The cat family has been revered by people from time immemorial. In Egypt and in many other countries of antiquity, they were worshiped and considered sacred animals. Until now, in many religions it is considered a great sin to harm these fluffies.
Cats are a symbol of strong and independent women over thirty who did not have time to start a family, and everyone knows about the notorious forty cats. Purring creatures are the most popular topic of internet memes, and in general they are great at lifting your spirits.
What is the secret of the attractiveness of these creatures? The answer is simple - they are divine! No one can resist the charisma and charm of these animals. They come up with a hundred pet names, they are pampered and loved. It may seem that the feline race has simply captured all of humanity as slaves. This is true! They can be different: affectionate and unapproachable, calm and restless, smart and reckless. Cats decide for themselves when they can be petted; they don’t care about human impulses. Furry conquerors have their own character, which any owner will have to reckon with.
They say that a house without a cat has no comfort. Therefore, everyone without exception needs cats, it’s just that not everyone knows about it, especially dog lovers. So, a very important decision was made to bring (not bring!) home a royal person. An important point is the gender of the future pet. Some people have special preferences: some want to share their living space with frisky cats, while others want to spend quiet evenings on the couch with a lazy cat. Of course, if you take adult pets from shelters or from other places, the gender will not come as a surprise, everything is visible to the naked eye.
Even if you decide to take kittens that are already more than two months old, it is not difficult to determine its gender. At this age, characteristic features already appear: the structure of the muzzle, color and even character. But what to do if you have to take away a very little one? They usually turn to veterinarians for help, or wait until the kitten grows up a little. But why wait if there are a couple of proven ways to accurately determine the gender of your future pet. This article will help you understand this issue.
What does gender decide and why define it?
In general, many uninitiated people may think that worrying about the gender of a future pet is stupid. Like, what difference does it make, the main thing is that the animal is beautiful, screams less and does not damage the walls or furniture in the house. But this is the approach of amateurs. True connoisseurs of the cat family, before deciding to take an important step, clearly define for themselves: what they expect from cats, and what they can give them in return.
The first point among the reasons why you should find out the gender of your future pet in advance is its nickname. Not all owners choose the first euphonious name for their furbabies. Some people like to get confused and come up with nicknames that have some kind of deep meaning. Next on the list is the character and habits of the animals.
The character of cats and cats is significantly different, of course, both sexes also have individual traits, but we are talking about the “basic configuration”.
Cats have irrepressible energy, regardless of age. They can be noisier, constantly demand attention and can be quite capricious if they don't like something. A separate point is the prospect of babysitting little cat babies. They will have to find a home and caring owners. This is a rather labor-intensive process that many people have neither the time nor the desire to undertake.
Cats, in turn, are more sedate. Their excessive playfulness usually goes away as they grow older. They prefer to sleep and be lazy, although they can be excellent hunters of mice and other living creatures. In the matter of procreation, cats can become excellent inseminators, but they do not have the habit of dragging kittens home. They will calmly do their job “on the side” and return to the bosom of the family, “lonely vagabonds of love.”
But, it is worth remembering one important quality of all cats - they love to mark their territory, which can make the house smell far from flowers.
Why do you need to know your pet's gender in advance?
When a person decides to take a kitten into his home, he usually immediately knows whether it will be a cat or a cat.
Therefore, the sooner the gender of the kittens is known, the sooner you can take the baby home and accustom him to the litter box and new owners. Reasons why it is important to know the gender of your future pet:
- The kitten needs to be given a name. There are frequent cases when Fluff grows from Pushinka, and kittens are suddenly born to Murzik. Changing the name for an adult animal is not advisable, since the pet already responds to it.
- You should know in advance what veterinary procedure will need to be performed (castration or sterilization) and at what age.
- Adult cats and cats have behavioral characteristics, so some people prefer animals of a certain gender.
- Males of purebred animals are more expensive than females. Catteries often have pre-orders for kittens of a certain gender even before they are born.
For various reasons, people prefer animals of a certain gender.
How to prepare to determine the sex of a kitten
If you have decided to take a very small one, or to “stake out” a pet in advance, you should not ignorantly get under the kitten’s tail. There are a few precautions to take to avoid ending up being torn to pieces by an angry mother cat.
The first thing you need to start getting acquainted with animals is cleanliness. Small kittens have weak immunity, and they are not protected from many bacteria that can be transmitted to them by human hands. Therefore, first, soap and running water, and only after that, get acquainted with the purrs.
Under no circumstances should you approach the cat and kittens while feeding. You must not be rude to children: you must not sharply pull their tails, hold them by the scruff of the neck, etc. For attempting to put pressure on a baby’s tummy or his genitals, you can generally safely “lynch” them. You cannot make mother and children nervous and afraid.
A cat can turn into a real fire-breathing dragon if it feels a threat to its children. Therefore, it is important to calm or distract the mother while trying to determine the sex of the baby. If a cat trusts its owner enough, then it can quite calmly allow it to touch its child. You can also resort to cunning and appease mommy with her favorite treat.
So, if the light turns green and there are no more obstacles, how should you behave?
Firstly, the baby needs to be carefully taken and placed on a warm diaper, which was previously placed on the hand. You need to place the kitten tummy down.
Secondly, you need to remember that you cannot hold kittens in your hands for more than one minute. They get very cold without their mother's fur. Ideally, it would be possible to take a photograph of the anus and urinary opening. This will sooner return the kitten to its mother, and you can then look at the photo as much as you like.
Characteristic features of male and female genitalia in cats
In adult males, the anus, scrotum and urethra are clearly distinguishable. The penis is located between the scrotum and the anus. In a calm state, it is a fluffy tubercle. Inside the scrotum are testicles in which sperm are formed. The scrotum is visually visible when the cat's tail is raised. In furry breeds, the organ is not so clearly visible due to their long hair. To unambiguously identify a cat’s gender, he needs to wet the fur under his tail, then the testicles will be clearly visible. In females, the only external genital organs are the urethra; besides it, the anus is clearly visible under the cat’s tail, but there are no bulges.
Cat's genitals
About sterilized animals
If more than six months have passed since the cat was castrated, then his behavior and coat are almost no different from the same signs in sterilized females. After surgery, cats are left with an empty scrotum, only by feeling it can one determine the sex of the animal.
Suitable age for gender determination
Each newborn kitten develops depending on the characteristics of its breed. But, almost all have a thin undercoat until a week after birth. During this period, the genitals are viewed in sufficient detail.
After a week, the kittens begin to “overgrow”, and determining the sex simply by eye can be difficult even for experienced veterinarians. The more fluffy a cat breed is, the more difficult and more likely it is to make a mistake. For example, you shouldn’t get under the tails of Persian kittens after a week at all - there is only pitch-black fluff. Compared to their furry relatives, small sphinxes certainly win. If there is nowhere to rush, then you can just wait until two or three months
and the kittens will have more clearly formed genitals.
What differences appear with age?
The first three to four weeks after the birth of a kitten, it is difficult to understand the gender of the animal. This requires experience and certain knowledge.
By the first month of life, male kittens grow larger than their sisters, and males are more active. This manifests itself in constant competition for food, curiosity and fearlessness.
When kittens are two months old, the animal's reproductive system begins to actively develop. Over the course of two to three weeks, the testicles increase in size and descend into the scrotum. From this time on, gender differences between females and males begin to be clearly visible even with a cursory examination.
As they grow older, cats and female cats change their external characteristics - body type, voice, look.
With the onset of old age, males begin to differ from females in their thicker skin, especially in the area of the shoulder blades. And the heads of older cats are more massive than those of elderly cats.
Fortune telling by genitals
The main method of determining the sex of kittens is still their genitals and their location. You need to have time to admire them before a week, or after two months.
What is the secret? In girls and boys, the genitals are located at different distances. In girls, the anus and urinary opening (the future vulva) are almost end to end. In boys, distancing of the genitals can be observed. There is sufficient space between the anus and the future “instrument of insemination”, which immediately catches the eye.
Kitten gender and behavior
In addition to looking at the cat’s “undertail,” you can make a number of observations of the behavior of kittens in their natural habitat.
When still completely blind babies reach for their mother’s belly in search of the treasured source of milk, boys usually turn out to be more agile than their sisters. When slightly older kittens begin to explore the world and a certain awareness appears in their eyes, you can even determine “who is who” by their gaze.
Little cats are usually more inquisitive and fearless than girls. Small females are more cautious, and before doing anything, they first carefully observe the situation. Future predators, in a word. During their cat playtime, boys are usually more assertive and dynamic than girls.
Differences between cats and female cats
Male and female cats differ from each other in the process of growth and development:
- Males are usually larger and their weight increases faster than that of cats. Adult cats are visually smaller than cats. Males have a wider chest and larger paws.
- Cats grow up more playful, cats often try to avoid communication and are melancholic.
- The nipples are pronounced in both males and females, but in cats they are larger in size.
Cat tenderness
Greeted by their fur coat - visual difference between kittens by gender
If you don’t want a ponytail and don’t have time to watch the kittens, then you can take a closer look at the color of the fur. In most cases, kittens with tricolor fur are girls. This is a genetic feature of females. Black and red tints are found only in the X chromosomes, of which cats have two. If a cat turns out to be tricolor, then most likely he will be doomed to infertility, since he will only have one X chromosome. According to statistics, boys are most often red-haired, although this does not exclude the existence of red-haired and fluffy beauties in the world.
Determine the sex of kittens by touch
If, having looked under the tail, nothing could be determined by eye, then hands can always come to the rescue. You can gently touch the kitten. It is recommended to do this at the age of at least two months.
If the kitten is a boy, then you can feel his future testicles. But, this method is not entirely accurate for some reasons. For example, not all boys, due to the individual characteristics of growing up, have testicles that descend by two months. Another deceptive factor can be hormonal imbalance in small cats. They may develop a small swelling under their tail, which can be mistaken for the presence of a male's genitalia.
Non-standard determination methods
A number of cat breeders claim that they can determine the gender of a cat by looking at it. In cats it is wary, but in cats it is self-confident. The method is questionable. Still, it’s better to look under the tail, and not in the eyes.
One of the popular methods is to put the kitten in front of a bowl of milk. When a baby laps milk and its tail is raised, it’s a cat; if it’s down, it’s a cat.
Cats are larger than cats, so for some reason it is believed that if a kitten is small compared to another, then it is a cat and vice versa. The method is not correct. With good care and nutrition, the smallest kitten in the litter can grow into a big cat, and the largest one can eventually turn into a graceful cat.
The method of determining the sex of a kitten based on vocal data is also not reliable. It is believed that male cats meow less often and have a rougher voice. While female cats meow more often, louder, and squeakier. But the fact is that if the pet is healthy and well-fed, it may not make a sound at all. And if you are sick or dissatisfied with something, yell in a way that even the most capricious cat does not do.
Some cat breeders claim that it is easy to distinguish a boy from a girl by the shape of their face. In girls it is narrow, slightly elongated, in boys it is flattened. Most likely they forgot about the breed characteristics. Therefore, this method is definitely not informative.
Appearance and activity depending on gender
At six months of age, the gender of kittens can be judged by the structure of their body. The cats have a slender, toned physique and thin, elongated muzzles. Seals, on the other hand, tend to be stocky and muscular. Their heads are larger and their muzzles wider.
If a kitten, having reached the age of seven months, suddenly begins to write in different corners, then this means that the future king of the apartment is marking his possessions. Cats usually prefer to sleep and lazily stretch than to always get under their owners' feet.
At this same age, small cats usually begin their first heat. They behave like true women: one moment they are untouchable and strong queens, and the next moment they are playful girls requiring constant affection and attention. Girls are also more clean, they like to lick themselves, and rarely go past the tray.
Differences by gender
Primary sexual characteristics of various breeds are the surest way to distinguish a cat from a female cat, even in small kittens.
Before carrying out the inspection you must:
- Wash your hands thoroughly using unscented products. They should be warm.
- The kitten should be petted, thereby calming it down. He must trust you.
Advice! Extend your palm, if the kitten calmly approaches and caresses, you can conduct an examination. If he behaves warily, it is better not to injure the kitten and postpone the examination.
- The baby should be placed with his stomach on the palm of his hand or a warm diaper.
To determine sex at the age of up to three months, you can use the following methods:
- Conduct a tactile inspection. To do this, you need to carefully feel with two fingers, index and middle, the place where the testicles should be. A small cat will feel small peas, no more than 5 mm in diameter.
- In order to determine the sex of a kitten, you need to look under its tail. In a small cat, the anus and genital organ are two points located parallel. And in a cat, the urinary canal looks like a slit, and it turns out to be a kind of exclamation mark. This difference can be seen in the photo.
If there is a “colon” under the tail, it is a cat, and an “exclamation mark” is a kitty.
- Sex can also be determined by the distance between the anus and the genital organ. In cats it is about 1 cm, in seals it is much larger. Upon reaching the age of three, this place will be taken by the testicles. In the photo this difference is clearly visible.
- Another sexual characteristic, how to distinguish a cat from a cat, is the presence of hair between the anus and the genitals. In cats it is quite thick in this place, but in cats it is not at all.
