Shape Of The Genitals
Consider the pictures below. These are approximate pictures of 3 week old kittens. The one on the left is a boy and the one on the right is a girl.
In this question it is preferable to look not in the eyes, but under the tail. If under the tail you see a conditional colon , then you definitely have a male kitten, and if you see the inverted letter i, then, respectively, a female kitten.
You need to pay attention to the shape of the genitals. A male kittens shape of the genitals resembles a point, while the female kittens one resembles a vertical line.
The Softness Of Their Coat
A kitten’s fur coat is soft, silky, and smooth. It’s spotless and immaculate. However, as with human hair, as the cat ages, the fur coat becomes less soft. They may even develop patches of grey or white fur .
Often a vet, who has seen thousands of cats and petted many coats of fur, can get a pretty good sense of how to tell a cat’s age just by petting them!
How Do I Tell Whether Kittens Are Boys Or Girls
This is one of those tasks that sounds like it should be really easy but actually it can be surprisingly hard! Until they begin puberty , male and female kittens are incredibly similar.
Coat colour
This can sometimes give you a good indication but its not always reliable!
Tortoiseshell cats are almost always female the cat needs two X chromosomes to be a tortie or a calico . However, some chromosomal abnormalities and a condition called chimaerism can result in male torties, so dont rely on it!
Ginger tabbies are usually male but again, not always.
All the other common colours can be male or female.
Facial features
When adult, tomcats tend to have a leaner, more muscular build, a broader face and a heavier skull.
However, these features are all driven by testosterone and are not present in kittens before puberty just as you wouldnt expect a young boy to have broad shoulders and a beard!
The facial features of male and female kittens are sufficiently similar that it isnt possible to use them to tell the sexes apart.
If the kitten is calling and rolling, shes in season and is therefore a female. Likewise, strong-smelling secretions from the base of the tail is unique to tomcats. However, most cats wont enter puberty until about six months old, by which time its usually easier to use other methods!
Genitalia
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Once Youve Decided That Its The Right Time Gently Pick Up Your Kitten And Proceed To The Next Steps
- Place the kitten on its front on a soft non-slip surface like a towel.
- Lift up the kittens tail so that you can visually inspect the perineal area .
- In younger kittens and in some older kittens, it can be hard to distinguish this difference, so instead, focus on the distance between the two orifices.
- Once you have divided the kittens into a male group and a female group, double-check them by having a quick look again to ensure that each individual in the group has a similar appearance.
Determining A Kittens Gender Through Its Behavior
As they grow older, our kittens’ behavior is another way to tell the sexes apart. This is because, as felines grow older, they begin to develop personalities/behaviors that are unique to their sexes.
For example, male kittens often start to roam as they reach sexual maturity. Most also take it further by becoming territorial and you may notice them spaying to establish their authority in order to ward off trespassers or competitors. The males also are more aggressive and restless.
On the other hand, females tend to go on heat from as early as four months of age. You may notice them yowling loudly or displaying any other attention-seeking behavior.
However, you can significantly reduce all of these behaviors by neutering or spaying the kitten early in their lives. Many pet experts recommend Many pet experts recommend spaying or neutering once your kitten is five to six months, while some others recommend pediatric spaying, which can happen at six to eight weeks.
That said, while some pet owners claim that male cats are friendlier than females, this is not entirely true as cat personalities, just like humans, are varied. So, it may be best to choose a feline based on other characteristics and factors instead of gender.
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How To Determine A Kittens Age
If youve helped rescue a few kittens or found a stray litter that you want to support, its a good idea to find out how old the kittens are. This can help you work out what specific care they need.
Its worth noting that stray kittens should never be separated from their mother or removed from their nest before you establish if the mother is coming back. Before you do anything, contact your local animal rescue organization for advice.
If youre looking for a quick summary to find out how old is my kitten and key milestones of their growth, weve included a checklist at the bottom of the article!
How To Tell Kitten Gender By Face
A kitten’s genitals do not grow fully until it transforms into a cat, neither does its facial structure change. So separating a female kitten from a male kitten exclusively by looking at its face shape will not be accurate.
The genitals of young kittens do not develop until six weeks. The face of a male or female kitten also appear similar, so glancing at their face is not enough to determine the gender. At this stage, the coat color and the behavior of the kittens help the owners to determine the gender. A kitten having a tri-colored or tortoiseshell coat color almost always resembles a female kitten. Orange or ginger-colored kittens turn out to be male cats more often. The chromosomal makeup of the male and female kittens is responsible for the colors.
As the kittens grow up, the male and female kittens show some respective behavioral changes. A male kitten, after it gradually transforms into a male cat, shows tendencies to roam around. The males also start spraying urine more often. Kittens aging into female cats start to get into heat frequently.
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Why Is It Important To Get Your Cat Fixed
Getting your cat fixed is of utmost importance when youre a pet owner. If you already have gotten your cat from the shelter, your cat might already have this surgery. If not, you will have to make arrangements with your local shelter or veterinarian.
So, what are the perks of spaying or neutering your cat?
- Prevents running away Cats that are fixed will not be inclined to run away, as they wont be out seeking a mate. Some cats might still wander off if given the opportunity, but the likelihood of venturing away and getting lost is a lot less.
- Prevents pregnancy Once you get your kitty fixed, you dont have to worry about any unwanted pregnancies. Finding suitable homes for an entire litter of kittens can be quite challenging. Many cats wind up in shelters or on the street due to a lack of care. You wouldnt want that happening to a litter of your precious kittens. The best preventative is to avoid pregnancy entirely unless you breed for show.
- Prevents spraying and marking When cats reach sexual maturity, both genders can spray to mark their territory and attract mates. Cat urine can be tough to get out of fabrics and other surfaces. Its best to avoid the behavior entirely. Spaying and neutering isnt always a solution to spraying behavior. Its best to always get your cat fixed before they reach six months of age. Because once it starts, it can be extremely challenging to get them to quit, if they quit at all.
About Dr Pete Wedderburn Dvm
Dr Pete Wedderburn qualified as a vet from Edinburgh in 1985 and has run his own 4-veterinarian companion animal practice in County Wicklow, Ireland, since 1991. Pete is well known as a media veterinarian with regular national tv, radio and newspaper slots, including a weekly column in the Daily Telegraph since 2007. Pete is known as “Pete the Vet” on his busy Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, regularly posting information on topical subjects and real-life cases from his clinic. He also write a regular blog at www.petethevet.com. His latest book: Pet Subjects, was published by Aurum Press in 2017.
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Other Things To Remember When Choosing A Cat
Kittens should never be entirely separated from their mothers until theyre about 10 12 weeks old. Kittens require and learn valuable skills such as proper socialization and litter box use from their mom.
If youre getting a cat from the breeder, make sure it has been vaccinated before taking it home. You should also book an appointment with your vet for a general wellness check even after the vaccination.
Because our fur babies are like our human children in certain ways, you want to ensure that the house is completely cat proof before bringing the feline home.
How Can You Tell If Your Male Cat Is In Heat
When male cats are mature and hunting for a mate, they become more aggressive. Its conceivable that during this time they will start more cat fights with other cats.
Fighting is almost certain, particularly if there are more male cats than female cats. A male cat trying to mount or hump another cat that is attempting to avoid them might potentially start a fight.
Their pee will smell much stronger and more distinctly. This serves as a way for them to claim their territory and attract the attention of female cats.
When female cats are in heat, the aroma of their body odor also changes. Cats that go outside may be able to find one another using the smell of pee that is left behind.
Your tom might occasionally start behaving more noisily in an effort to attract a female. Their meows might not sound like what youre used to hearing.
They typically speak with a deeper tone and speak louder. They do this to communicate with other female cats since those cats will also answer in a similar tone.
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Sometimes Behavior Shows Gender Too
If youre not convinced by the coat color cheat, and youre not sure about the punctuation marks that youre seeing on your kittens back-end, there is one more way to determine gender. Male cats often behave differently to girls.
Male kittens usually become territorial, which means that they to establish their home and ward off anyone who might be a trespasser. Male kittens are also more restless than females.
Female kittens, on the other hand, can go into as early as four months old. They vocalize this coming of age experience with lots of attention-seeking behavior and yowling. The earlier you can spay your kitten safely, the less your cats will display these gender nuances.
Some people feel that male cats are more confident and outgoing than females, but this comes down to personal experience. The truth is that all cats are unique, and your kitten is bound to have its own special personality male or female.
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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What To Look For To Determine The Gender Of A Kitten
The most obvious first step to find out the gender of a new cat is to look under their tail. This is easier to do with short-haired kittens, so you may have to comb away any extra fur if you are examining a long-haired kitten. Make sure the kitten is lying flat on a towel and lift the tail gently to avoid injuring the animal. Never lift a kitten up by the tail!
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Do Cats Become Depressed After Being Neutered
Definitely not, no! They are completely in the dark about what transpired. They dont notice that their balls are missing when they look down and instead sink into a deep depression as a result of never having children.
A cats testes are removed during surgery, but the empty sacs are left behind.
They become more composed, stay put, and stop wandering about as much. The best part is that they cant conceive inside a female cat that hasnt been spayed. Thousands of unwanted kittens are already present on this planet.
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How To Tell If A Kitten Is A Male Or Female
- Identifying the genital shapes
- Fur color
- Kitten Behavior
To examine the shape of kitten genitalia, one needs to pick a time when they are calm and gently lift the tail to look at the rear end of the kitten.
For kittens of age less than 3 weeks, it is not very apparent. So, one should slowly raise the tail and gently place a finger in the scrotum area.
If a cat has Tortoiseshell and calico fur, it is almost always a female. Female cats have two X chromosomes, which are responsible for these colors.
Sometimes due to some anomaly, male cats can have two X chromosomes along with a Y chromosome, which can allow male cats to have Tortoiseshell or calico fur.
But this phenomenon is rare, and generally, these two colors are always associated with female cats. However, ginger-colored tabby cats are mostly male.
This relation is not as assuring as the connection between the tri-colored trait and female cats. In general, only three-quarters of ginger cats are male.
Cats have very unique personalities, and they can vary as much as human personalities. Sexing the kitten just by judging their traits or personalities may not be the most dependable path you can take.
But one can associate personality traits with gender. Kittens, of age more than 10 weeks, develop certain personality traits. Male cats are always more restive and hostile.
As they grow up, they tend to dominate the house and mark their places. They become territorial if they share the house with other kittens.
How To Tell A Cat’s Age: Look At Their Teeth
Teeth are a fantastic indicator of a cat’s age. First, all teeth don’t come in for a cat until they hit approximately six months, so if you look inside of their mouth and have any teeth missing, you know you have a kitten. Second, if you have an adult cat with all their teeth, you can sometimes tell the feline’s age by looking at the stains. As they eat more, their teeth become more stained. Therefore, if you see pearly whites, you have a younger cat. If you see older teeth, there’s a chance that you’re looking at a more elderly feline.
Of course, this method is a mere approximation, but it can at least help you get a hunch about how old the cat might be.
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How To Guess The Gender Of A Cat
Its said that cats are the canaries in the coal mine. What does this mean? Cats can tell us if there is a problem in the environment they live in. For example, if there is a large amount of ammonia, cats will have a very strong smell, and they may refuse to eat. Cats also know if there is a serious health problem in their homes. For example, if a cat has an eye injury, they may not want to be petted.
The Color Can Tell You How To Determine The Gender Of A Kitten
The color of the coat can help you to tell if the kitten is male or female.
Turtle is a 100% indicator that it is a female. These colors are carried by the X chromosome and 2 X chromosomes are needed for the tricolor to appear. Thus, tortoiseshell coloring is only common among female cats because they have two X chromosomes. Males have only one X chromosome. Tomcats cannot have three hair colors except they have a rare genetic disease.
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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.