How To Determine The Sex Of a Kitten
Now that you are about to pick out a kitten from the shelter you will surely want to know what sex it is. I have seen many tiny kittens with names such as Tommy or Rex or Brutus who actually were female! You should see the look on the faces of the kitty’s owners when I have to tell them the truth. Misty, Sheba and Twinkle were actually male kitties, too, and most of the time as soon as the owners found out the true sex of their pal, they changed it’s name immediately!
It can be difficult to determine the sex of cats especially if there is no other kitten with which to compare the anatomy. In most litters there will be both male and female kittens and sex determination is easy. Take a look at the photos below and it will make determining the sex of a kitten much easier. Then choosing a name will be easier, too!
Visit your local animal shelter to see kittens and older cats that need good homes. And shelters always can use volunteer help, too!
Male or Female Kitten?
Brutus, Twinkle Toes and Rex… or is it Twinkle Toes, Rex and Mindy? Or Max, Bob and Big Mike?
In female kittens, the urinary orifice and anus are close together
In male kittens the urinary orifice and anus are not close together and an undeveloped scrotum may be visible.
If you have both sexes available, contrasting the two can be helpful. The space between the anus and urinary tract opening in the male is greater than the distance in the female.
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See an article about Raising Orphaned Kittens.
See an cat spay and neuter surgery.
See an article about vaccinations.
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Click on the link at the beginning of this article…
ThePetCenter.com
“The Internet Animal Hospital”
DayGirl
Thank you sooooo much foryour info and pics! I really appreciate the time you took and the pics to help me see and know what I am looking for I greatly appreciate it!!!
HART (1-800-HART)
I’m glad the post was useful for you DayGirl!
Wyn Mathias
OK, i am confused, our male cat (about 3 years old) is displaying all symptoms of trying to mate with one of his siblings (who were cleverly left on our doorstep by the mother from the farm up the road!). I think they are about 9 months old now, give or take a month. Anyway, using your pics i determined that two kittens were male (displaying furry pouch between anus and urinary opening, same as our older male, and one was female, with urinary hole closer to anus and no pouch. However, our tom is now harrassing one of the so-called males and biting back of neck and trying to mount the kitten from behind. Would it be possible that our original tom is just trying his luck? I remember that dogs sometimes do this? Before you mention the vet, its very expensive here and the kittens live outdoors, with our only interaction with them being to feed them. Any advice…
gemma
thank you ever so much this was a great help and now when i let my lovely kittens go to there new homes i will be able to tell the owners the sex thank you
Erin
LOL I wish i had found this site when i first got my cat Lilly. She was tiny when we got her. Her siblings and her had been abandoned in a pillowcase on my husband’s collegue’s front step. Anyway when he brought my cat home, she was tiny. She is a ragdoll and so she is longhaired as well. She is about 3 1/2 months old now and we have discoveres that Lilly is actually a Willy. We discovered testicles! Poor thing has been called mama and all sorts of girl type things for so long.
HART (1-800-HART)
lol! Lilly is a Willy … now THAT’s Funny!! (I mean … puur (poor) kitty)
So? are you changing the nicknames to papa and good boy type of things now? or, continue with the facade? I’ve been calling my cat “Good Dog” when he does dog-like things (like appear to be listening to me when I’m talking to him) and he seems to respond okay.
Carolyn Harris
My cat Marley responds to all sorts but she only comes to me if she feels like it. I have found that if I whistle between my teeth she cannot resist coming over to me and starts purring straight away. It’s so funny!!