Male verses female

I've never known that to be true.  Not all males mark but if you are going to get a kitten, you should make plans to have them fixed.  Rescues do that prior and a lot of breeders do, as well.  So it doesn't really matter.  And if you just get one from someone with an ad in the paper or whatever, you need to have it fixed around 5 months old.  That is when females can reach sexual maturity.  Males are usually later, but not always.  So it is best to nip it in the bud before it even starts.  Sometimes, once they start spraying, even if you do have them neutered, they may not stop. 

 

Most people I know of prefer males because they think they are sweeter and more affectionate.  I have never known this to be true.  My females are just as affectionate as my boy or any other male cats I have had in my lifetime.  I think it has more to do with nurture and your bond really.  I am not partial to either sex... What matters to me is the connection, personality and bond. 

 

But, I do not like when people claim one sex is better than the other.  I feel it makes others prejudiced. 

I have five females and three males - not by choice - all my cats chose me, so they are a randome sample. I would not say that males or females are more affectionate - it definitely depends on the cat and most particularly on its early experiences with other cats and with humans. And both males and females can mark, though unneutered males are the likeliest to do so.

I have three female domestics and one male F3 Savannah. I have also had male domestic cats in the past. I have worked with hundreds of domestic cats, in shelters, across the United States. I have found male cats to be more "steady in temperament". What I mean by that is this, if the male cat was sweet and loving as an adult, he stayed that way. I have found female cats to be more "temperamental" Meaning, they can be very nice one minute and not want to bothered or aggressive the next. Please note, the experiences listed above, come from castrated cats.

 

The only cat I have that sprays, is my almost seven year old, DSH, Shadow. She sprays everything OUTSIDE! She has done this since she was six months old. Thankfully, she does not spray indoors. None, of the male cats, I had ever sprayed. Neither does my Savannah!

If you get a female to save money for the spay surgery, then you aren't really saving money at all. There are health risks with unspayed females that can be expensive over time, not to mention the cost of raising a litter if they by chance get pregnant. That would be a silly reason for adopting a female cat.

I chose males over females. While male cats can mark their territories, IMO, it is easier to correct that behavior than to change a female cats behavior who is in a full out territory war. The worst peeing offenders in my household have always been females. They've been the ones that will guard a litter box and attack other cats that try to use it. And it seems that males tend to build strong bonds with each other, while females tend to ignore each other. I have 2 females and 5 males right now. The 2 females have very little interaction with the other cats in the house, while I find the males piled on top of each other all the time. The females may play with the boys from time to time, but never participate in snuggling or mutual grooming with the others. Not that I don't love all of them, but I feel that their environment is more enriched when they actively engage each other.

I know I'm speaking from personal experience, and others have experienced very different things. Males just seem to work better in my household.

Female cats spray too.  It isn't as stinky as the males and maybe not as much but when in heat, yes they will spray... Even worse, and intact female will "call" (a sort of yowling sound.  Very creepy and extremely annoying.)  Any tom within range will be at your doorstep and spraying all over the place!!  So it is best, any kitten, no matter the sex to just have them fixed.  The spraying is a mess and very hard to clean AND it doesn't always stop if they have started spraying prior to surgery. 

 

I have noticed that my females do not spray at all.  The only incident I had was with my Paige.  And that was because of stress.  But it was quickly resolved.  I had mine fixed at the age of 5 or 6 months, all of them.  I have noticed, however, that King Arthurs father (allowed to roam at night, much to my dismay)  will mark my house as part of his territory.  It ticks me off.  But that is just a male being a male. 

 

I have found males (intact) to be much more territorial than females.  But then again, I have always had spayed females in my life.  The only intact one I have really ever had is Genevieve, King Arthurs mom, and she was only intact until her babies were weened.  She was however very hormonal for awhile, just like a human female.  So I do think it takes a female a little longer to get rid of the excess hormones after surgery.  So spaying and neutering for any sex is the way to go. 

 

Plus, the many health benefits for both sexes.  It's just all around better for them and better for you.

I know a lot of people will get male dogs to avoid "having to" neuter them. But I don't think that has anything to do with what gender of cat they want, because an unfixed cat of either gender will whiz all over to attract the opposite gender. I just think people believe that male cats spray and that's that.

But I only have one male that sprays (he was a full tom before being neutered) and about 4 females that spray (all spayed young). So don't try to tell me that only males do it!
Edited by Willowy - 1/15/12 at 12:24pm

I personally have always preferred male cats, but when I was younger we had both males and females. So although I say I "prefer" males cats, I would have no problems adopting a female cat 

I had thought that most of the people who got females - and knew they would be "fixing" the cat got it because there is something psychological about the idea of getting a male fixed (any cat or dog I've had has always been fixed by 5 months if female and my dad would always want the males to wait longer).

 

I know that with cats, either can spray. I had a female and male at one point, she was definitely the alpha of the two and would mark everything and anything - not always spraying (she was fairly good about NOT doing that in the house) but scent marking also.

 

I think people expect males to be more standoffish.. but i've found that to not be true, and often is the opposite.

 

with dogs I prefer females (cause they tend to be more territorial) but with cats, I prefer the one that I make connections with.

Where did you get that statistic? When i was looking to adopt a cat, I searched online and the overwhelming majority of people recommended getting a male over a female, just because males get along better in groups and most people end up getting a playmate for their first cat.

 

Also, all of my friends who have adopted cats since I've known them (about half a dozen or so) have adpted male kittens. Most of them said they checked out full litters at the shelter and the male kittens were much more affectionate, and basically showed more potential to be lap cats.

Personally, I prefer males. I had made up my mind that I wanted two male kittens when I moved into this place and could finally have pets of my own.

Of course, The Great Cat Planner in the Sky had other ideas, and decided I needed a sweet adult cat to train Boots how to be nonferal. But they're still both males. Although, if I hadn't known I was going to get Kramer, I would have taken Boots' sister as well as him, even though she was a girl, as they were the only two left in the litter, and I wanted littermates to start with.

So, if nothing else interferes when I get a cat, my choice is probably going to be male. But say I go to the shelter and there's a female that really clicks with me? I'm getting her.

This issue fascinates me. I've always preferred males too though I'm not sure why when I look back on it.  I knew I wanted boys when I was planning to adopt (this time last year), but that's only because I wanted to use the names Simon & Garfunkel, haha. 

 

As far as affection goes, the stereotype of affectionate males v aloof females isn't true in our house.  Joni is by far the sweetest and cuddliest of all my kittens.  She's also the cattiest (ha) and the quickest to get upset if you move your hands a certain way while petting her, etc.  Joni will have these surges of sweetness where she'd walk on hot coals if it meant being close to me - she'll cuddle up by my heart and lick my face, and if I try to move her she hangs on for dear life.  Simon & Funk don't really like to be held anymore and they don't have those intense sweet moments (though we have plenty of cuddling & petting!) but they are also veeeerrryyyy mellow... cool dude... far out... hard to faze them at all. 

 

I'd agree, then, that it's dependent on your cat's personality and background.  The boys have always had each other from the minute they were born and that gives them an independence (from me) and confidence, but Joni's the odd girl out and also didn't have the ideal kittenhood the way the boys did, so she's a little more dependent on me for love & assurance.

Monet is for sure not a cuddly cat, and he's a male. Cassie is.

 

I'd say it really depends on the cat and its personality.. gender really doesn't play a role much at all.

I've had 4 male cats, and 2 female cats.  Hands down the male cats were more affectionate. 

 

Especially Jasper.  He's a lap cat in every sense of the word.  We've decided that his 2 favorite shows are "Once Upon a Time" and "Glee", he tends to search out laps during those shows

But he does spray.  A lot.  The lady who owned him previously never mentioned a spraying problem- but she HAD to have had one- he's that bad.  Feliaway has helped a lot.  And he's gotten much more used to what goes on in the house- though he still hates being left alone all day. He has been fixed- that's how he came to us.  But when was he fixed?   I don't know.

 

Our other kitty Mistoflees had a spraying problem as well.  But it wasn't nearly as bad as Jasper's. 

 

The "girls" have never sprayed.  Holly looks like she's spraying- but she never has.  Both were "fixed" pretty early.  Sneaky at 5 months, Holly at 16 weeks.

 

Holly may not be a lap cat.  But she sure is a lot of fun.  She plays the most out of all of them, and will look for you to play with her (she likes the "dot" game- laserpointer on the floor).

I think it's more personality as well.  And how they're raised.

Cheryl 

I have always preferred males, although I have owned both. At present, I have three boys :)

I believe that males tend to be more affectionate and laid back. Of course, this isn't the rule but females of any

kind, do tend to have their bitchy moments :). Like being affectionate on their terms or changing their minds mid

scratch.

It does depend on the nature of the cat. I 've seen nasty males and super affectionate females.

I think some people lean towards females but it's usually uneducated people who think they will avoid the "spraying".

I'll take a boy over a girl any day though.

As of about a month ago, I have a male and a female. I've never owned cats before these two. I ended up with a girl first because I wanted a black kitten, and Holland was the only one at the shelter when I went. Of course, it didn't hurt that that she had a horrible kittenhood and needed someone to give her a home. Daymon is extremely laid back and affectionate. They estimate his age at 4 years old, and it's very obvious that he's been around people a lot in his life. It still baffles me that he was brought in to the shelter as a lost and found and nobody came to get him. Good for me, I guess.

 

Holland was always very much a scaredy-cat, so I was surprised and honestly, a bit pleased, that she has asserted herself as the alpha since I brought Daymon home. Just tonight he was sleeping on the back of the couch and she went to have a good sniff at him. He would twitch and she would jump, and then she started hissing at him. I told her that it's OK for her to hiss at him when he's invading HER personal space, but that she was being a bit ridiculous by hissing at him when she was invading HIS personal space...