How do you tell the sex of a cat?

May 23, 2005 12:49 PM

How do you tell the sex of a cat? A strange cat came through the wall of my apartment this morning, and I'm wondering what gender it is.

More on how this cat came to be in my apartment. At first I thought it was a girl, but realized that I made that decision on the basis of a glance. On second inspection this cat seems to have the same makeup as my cat Cola, who is male. However, I know that male and female cats can look similar after spaying/neutering. This new strange cat is not spraying and is very affectionate. If no one claims it soon I will consider keeping it, a decision which would be made easier if I knew it to be a girl since a female cat will have a better chance of getting along with Cola.

So I know that the makeup of the bellies are different in male an female cats, for example one firmer than the other, anyone know any specifics? Anyone know of any images that would help me?

Of course if it is not claimed, I will take it to the vet, and they'll be able to tell me. I thought I'd ask here first.

posted by scazza to pets & animals (15 comments total)

You need to lift the cat's tail and have a look.

I couldn't find a diagram quickly. However, here is a description of the differences between male and female feline genitalia. Hopefully it will help. Good luck.
posted by onhazier at 12:58 PM on May 23, 2005

WARNING kitty PRON!:
Male cat genitals inside! Female cat genitals inside!
posted by 31d1 at 1:01 PM on May 23, 2005

Cat genital guide:

Male - :
Female - ;
posted by brownpau at 1:03 PM on May 23, 2005

2 male cats, if they are neutered, actually get together quite well. It's 2 females that will often be at odds (insert sexist comment here). Just give them a few days to get used to each other and see how they get along.

Head shape may also be an indicator of a cat's sex - males may have a more squarish head - although that probably varies between breeds.
posted by matildaben at 1:25 PM on May 23, 2005

That's a great story. Seems like a good omen. You should definitely keep the cat.
posted by crapulent at 1:28 PM on May 23, 2005

If the cat is very young, it is very hard to tell, but those photos that 31d1 linked to should help. If you aren't sure about the history of this cat, you should keep it separate from your own cat, because of both diseases and fleas. Sounds like it might be a bit late for the latter, though, so just make sure everyone is frontlined (or whatever you use). If the cat has been living in the wild, worms can also be a problem, and they are transmitted through poo, so keep the litter trays separate until the new cat has been de-wormed.

The cat may be microchipped, so call your vet and ask them if they could scan it.

Your cats reaction sounds pretty typical: any new cat is regarded as being a threat, but they'll soon come around. Just give them some space to chill and let them sniff each other under a door. That way, they'll get used to each other quicker.
posted by baggers at 1:56 PM on May 23, 2005

Yeah, definitely take it to the vet. Beyond worms, feline leukemia is a very serious concern.
posted by me3dia at 2:06 PM on May 23, 2005

Ha ha - your story reminds me of how I got my first cat. Mine didn't come through a hole in the wall tho, he came out from under a dumpster. But he looks just like yours - something about those solid black cats makes them so presumptuous!

Anyway, I've brought many other cats into my house since the first one and everytime it's always the same - a week of hissing, then every quiets down but keeps their distance, until finally they're all curled together on the couch - usually in my spot.
posted by Dallasfilm at 2:07 PM on May 23, 2005

Alright well, the cat's owner has claimed him. Thanks for your answers everyone, I now have resources to determine the gender of the next cat who crawls through my wall.

And agregoli that's really a constructive response. I assume from all the great results that you posted that you checked google yourself. I actually did check google and only found speculation, no image results for "female cat genitalia," and most everything was talking about kittens.
posted by scazza at 3:04 PM on May 23, 2005

A friend found what she thought was a lost female and started to clean her up. She started to clip away at a couple of matted areas at the rear until he justifiably protested.
posted by yclipse at 4:20 PM on May 23, 2005

A strange cat came through the wall of my apartment this morning...

:-)
posted by Shane at 9:34 PM on May 23, 2005

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls 8-)
posted by mrbill at 10:35 PM on May 23, 2005

Right on, Mr. Bill! But seriously, only recommended after you read a lot (most) of Mr. Heinlein's other books.

Cat gender: If a strange cat is really easy to get along with, quite un-fussy, chances are its male.
posted by Goofyy at 12:00 AM on May 24, 2005

Well, honestly. There's about a million reference points out there. I'm glad people were kind enough to give you some pointers, but really. Google is your friend.
posted by agregoli at 7:16 AM on May 24, 2005

Although the question is now moot, here are a couple of tips just in case anyone digs this post up looking for an answer later...

Even after altering, males will still have a scrotal sac (albeit quite a bit smaller) -- you should be able to see this on a shorthaired cat and at least feel it on a longhair (assuming both you and the cat don't mind being that familiar with each other.) Females will have two orifices under the tail (unsurprisingly, the upper one rounded, and the lower one more of a vertical slit.)

As far as behavior goes, from a lot of years with a lot of cats (I used to show cats awhile back), my experience is that in general, when you neuter a male (particularly if you do it before raging spraying adult tomcathood), he gets over most all of the territorial crap, while spayed females seldom get over anything.

The net result is that usually multiple males will get along fine, and one or more males and a female will get along fine (she'll inform them that she's in charge, and they'll ignore her). If you have more than one female, there will be a pecking order.

Obviously there is a lot of individual variation in this, but it's a pretty good general rule of thumb....
posted by nonliteral at 8:32 AM on May 24, 2005