How Do I Tell Whether Kittens Are Boys Or Girls
This is one of those tasks that sounds like it should be really easy but actually it can be surprisingly hard! Until they begin puberty , male and female kittens are incredibly similar.
There are several different approaches that different people use to determine sex, and some are more reliable than others, so well have a look at all the common ways to distinguish the boys from the girls.
Coat colour
This can sometimes give you a good indication but its not always reliable!
Tortoiseshell cats are almost always female the cat needs two X chromosomes to be a tortie or a calico . However, some chromosomal abnormalities and a condition called chimaerism can result in male torties, so dont rely on it!
Ginger tabbies are usually male but again, not always.
All the other common colours can be male or female.
Facial features
When adult, tomcats tend to have a leaner, more muscular build, a broader face and a heavier skull.
However, these features are all driven by testosterone and are not present in kittens before puberty just as you wouldnt expect a young boy to have broad shoulders and a beard!
The facial features of male and female kittens are sufficiently similar that it isnt possible to use them to tell the sexes apart.
Sex-linked behaviours
Some books suggest that urine spraying is an indicator that the kitten is a male however, although spraying is more common in adult tomcats, all cats will spray if theyre stressed, so this really isnt terribly useful.
Signs A Cat Is Pregnant & What To Know
Is my cat pregnant? Its a question concerned cat owners ask a surprising amount. When you havent gotten your cat spayed and shes gone unsupervised for a time, chances are that your cat might be pregnant. But how does one know for sure? This is how to tell if a cat is pregnant. There are several key symptoms and features to look for during the short gestation period.
The Differences Between Male And Female Cats
Over the many years Ive spent working at various adoption events, I occasionally heard people voice preferences for adopting one sex over another. I never thought too deeply about gender-specific behavior differences among cats until a recent experience with a client. So, what are the differences between male and female cats? Lets take a closer look.
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What Does A Cat Flea Pupa Look Like
Flea pupa are more difficult to see or rather more difficult to recognize than other stages of the flea life cycle. The flea cocoon is sticky and dust and dirt will stick to it. It is about 3-4 mm across. The pupating flea looks just like a piece of dust. If you can see eggs or flea larvae then most likely you can also see flea pupae. You just don’t know that’s what you are seeing because its appearance is just like the debris around it.
Although you will not see pupae easily you will see flea dirt. What does flea dirt look like?
The Male Reproductive System
The male reproductive system has unique features that affect multiple aspects of the cats physiology, behavior, and more.
The primary sex organ in male cats is the testis or testicle. The testes produce sperm and the male sex hormone, testosterone. Testosterone is required for maturation of the male reproductive organs and for sexual behavior.
The testes are housed within the scrotum. The internal body temperature is too high to allow for sperm to mature the scrotum allows the testes to remain outside the body, at a cooler temperature that is conducive to sperm production.
Sperm travels from the testicle to the epididymis. Sperm mature in the epididymis and are stored there until ejaculation. They sperm are then combined with the fluid portion of semen, which is created by the prostate gland, and travel through the ductus deferens to the urethra for ejaculation.
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Male & Female Cats In Heat What You Need To Know
The term in heat means when a cat is ready to mate, which can be a daunting thought for any pet owner. If youre wondering what to do when your cat is in heat, call Best Friends Vets on 01202 485880 to book an appointment with a nurse. Talk to our team about your cats cycle and discuss neutering.
Our vet Stefan recommends neutering your kitten at four to five months of age to prevent unwanted pregnancies . If your cat is allowed outside at this age without being neutered, theres a good chance that he/she will mate, and kittens will be on their way. When it comes to cats in heat, here is everything you need to know.
How often cats are in heat and at what age
Female cats reach sexual maturity and can breed from about 4 months old. They will then come into heat every year around February to October. Female cats have many short periods roughly 2-3 weeks apart. They do not ovulate until they are mated, so this period of heat cycles can be lengthy. Older queens can still have cycles, albeit fewer, until they are spayed. Longer days can trigger reproductive activity, leading to many kittens being born in March, April, and May.
A male cats critical heat season is usually September to March. However, a tom that has reached full maturity can mate with a female cat whenever she allows it.
How to tell if your cat is in heat symptoms & behaviour:
How to care for a female cat in heat
Benefits of neutering
Home Girl Vs Gentleman Adventurer
Myth: Male cats wander far and wide but female cats will always stay close to home.
Reality: This really comes down to whether or not your cats been neutered. Both male and female cats will roam away from home looking for a mate. Sometimes they forget their way home and get lost for a few days. If you get your boy neutered, he wont get this urge to roam and will be as much of a homebody as any of the girls.
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How To See The Penis Of A Cat
Its tough to tell the sex of a cat because its difficult to see his sexual organ. As mentioned above, dogs always come with ease of determining their sex as we just need to look at them from the side. A male dog comes with a penis coming down under his belly, and a female one has a urethra just below her rectum.
Things will be very different in cats. To see the cat penis, you need to find an area where the urethra exits under his tail and then look for a little tuft of hair in which there is a tiny dot. And you know, cats conceal their penis very well, so the last thing you need to do is to take time.
How To Know If Your Cat Is Pregnant For Certain
Your trusted, local vet will be able to tell you for certain if your cat is pregnant by using one of these strategies:
- Palpation: An experienced veterinarian can gently press on the cats abdomen and feel the cats fetuses as early as the 20th day of pregnancy.
- X-Rays: X-rays will only show skeletons of kittens about 40 days into the pregnancy. Its the best way to show the number of kittens.
- Ultrasound: Ultrasounds can find kittens as early as 21 days of the pregnancy, but it can sometimes be difficult to count the number of kittens.
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Mummy’s Boy Vs Ice Queens
Myth: Male cats are more affectionate towards humans and bond really well with their owners. Female cats are aloof and, because of their mothering instincts, prefer other cats to humans.
Reality: This usually comes down to your cats individual personality. Some are very independent while others are happiest with their humans.
Most cats, male and female, prefer to live alone with just their owners for company. Just like wild cats, our feline friends tend to be loners.
Their upbringing plays a massive part in how affectionate they are towards you. If theyve been socialised since they were a young kitten, theyre more likely to happy and confident with you. Cats that havent been handled from a young age can be a bit more cautious around their human housemates.
Senior Cats And Private Parts
Less active cats, including seniors, may be more susceptible to weight gain and obesity, which can lead to a medical condition of the female genitalia called vulvar fold pyoderma. Obese female cats will often develop a deep fold of skin along the sides of the vulva, Dr. Plotnick says. The cats obesity often prevents proper grooming of that area, and bacteria accumulate in the skin fold, leading to a bacterial skin infection .
Dont worry: Keeping the skin around the vulva clean can help prevent pyoderma. Helping your cat lose weight can help prevent the condition, too. Ideally, the cat should be put on a diet, so the skin fold gets smaller, and the cat can groom better, Dr. Plotnick explains. In the meantime, your vet can prescribe an antibiotic to treat the infection.
Be concerned: In rare situations , surgical removal of the excess skin is required to resolve the problem, Dr. Plotnick says. Again, helping your cat stay at her healthiest weight will help prevent the situation.
So while your cats shameless grooming displays may be embarrassing in front of your guests, theyre usually nothing to cause alarm. If your cat changes his behavior, see your vet as soon as possible. In the meantime, have a good laugh with your entertaining and uninhibited cat.
Editors note: Have you seen the new Catster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting area of your vets office? and get the bimonthly magazine delivered to your home.
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Are Male Cats Better Than Female
Every cat owner has their own distinct preference. Males have a reputation for being more friendly than females, which is appealing to many people, but they also may be more likely to urine mark within the home. Like humans, though, cats are individuals. While people may attempt to generalize about the differences between them, there are always exceptions to those stereotypes.
What Does It Smell Like When A Cat Sprays
Have you ever come home to a foul smell in your house? Maybe you thought it was the trash, or your cat doing some smelly business. But what do you do when the smell doesnt go away? Could it be someone leaving surprises in your home?
If you think your cat has been leaving an unpleasant smell in your house, then itâs time to investigate. Without knowing for sure itâs your cat making the smell, the last thing you want to do is punish your feline friend.
But what does it smell like when a cat sprays?
Well, as you probably know, itâs relatively hard to describe a smell that you havenât smelled before. Nevertheless, weâre still going to give it our best shot at describing the unique and recognizable smell.
However, before we dive into what cat spray smells like, letâs first start by examining what it looks like. Not only will this give you an idea of what to look out for, but examining cat spray it can also help you imagine the smell.
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Cat Mammary Cancer Symptoms
Unspayed, middle-aged female cats are most at risk. Spaying a female before the age of 6 months reduces this risk by 86%.
Feline mammary cancer is identifiable by a lump or cyst on or below the nipple. If you spot this, attempt to touch it. If the cyst is hard and unmoving and your cat show signs of pain, you should take your cat to the vet. Other symptoms of mammary cancer include:
- Sores, bleeding nipples
- Lethargy and depression
- Loss of appetite
A biopsy will be taken using a long needle. This should reveal any metastatic qualities of the cyst. If inconclusive, your cat will undergo scans. The infected mammary gland will likely be surgically removed, and chemotherapy may be required.
Cats Are Prone To Rambunctious Style Of Courtship
Sun., March 20, 2005
Growing up in rural Southern Idaho, at a time when spaying and neutering of barn cats was unheard-of, this veterinarian-to-be got one of the most visible and certainly most vocal birds and the bees lessons available.
My earliest sex education was courtesy of the barn cats that were mating right under my bedroom window.
Duke was a big, black longhaired tom that lived in the shadows of our farm. His mistress that night was Punkin, the orange tabby barn cat that would sit on her haunches to drink milk arching across the barn straight from the cow.
Looking and sounding more like a brawl than a breeding, the actual mating took only a few seconds to complete. In retrospect, the courtship between Duke and Punkin was certainly more leisurely, taking place in a complex ballet of body behavior in and out of the farm buildings and haystacks and lasting a few hours.
When it comes to sex, the male cat and female cat are romantically shackled and shaped by genetic and biological patterns forged over millennia, but ever changing to todays environment.
Like many species, the males mating motor is always revving, while the female cat ovulates only during the breeding season from January or February to October or November. The queen is able to bear young as early as 7 months and is fertile until 7 to 9 years of age.
After a few questions to confirm they were in estrus, I told them this feline break dance is simply a body-language way of attracting a partner.
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How Can I Prevent My Cat From Becoming Pregnant
The best way to prevent your cat from becoming pregnant is to have her surgically sterilized before she has her first estrous cycle. Since it can be difficult to predict when this first cycle will occur, most veterinarians recommend performing an ovariohysterectomy when a cat reaches six months of age.
How To Tell The Sex Of A Male Kitten
For a male kitten, youll find a small hole near the base of the tail, but there will be a second rounded shape a bit further down than with female kittens. Because the anus and scrotum have a bit of space between them, there will be some fur between them. As a male kitten gets a bit older, their testes will grow larger and be easier to distinguish.
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Why Does My Cat Have A Beer Belly
I started to notice what I can only describe as the equivalent of a beer belly on both cats. Thats weird, I thought. Tippy, I can understand but Misha? Shes so skinny!
How could Miss Misha and her bony butt have such a flabby belly? I went to work and conducted some research.
In other words, I Googled it.
What To Do After A Cat Is Spayed
After your cat is spayed, you should make sure that your cast rests for the next couple days. You should keep it indoors, limit its movement, and use the cat collar. You should make sure to follow all of your vets instructions. There is a chance your vet gives you a cone to put on your cat after the spay. This will prevent your cat from biting or scratching at the wound.
To learn more, you can check out my article on How Long to Keep Cone on Cat After Spay? If your cat just got spayed, you should also reference this article: how long to keep cat confined after spay.
The pictures for this article were provided by petsinstitches
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Urine Marking In Cats
The most common behavior problem reported by pet parents of cats is inappropriate elimination. Its estimated that 10% of all cats will eliminate outside their litter box at some point in their lives. Quite a few of these cats have issues with some characteristic of their litter box , but approximately 30% dont have litter box problems at all. These cats are urine marking, and urine marking isnt a litter box problemits a communication problem. Urine marking is a form of indirect communication used by cats.
What Does The Cat Look Like
If a dirty, unkempt, cat appears on your doorstep, it is most likely a stray. As a stress response to being lost or abandoned a stray cat will neglect its hygiene. Feral cats are used to living without human assistance and will maintain their coats, though their coats will seem rougher than the coat of an outdoor cat with a home.
A feral male will have a coarse, spiky coat, a broad head, and a thick neck. If you see a notch in its ear, it may be a feral cat that was part of the trap, neuter, vaccinate program.
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How Can I Tell If My Cat Is A Male Or Female
With their hunters instinct, male cats happen to kill kittens quite often. Small kittens mostly resemble small animals, which the tomcats prey on. Hence, it is better to keep a female cat who has mothered kittens away from the male cat. A tomcat has a habit of urinating inside as well as outside the house to mark his territories.
Preventing Female Cats Escaping
It sounds terrible, but that is actually the reality. So that the barbs However, the cat Penises are able to continue to keep the feminine from penetrating, thus making certain mating is finished.
And, regrettably, breeding is quite debilitating for cats. This includes two reasons: except that the barbs themselves, the man cat starts the procedure by bitting at the rear of a female kittys throat.
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