Boy vs. Girl kittens?

peeps

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I started asking about this on a different thread but thought I might get more responses if I put this in the title and started a new thread. We're thinking about getting 2 sibling kitties and wonder what everyone's opinion is of girls or boys. One lady at work has 2 brother cats and they are great. Another lady at work just told me that she's had male's in the past and she wouldn't get a male again because she had problems with them spraying. Help me out with your experiences or thoughts. Thanks!
 

meowsersmom

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I have 2 neutered boys and they get along fine. I've read on the site that females are more territorial and you shouldn't have more than one, but I don't have any experience with girls. I've only had boys and they've all been fine together. (Never had any spraying problems)
 

solaritybengals

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If you have neutered boys it shouldn't be a problem. I had an only cat (male) for about 8 years and he sprayed only when he was outside. I think how they act with other cats depends on how you raise them. If you get 2 right away they will bond I'm sure.

I have 3 girls right now. Two are kittens only a couple weeks apart (7 months) and they are very bonded with each other, always grooming the other. Our 2 year old has been slow to the uptake of the newcommers. She despises one but has come to like the other. I think given time she will find having a play-buddy is great and has already started playing with one of the kittens.

As long as you get them fixed I don't really think it will matter a whole lot as far as temperment goes. Every cat is different with a unique personality and its hard to base it on gender. Now if they were unaltered that would be entirely different.
 

rosehawke

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Were the lady's boys neutered? I suspect not, or neutered very late. GENERALLY speaking, two males will get along best, after that is a male and a female, then finally 2 females. When I was younger the female I had at the time had a couple of litters before she was spayed and we kept one of the female kittens. Now obviously this is her "daughter" so she'd always been around her and you would think things would be okay, but when Miss Piggy got older Shado got to where she couldn't stand the sight of her for some reason, and Piggy didn't care much for Shado either. Fortunately we were way out in the country and these were indoor/outdoor cats (common for the time) so it wasn't a huge issue that they should get along. All our males (all neutered) however, have always gotten along with everybody. Of course your mileage may vary, there's always exceptions to every "rule."
 

loveysmummy

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I agree. My two boys came to me at different times at different ages (as adults) and one wasn't even neutered for a week into living with me and they both get along fabulously...
Within days of living together, they were grooming each other, playing with each other, eating beside each other and cuddling up together..
They have their odd squabble but a quick "Boys!!" gets their attention and stops them in their tracks
 
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peeps

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How early can you get them neutered or spayed? We definately would do that.
 

crittermom

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We've had males outside, in the past, and they have always ran around,sprayed and fought even when neutered.
My Sister who had Himalians (sp?) said that her male always marked.They were a breeding pair, so that may be why.I don't know.But, because of her experience,we've chosen to not to have any males.
We are thinking about getting Blaze a kitty friend, but after reading here about females tending not to get along, we may be re-thinking that.
(She was spayed Monday, so we thought in about a month of getting another female
)
 

crittermom

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Forgot to add, you would have to call around and ask Vet's how early or at what age they will spay/neuter.Ours will do them as young as 8 weeks old.
We didn't know how old Blaze was, as we found her,but according to the Vet when she was spayed Monday....she is around 6 months old.
 

mikeanderson

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I've had a number of cats, both male and female, and here's what I think:

Generally speaking, male cats (even neutered) tend to have more personality than females. They seem to be a little more interesting and ideosyncratic.

By the same token, I they're more likely to exhibit behavioral problems. They may tend to get into more trouble, or require more attention. Females, by comparison, tend to be more laid back and less apt to be trouble-makers.

Again, that's a generalization - there are always exceptions on both sides, and I'm sure many people here will have counterexamples. Also, it's possible I haven't had a large enough sample size to make a valid generalization, so you may want to take it with a grain of salt.

If you're looking at siblings, perhaps you can get one of each? We presently have one male and one female (both fixed), and that seems to work well.

For what it's worth, the ancient Egyptians thought male cats were basically a different animal altogether than females.
 

carolpetunia

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In another thread, I said that my personal experience had been that (assuming everyone is spayed/neutered) a boy and a girl get along best, and two boys do fine after a settling-in period, but two girls can be trouble...and I was quickly corrected by several people who said gender has nothing to do with it! So as Mike said, take it all with a grain of salt.

From my work at the shelter, though, I think I can safely say that siblings are most likely to get along well, so I concur with that suggestion! Also, I think there's a lot of difference in the dynamics of a group of several cats compared to just two or three...gender no doubt plays less of a role in large groups.
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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I've only ever had female cats, singly and more than one, and they are pretty territorial hehe. I've also discovered that all the male cats I know are hopelessly affectionate and big softies!! But I don't think it matters either way - cats are all so different you never know what you're going to get!
 

touro1979

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IMO 2 males; boy and girl works well but stay away from girl-girl. I have 2 boys and they love each other very much/always together.
 

dazeemazeegraze

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My 3 females from different litters get along wonderfully! My sister in law got a brother/sister, had problems when they became a year old.

From my experience, it really depends on the cat's personality not gender or if they are related. I think having one of each is nice.
 

girlieq

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I haven't noticed a correlation between temprement and gender with the four cats (two of each gender) who have owned me. Right now, I have a girl and a boy, and they get along fabulously.
 

xocats

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Dexter & Sadie are litter mates. I waited until they were 6 months old before I had them spayed & neutered so they would retain some of their gender's characteristics. Although sometimes they have rather aggressive play fights...they are a perfect balance together.
 

semiferal

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Either is fine, especially if they are siblings and grew up together. If you go to the foster caregiver's house s/he can tell you which siblings are really bonded. My experience is that given the choice they'll bond in boy-girl or boy-boy pairs more often than in girl-girl pairs, but I have also seen very bonded female pairs. So it depends on the particular kittens. You can make generalizations that are mostly true but there are so many individual differences.

Male cats who are not neutered will spray, almost inevitably. But it is rare for a neutered male to spray. Even if a male cat has already started to spray, he will usually stop within a month or so of being neutered. In general, unsterilized cats have much more stressful social relationships. Not to mention that obviously an unspayed female and an unneutered male will produce kittens, which isn't good for anyone!
 

semiferal

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Originally Posted by peeps

How early can you get them neutered or spayed? We definately would do that.
Technically as early as 8 weeks, though some vets are not used to doing this and prefer to wait.

Definitely they should be done no later than their 6 month birthday. For females I find they recover from surgery much faster if they are spayed before their 5 month birthdays. This matters less for males because their surgery is less invasive.
 
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