How to Tell If a Cat Is Male or Female?

It’s always an exciting time when your cat has kittens. After all, their small and cute faces leave everyone cooing. And kittens are so much fun as they have a very playful nature. You will have a fantastic time with them before it’s time to find them a new home.

However, a lot of people get the gender wrong when it comes to the kitten, and then you might find that cute little Daisy is actually a David; you might have an upset buyer if they were expecting a certain sex. The truth is a lot of people don’t know how to tell if a cat is male or female.

After all, it’s not always just as simple as checking them. If they are tiny it can be difficult to see what the sex is. But there are some ways you can get a good identification of the gender. Therefore, here are some tips to help you tell if a cat is male or female from now on.

One of the first things you will do when the kitten arrives is to find out the gender. After all, you will want to know whether the new kitten is a girl or boy. For one thing, you can then give them a new name once you know the gender. And also, you won’t want to advertise them without informing them of the sex.

Wait Until After 8 Weeks

One of the first tips we can give you when it comes to sexting your kitten is to wait until the young kitten is a bit older. After all, when they are only a month old, it will still be developing so you are likely to get the gender wrong when you examine the kitten.

Cat’s lifespan if fair and not that short, waiting a few months to know the gender won’t take that long to wait.

Also, when they are tiny, they need to be with their mother and other siblings. After all, if you remove a newborn from its mom for very long, there is a possibility the mother will reject it when it returns. And then the small kitten will not survive for very long on its own. Therefore, have a quick look when it’s born and you can take a guess at the sex. But then check the kitten when it’s over 8 weeks to get a definite answer on the gender of the little feline.

Just for a quick guide, below is a short video about how to determine the gender of your kitten:

Put the Kitten in a Good Mood

If you are planning to examine the kitten to find out its gender, you have got to make sure that the feline is in a good mood first.

After all, you are going to end up with a handful of scratches if you do try and hold the kitten and do it straight away. It’s not going to go down well if they are in a playful or sleepy mood.

Just don’t get confident about waiting to examine at nightfall as some cats are nocturnal and have more energy at night compared to when you examine them in the morning.

Therefore, pick up the kitten and pet it gently first. You should move your stroking to the far end near the base of the tail. Cats love being stroked in this area as they can’t reach it themselves. In fact, their response is often to lift their tail which will be helpful for the examination to check the cat’s gender. Remember to get the person who is the closest to the kitten to check them. After all, they are more likely to play ball if they feel comfortable and see the person regularly.

Check Out the Cat’s Anal Area

Hopefully, your kitten will have lifted its tail now and is in a relaxed mood. This is the best chance now to have a look at the anal area. You should find this behind the tail. Once you can spot the anus, you need to look for the genitals. These are found below the anus. Now, you will notice there is a distance between the anus and this area. This can help you tell whether your cat is a female or male. If it’s a female, the genital area of the cat will be right next to the anus with not much of a gap.

Also, the vulva on the female cat will look like a line. Meanwhile, when it comes to a male cat, there tends to be around an inch gap between the anus and the genital opening. You will also see the shape of a circle which is likely to be the penis. Depending on the age of the kitten, you might also spot the testicles which will also be around the genital opening. But if they are young, they might be too tiny to spot for now.

Look at the Coat Color

A lot of people don’t know that you can actually check the coat color of the cat to see what the gender is. Therefore, it can save you the stress of having to check its genitals if you can just look at the coat color. Of course, it’s not always definite, but it can give you an inkling what the sex is of your new kitten.

What you need to know is that if the kitten is a calico color it is a female kitten. You might not know what calico is, but you can easily see this if the cat is a black, white and orange color. Also, if the kitten is a tortoiseshell color, there is also a high chance that the new kitten is a female. Meanwhile, if your cat has given birth to an orange kitten, you have a high chance of guessing this is a male cat. After all, ginger tom cats are quite known to be males.

And if it’s an older cat (perhaps you have acquired a stray), it can be a lot easier to check the gender. After all, you will find that their genitals will be a lot more developed. But if you really can’t be sure, it’s best to get the feline checked over by the vet. They will be able to check the sex, as well as do some other vital checks so that you can know if you have a cute girl or handsome boy cat.