Kitten opinions needed! Boy or girl?

[LadyMoondancer]

Hey guys, I need some advice!  I’ve been thinking for a while now about adding a third kitty to my home, but I don’t know whether to get a girl kitty or another boy.

I currently have two neutered male cats who are about seven years old.  They were raised together and get along wonderfully.  They are also both very attention-loving and kind of goofy.

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I’d like to hear your observations about female and male cats you’ve had!  Also, have you had any issues between the genders when your cats hit puberty?  My male cats have never sprayed and I would like to keep it that way!  The kitten I adopt will be neutered/spayed at an early age no matter what.

I’m not adopting an older cat because I know from past experience that my current cats get VERY upset about full grown cats on "their turf", but they like kittens—I once found litter of kittens abandoned in a restroom of a public park and had to keep them about a week until I could find a rescue group to take them, and my boys absolutely loved them.  They would groom them and try to get the kittens to chase them. 

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I feel kind of bad because I know it’s harder for older cats to get adopted, but I do want my new pet to be able to integrate as smoothly as possible!

[HavACrumpet452]

My experience is that males are fun loving and social and love to play, and females are less social especially with strangers and more likely to just sleep on your chest while you watch tv.

[BrightSide]

Depends what kind of kitty you're wanting.

I've never had a girl kitty, but from what friends have said they're a little more laid back.. They prefer snuggles and relaxing with you. My baby is playful even at the age of 8.. He's so silly! Boy kittens often have more energy and are more boistorous.

Then again, it also depends on the breed and the nature of the individual. Bengal cats tend to be really active.. whilst Persians tend to be more laid back and quiet.

You're better off talking to whoever your potential breeders / sellers are to find out what kinda kitties they have. They'll most likely know the natures of their cats, especially if they own the parent cats as they can often follow in their footsteps.

[Skeen]

Well, when you had the kittens with you what gender were they?  Did your boys play with all of them equally?  If so, you can probably get either gender and not worry about it.   

I had one female kitten when I found my 2 boys and she had no problem with them, and they didn't care about her being there or not either.  I've since brought 3 more females of varying ages in and the boys never care all too much once they realize I still love them and OMG NEW FRIEND but the females have been more aloof, though still fairly accepting.  So long as the new arrival submits to the rule of Flora the Iron-Pawed there are no real arguements.  I don't know what any of them would do if I brought in a boy.  My poor Slick would probably sulk for days if he thought I had a new baby boy to love instead of him, lol!

[LadyMoondancer]

The kittens were two boys and a girl (and sooo cute, I would've kept one except I was moving soon so the timing was bad).  The one playing with my tabby in the picture is a girl kitty, but my orange-cream cat played with one of the boys a lot.

I'm going to get a domestic shorthair kitten from a rescue or animal shelter so the breed is going to be "cat", ha ha! 

[hyenacub]

My cat was a calico, and thus female.  She was playful, but she also liked to cuddle.  She didn't like other animals, but then she was the only animal in the house for several years before I got any others.  She was a sweet cat and loved to be held.

My advice is to just make sure that the kitten you get will get along well with other cats.  If you get her from a shelter, they often have that info on their adopted tag...the paper that is on their cage and has info about the cat.  And you can ask the shelter, also. 

Good luck!  I hope to see pics! 

[kaoskat]

I dunno. All my cats have always just been themselves. I never thought to compare genders. And they were typically a stray mother and her kittens that we'd take in so I'm sure they interacted differently than nonrelated cats.

[Elisto]

I'd be nervous about introducing another male, even if it's young, because eventually it will be an adult cat. If you can "try out" a potential new cat and let it meet your current boys and see how they get along, that would be ideal, but it's hard to say really.

[rybett]

Girl.  We had 2 of each, 3 were teenagers, one was a 1 yo female.  She loved bugging the older cats.  I fell in love with a female 5 month old.  Now Lily and Ariel wrestle and leave the grown up kitties alone.   

[HavACrumpet452]

My mom has 3 boy cats and 1 girl. All indoor and spayed or neutered all get along fine. The newest is a 5 month old boy who actually was accepted rather quickly even though at the time he wasn't neutered yet. Usually adult cats take a few weeks to get along so I think its because he was a baby.

[RavenWolf]

As long as everyones spayed/neutered it really shouldn't matter what gender any of them are. It will mostly be up to the individual cat/kitten's temperaments. But don't get discouraged or think you have to return a kitten you like, if for some reason they don't get along right away!!! When I got my new guy as a kitten last year, my male cat was upset for a few weeks and and got over it and excepted the kitten. Neutered males seem to be good that way. lol My female cat on the other hand had a total fit about him being here!!! it took her almost SIX months to stop hissing at him... LOL they are curled up on the back of the couch together as I type. So all cats will eventually get along.

I've had a lot of cats come and go over the years. (My mom has a soft spot for cats so growing up we were always taking cats in and finding them new families to love.) Some cats are more easy going about making new friends then others.  Also don't be relying to much on the fact that they got along with your rescue kittens. Just because they where OK with those kittens does not mean there will be no problems with any new kitten. Because there is always the possibility of there being an initial problem with any new addition!!!


However as I wrote earlier given time and patients any cats (and dogs or combinations of the two for that matter) can learn to get along. Just do the intro slowly, a good thing to do is to leave a blanket or towel down in your cats favorite place to lay for a few days to a week and then take it with you when you go to pick up the new kitten, and put the blanket or towel in what ever your using to transport. that way the new kitten can get used to your cats scent and by the time you get home, some of your cats sent will rub off on the new kitten and make it so he/she doesn't smell to different to your current cats. keep the kitten in the carrier and place it on the floor so the resident cats can come up and sniff.

Hissing is OK!! what ever you do, DO NOT punish, push away or squirt the hissing cat!!!! the cat will associate the punishment with the new cat/kitten and it will make the situation worse!! most cats will come up hiss and back away. That is perfectly ok the kitten especially might be the one hissing. Make sure you have an area set aside to isolate the new kitten in if there is any signs of aggression. even if they seem to get along it would be a good idea to separate them when they can't be supervised for the first night night or two at the very least. they will continue to get to know one another from opposite sides of a door. Either way a new additional litter box set up away from the current litterbox is always a good idea!

Also the best way to get them to realize they like each other is through play. Get out the cat toys and just play with them you'd be surprised how quick they will get together to play. it is normal for one of them to suddenly realize their so close to each other and hiss and back away. thats ok ignore the hissing and keep playing. However if the hissing turns into real aggression, don't punish, just simple pick up and separate and try again latter.

I seem to be rather long winded tonight, hope some of this helps. Hopefully you won't need most of this advise, but its there if you need it. There really is no way to tell. Sometimes it takes six months and sometimes they get along like long lost friends from the start. If you have any other questions or anything just let me know

[Saoirse]

I have a female kitty but I cant give you any advice cos I dont know the advantages over each gender..though it sounds like youve gotten enough great advice already!

[Eviecorn]

As others have said, if they're neutered/spayed, it really isn't going to matter in the long run.  Good luck!

[melodys_angel]

Ive heard that males are more playful then females, though ive never owned a cat so personally cant relay that to you.

Best of luck with your future addution <3

[banditpony]

My two girl kitties are complete opposite of each other.
One, very out going, curious, playful, active, must be center of attention, likes the dog...
The other, skitterish, lazy (but likes feathers on a stick), stares at you from behind the couch-- thinking she is invisible,  hates the dog...
I rescued them at the same time, they were similar in age (about 9 months?), fixed at the shelter--- and they could care less about each other.

In fact, my step dad has two boy cats, who are much older. Again, absolutely opposite of each other in the same exact manner. One is the stupidest friendliest cat I have EVER met, and the other is very shy and takes awhile to warm up to strangers.  Occasionally my stepdad comes over with his cats to visit for a week, and it's very strange to see how they all get along (including with the dog).

My friendly girl cat, hates the friendly boy cat. My shy girl cat, loves the friendly boy cat. Friendly boy cat, hates the dog and dog is scared of friendly boy cat. Friendly girl cat and shy boy cat tolerate each other (no hissing). Shy boy cat and shy girl cat .... ? I'm not sure I ever saw them in the same room.

Oh, and when I had my older maine coone, and I brought home two adopted cats, she would tolerate / ignore them... (they were friendly to her) but over all, she got very mad at me. And it took a looong time for her to not be mad at me.

I really think it depends on the personality of the cat. And I think RavenWolf has a wooonderful post.