was co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 44 testimonials and 82% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 3,629,596 times.
The typical gestation period for cats is about 9 weeks, and a pregnant cat will begin to display telling physical and behavioral changes soon after becoming pregnant.XResearch source If you know how to spot these changes, it can help you determine if your cat is indeed pregnant. The best way to know for certain, though, is of course to take your cat to the vet. Unless youre a professional cat breeder, you should have your cat spayed–overpopulation among cats is a significant problem that results in many cats having to be euthanized when they cant find a home.
Why Is Sexing Your Kitten Or Cat Important
If you dont care what gender your kitten is, you may find its a pretty useful piece of information to have. It doesnt take a lot of expertise to figure it out either. If you didnt plan on finding out, here is a list of reasons why its a very good thing to know beforehand.
- Price of Spay or Neuter Surgery If you are on any type of budget while owning your cat, the price of spaying or neutering can be different depending on gender. Because males require less invasive surgery, neutering costs less than spaying. When a cat is spayed, they have to go inside of the cats body to tie up the uterus. Ultimately, the total cost depends on the vet clinic or facility. Many shelters have low-cost spay and neuter programs to help if you find yourself in a pickle.
- Hormonal Habits As your kitten ages, there are certain characteristics and habits that males pick up that differ from females. If you dont get your cat fixed, males and females are capable of spraying to mark their territory or attract a mate. Also, when a female goes into heat, she can let out extremely loud cries, vocalizations, and be overly affectionate for several days, occurring many times a year.
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Looking For Signs Of Pregnancy
Ask Your Vet For Advice
If youve attempted to determine the gender of your kittens but arent 100% sure that youve got it right, its always a good idea to ask your vet for advice. If youre rehoming kittens, some families will want a particular gender, so its important to know for sure!
Your kittens will need vaccinating when theyre around 8 weeks old, so this is the perfect opportunity to ask your vet to help determine the gender of each kitten. You may also want to speak to your vet about when is a good time to get your kittens spayed or neutered.
Featured Image Credit: Tom Pingel, Shutterstock
Contents Overview
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Male Vs Female Cats: Behavior & Personality
Quite possibly the biggest difference between male and female cats is their personality. However, whether or not they have been neutered or spayed actually plays a major role in their behavior. Unneutered males are more likely to be aggressive towards other males, mark their territory, and to actively seek out females in heat. However, when they are neutered they generally become much more laid back and are extremely sociable, playful and affectionate. They also form close bonds, both with their owners and with other cats.
On the other hand, females are stereotyped as being aloof and standoffish. However, thats not strictly true. Females that have not been spayed spend much of the time that they are in heat searching for a mate. During this time they yowl a lot and can actually be pretty loving and attention seeking.
Females that are spayed no longer go into heat, so they dont perform that behavior anymore and are generally more relaxed. However, they dont lose their nurturing instinct and can often adopt other kittens that are in the household. Despite this, females are still less likely to be playful and will often dominate other cats, particularly if they try to invade her favorite spot!