another clue - especially if you're too far away to see, or their little tails get in the way (they're always so busy, you know)
...
... is the coloring - and, it's not fool proof for little girlies - but if they have 3 distinct colors - you've got little girlies.
From what I've read, it's very rare to have a 3-colored male.
Usually an arrangement of black, white, and orange combo kinda lets you know you have a little girl. Boys have max of two colors - now that doesn't count for different shades of colors like black, gray, and white - the colors have to be distinct.
Now, if you have a one color cat - lots-a-luck .
If there's an exception to this, I'm sure someone will let us know.
Other information you might find interesting: Basic Genetics as Revealed by Cats
http://ib.berkeley.edu/courses/ib162/Week3a.htm
RE: Calicos
here's just one link that briefly describes why a Calico is usually female:
http://www.petplace.com/cats/why-are...ale/page1.aspxSince this website was the most irritating with pop-up ads, I've pasted some of the text here:, and you can decide if you want to go there.
Calico cats, with their orange, black and white coloration, are almost always female. So are black and orange tortoiseshells. Why?
The answer has to do with genetics. Every cat has 38 pairs of chromosomes; half of the pairs are from the mother, the other half is from the father. Within every chromosome there are thousands of different genes.
Every female cat receives one X chromosome from her mother and one X chromosome from her father, while a male receives one X chromosome from his mother and one Y chromosome from his father. Within the X chromosome is a gene for coat color.
In calicos and tortoiseshells, one X has the black gene; the other X has the orange gene. White coat color is associated with a completely separate gene.
At conception, the kitten is a one-celled organism, which divides until there are millions of cells that make up the final kitten.
