How to determine the sex of a cat in childhood and adulthood?

It would seem that what could be easier than determining the sex of an animal? But not everything is so simple. Even experienced cat owners sometimes cannot figure out how to distinguish a newborn cat from a cat.
There are also cases when, due to serious trauma to the genital organs or castration, it is not possible to determine the gender of an adult animal. In this article we will talk about how to distinguish a cat from a cat at any age, based not only on the appearance of the genitals, but also based on indirect signs of gender.

How to distinguish a male cat from a male cat at a young age?

How to distinguish newborns?

Determining the sex of a newborn baby is another task. But this is necessary to put up a photo of a cat for sale. After all, purebred kittens are often “armored” even before they are born. And the owner needs to know exactly which of them is a girl and which is a boy in order to provide information to future owners.

The easiest way to do this is when the babies are just born and are still wet. This will make it easier to see the place of interest. The examination of the baby should be carried out very carefully with clean hands and with the consent of the cat mother . Otherwise, she may begin to hide “her treasure” from prying eyes in all cabinets and corners.

We strongly do not recommend determining the sex of a newborn baby by palpation. Without the appropriate experience, without calculating the force of touch, you can cause irreparable injury to the baby.

How to distinguish a cat from a cat at a young age:

• Wash your hands thoroughly before examination. The immune system of newborn babies is still very weak.
• Palms should be warm and dry .
• Do not pick up the kitten while sleeping or eating.
• Calm the mother cat to avoid an unplanned attack on your person from the vigilant parent. If everything is fine and no one is against interference in personal space, you can continue.
• The kitten is carefully lifted with both hands and placed with its tummy on the palm . If the baby is very frightened and begins to struggle, strongly calls for his mother, and stroking does not help him calm down, or the mother cat becomes agitated and abandons the rest of the kittens, then it is better to reschedule the procedure. If everything is good, then we continue.
• Raising the tail, we study the distance between the anus and genitals . So, in the case of examining a male, this distance will be about 1 cm. In a female, the distance between the anus and the external genitalia (vulva) will be no more than 3 mm.
• When studying and comparing the shape of the holes, it also becomes clear that in cats it is oblong, and in cats it has a more rounded shape .
• The inspection should not last more than 1 minute . Babies freeze quickly and can get sick.

If it is still difficult to understand how to distinguish a kitten from a cat, then you can use a schematic image and put it on paper. The cat's anus and genitals will visually look like a colon. And the cat gets the letter “i”.

Adult animals

There are situations when it is necessary to determine the sex of an animal in adulthood. However, it is not always possible to catch the cat for a thorough examination. Difficulties in determining may also arise if the cat has been neutered.

In this case, signs that will help determine the sex of the animal will come to the rescue:

• The method of determining the distance between natural holes is also suitable for adults. Even in castrated cats, you can determine the place allocated for the testicles.
• The muzzle will tell you who is in front of you. In cats it is rounder and wider, while in females there is an elongated face. The male's nose has a wider wall. This method of determination is suitable in the case of comparison. In another situation, an inexperienced person is unlikely to notice the difference if there is only one “sample”.
• Watch your gait. Cats are elegant and graceful, they walk quietly and smoothly, as if they are “swimming.” Cats have a more “predatory” gait. A cat walking on a walk resembles a small copy of a tiger - its “shoulders” lower its paw to the ground with importance and taste.
• Cleanliness. This is not to say that cats are sloppy, but in comparison with females they still lose. The cat spends a lot of time grooming itself; it licks itself with or without reason. You can also find a cat in a disheveled state: with a rumpled ear after sleep and traces of cobwebs on its face after a walk.
• Schedule. Cats are businesslike, they constantly look around and “make inquiries” about the affairs of their household. Cats, on the contrary, explore the territory and prefer to sleep at home.

The methods presented are not extremely useful in determining the sex of an animal, but will be interesting for cat lovers and novice cat lovers.

Cat and cat

At what age can the distinction be made more reliably?

When babies reach 10 days of age, it becomes more difficult to determine the sex, since the external genitalia are still very small and the fur interferes with vision. But there is a trick here too. At this age, boys begin to rapidly grow fur on the area of ​​skin between the anus and genitals. But the cat doesn’t.

More reliable information about gender can be obtained from the age of one and a half months.

At this age, the baby can no longer be held in the palm of your hand, but transferred to a warm diaper or towel. Then, by lifting the tail if the kitten is standing, or moving it away if the baby is lying on its back, you can begin to study external sexual characteristics.

If the baby is scared and cowers, massage his tummy or stroke his back . The kitten's reflex will work, and it will either raise its tail (if standing) or move it to the side (if lying).

Inspection Precautions

You should always treat newborns with tenderness, and even more so be careful when examining them. If the baby is still connected to the mother and is in her nest, then before determining the gender of the kitten and picking it up, you need to calm it down. To do this, the baby is taken in the palm of your hand and warmed. So he quickly calms down and stops spinning.

Then perform the following procedure:

1. The baby is placed on a towel on his stomach or back.
2. Gently lift the tail and carefully examine the organs underneath it.
3. After the procedure, the cub is returned to its original place.

You should not often take your newborn away from its mother. Regular separation from the parent can lead to dangerous hypothermia of a fragile organism. You cannot hold the baby by force or put pressure on the stomach. The examination procedure should not be carried out immediately after feeding.

Another way to find out the gender of a kitten without harming it is to scratch the back area near the tail a little. Massaging the croup will cause the tail to rise instinctively. This trick will allow you to recognize the gender of the baby without removing him from the parental nest.

How to distinguish by the appearance of the genitals?

At the age of one and a half months, the genitals are already clearly visible. In cats, the distance between the anus and the vulva will still be small, but a gap going inward will become noticeable. At the same time, the fur of the intimate area is not very thick .

In cats, the testicles begin to visually develop and stand out , and the penile area becomes more convex. At the same time, the distance between the anus and the scrotum increases proportionally and is densely overgrown with hair.

How to distinguish by other characteristics?

If you still have doubts, and you cannot visually understand how to distinguish a cat from a cat at a young age , or you need 100% information to contact the buyer, then you can use the following indirect signs to determine the gender.

Please note that the behavior of an animal is not a sign of gender . Animals, like people, have innate character traits that manifest themselves at a young age. Cats can be the most affectionate and not at all conflict with other kids. And cats can behave like real pirates, rob and take away food sources from their brothers.

The size of a newborn kitten and a kitten in the first weeks of life are also not reliable indicators of gender.

So, how to distinguish a kitten from a cat by indirect signs:

1. DNA test. An expensive pleasure, but it pays for itself when selling purebred animals. In addition to gender, they will determine predisposition to genetic diseases. Conducted in a veterinary clinic. For analysis, a scraping is taken from the inside of the cheek.

2. Coat color. By the color of the baby's coat, you can determine the gender with a high degree of probability.

• Tortoiseshell color (black and red) or tri-color (a combination of white, red and black) is typical only for girls with rare exceptions. If a male kitten is not susceptible to certain genetic diseases, then it cannot have a tricolor color. This is due to the fact that the presence of these colors depends on the X chromosome. And in order to get such a cocktail, there must be two X chromosomes, which is impossible for a healthy male.
• If your pet is red , there is a greater chance that it is a cat.

The tricolor color is characteristic of cats and is extremely rare in males
3. Thick fur in the area of ​​the external genitalia. Males have more hair in the space between the anus and prepuce than females.

4. Shape of the muzzle. Cats have smooth and soft features on their faces. Seals have an angular muzzle shape, the bridge of the nose and cheekbones are wider.

5. Width of chest and paws. In cats they are larger and thicker.

Why do you need to know the sex of a newborn kitten?

Not only the appearance of the pet, but also its character depends on its gender. Before getting a mustache, it is better to decide in advance whether you need a boy or a girl. Each of them is associated with certain accommodation features. For example, uncastrated males mark their territory by spreading an unpleasant odor everywhere. Females periodically go into heat, accompanied by changes in behavior.

It is all the more important to accurately determine whether the baby belongs to one breed or another. This is necessary to register the elite representative with the appropriate organization before sale. In some breeds, males are more expensive than females. For example, you will have to pay more for a Maine Coon cat than for a female cat.

How to distinguish by other characteristics?

When it is not possible to “look under the tail,” you have to rely on behavioral and other visual (non-sexual) signs.

How to distinguish an adult cat from a cat in this case?

• Muzzle shape and body length. A cat's head is smaller than a cat's. She looks cuter and more graceful, with a slightly longer body structure. Proportionally, the cat has a larger head and a slightly shorter and more muscular body.
• Paws. Cats have longer and thinner paws, like the stem of a champagne flute. Cats have powerful and strong paws with well-developed muscles.
• By voice. Males have a lower voice timbre. Cats meow at a higher pitch. This sign is not always indicative, since sometimes males have a voice as high as that of females.
• If the animal allows itself to be stroked, you can try to feel the nipples . Unsterilized cats who have given birth at least once will have larger and more noticeable nipples. This sign is also not always reliable. Sometimes it happens that one or two nipples are missing or there are more of them than necessary; if the mammary glands are affected by any pathological process (tumors, mastitis), the animal may not allow itself to be touched due to pain.
• A way to leave marks. It is more common for cats to rub their body against various objects located in its territory. Cats prefer to leave marks by producing a special, strong-smelling secretion.
• Gait. In cats, it has a special grace. Cats don’t think much about beauty, so they feel quite wonderful, climbing from one place to another, stretching out. A dubious sign, but in general most cats are more graceful than cats. Again, if the animal is overweight, it will look like a zucchini with legs, there is no time for grace.

Non-standard folk methods

Folk omens are not as reliable as medical advances, but they also work. They can be used to test your own intelligence or the frequency of coincidence of observations with real facts.

In the face

It is enough to look at the baby's head to determine its gender. Girls have a thinner, more graceful, elongated muzzle. In males, the head will look more massive. However, you should not trust this method unconditionally.

By voice

It is believed that boys are “chatty” and love to squeak and meow for no reason. In both humans and cats, boys will have a low and rough voice, and girls will have a high and thin voice.

By weight

There are two ways to determine the sex of a kitten by weight: either by weighing the baby daily, or by comparing it with other kittens in the litter. Boys grow faster and gain more weight. They also eat more than girls.