Do I get a BOY or GIRL kitten?
by Susan
(Newcastle, Australia)
I have a 9 year old desexed male and I want to get a new kitten but I’m worried my cat won’t get on with the kitten.
Will a girl kitten be better then a male? And I want to keep it indoors I have a lot of troubles keeping in my boy inside, do girl cats stay inside more and are not as curious?
Thank-you Susan
Hi Susan…. thanks for visiting. I think this is a good question and one that is not often asked on this site.
I’ll have to fall back on my personal thoughts and experiences.
Going back to basics, in the wild, wildcat behavior gives us the clue as to the differences between the sexes and this squares up with personal experience.
Male wildcats have larger home ranges (territory) than females and females tend to stay nearer their mother’s range.
Males tend to defend territory more aggressively I think it fair to say.
This difference is sex is modified by natural differences in character between individuals.
But overall I think that on average a female is more likely to fit in and less likely to want to go out etc. than a male, particularly an unneutered male.
But each cat has its own character so you should try and find a cat that is more retiring in character.
That said nearly all cats adopt to living with each other in time. The character and sex of the cat just dictates how long it takes to settle in, I think.
Your male cat might see a new cat as an intruder into his territory and resist. I guess it is that you are concerned about. A gradual introduction and time will almost certainly overcome that. And I would tend to lean towards adopting a female cat who is well socialised meaning used to being around people and other animals including cats. It may be clear to you if the new cat has lived in a home where there are other animals and has integrated well due to being socialised to that environment.
Elisa who contributes to this website and who rescues cats – she as 15 or more cats in her home at any one time – finds little problem with newcomers integrating with the existing cats.
I think the atmosphere and general ambiance of the place is a factor too. I’ll ask her to comment.
Best
Michael