I prefer the unneutered male cat appearance

Is there anyone else who prefers the unneutered male cat appearance, as I do? I’m only referring to one aspect of the appearance of unneutered male cats: the head shape. It would be interesting to know if men or women prefer the unsterilized cat head shape. I sense that women prefer it.

Mature un-neutered male cats – tomcats – develop a head shape that is broader and more masculine and they develop jowls at around the age of three. It is a facial appearance which shouts out, “I am masculine”. It is very noticeable. The neutered male cat face is relatively feminine by comparison. It is thinner and more delicate in appearance.

Unsterilised or late sterilised male cat
This intact male cat was 10 years old at the time of the photo. He has no teeth! Too much fighting I guess. He is described as handome by women. Photo: Community Cat Coalition on Facebook.

The difference is due to testosterone and other sex hormones in their bodies when they are intact. When a male is neutered as early as possible, at 6-7 months old under the current policies to avoid unwanted cats, their head and face does not widen.

How do I get my cat to use the scratching post?
My Gabriel on a scratching board. You can see the big difference. He was neutered at the usual time as per the directions of the shelter from which I adopted him. Photo: PoC.

However, if a person adopts a friendly semi-feral cat from a colony who is three or more years of age and has them neutered they’ll retain that masculine head shape. It is a thought for anyone who is with me on male domestic cat head shape.

Feral cat turned domestic
Neutered after three years old and looking like a tough man. His name is Marvin and he lives Dorothy in the US. He was feral and is a great male cat.

I like male cats who look like male cats. I am not being sexist because I also like female cats that look female. And I am of course referring to their general appearance.

Big boss cat in Japan
Big boss cat in Japan. The ultimate unsterilized domestic cat appearance. Very male. Photo by David Panevin.

Another difference in the development of early neutered male cats is that they are slightly taller because of delayed bone growth plate closure. A third difference is a possible ‘inability to extrude the penis’. Those words come from my reference book but I think they are not entirely accurate because neutered cats get boners to put it in layperson’s language. Perhaps the penis of a neutered cat is smaller than that of an unsterilized cat.

There is another appearance issue: neutered cats may be less lean that unsterilized cats because they are less active. Whole or intact cats cover more ground on the presumption that they are outdoor cats as they patrol territory and look for a mate.

Other appearance differences between neutered and unneutered male cats are (1) stud tail in intact males and (2) poor grooming as they are less committed to it. This poor appearance may be linked to the fact that unsterilized cats are nearly always homeless which automatically means that they are likely to be scruffy.

Castration of male humans makes them calmer. I wrote a page about that which you read by clicking here. I wanted to get an insight into how male cats feel after castration. We should know.

All the talk is about physical appearance but what about the mental side after castration?

For me, and this is highly personal, the negative aspect of early neutering is that is makes a male cat look less male. I don’t like it.

SOME MORE ON CAT NEUTERING:

21 thoughts on “I prefer the unneutered male cat appearance”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. I like cats, no matter what they look like. I just want them to be happy and healthy. if my female cat got out, I wouldn’t want her to get pregnant. If my male cats accidentally got out, I wouldn’t want them to impregnate the feral cat outside.

    Reply
    • Fair enough. It’s impossible to argue against spaying and neutering. I am for both obviously but it is sad for me that the male cat looks less male as a consequence. Thanks for stopping by and commenting Pat.

      Reply
  3. We were blessed with our tom when we found him as a kitten. He was about 4 months old and was abandoned by dying homeless people. As a mother to 4 boys, the topic of genital mutilation is something important to my husband and I, and we mutually decided that unless he started spraying in the house that we would not get him neutered.

    He’s only 1 but his jowls are so big, we thought he was getting fat because his collar really plumps it up but when I looked it up and found out that male cats were SUPPOSED to have the chubby cheeks, it solidified my decision to leave him the way he was made.

    I honestly can’t wait to see how he looks as he gets older, it’s sad to think about what neutering actually does for them. Leaving them essentially prepubescent for life.

    I’ve included a photo of him looking extra plump watching TV lol

    Reply
      • Even if you were mean you’re right. It’s weird as hell. Projecting some sort of uber-masculinity attractiveness standard on cats. Not even his own species.
        He said “I like male cats who look like male cats. I am not being sexist because I also like female cats that look female.” And also saying “I sense that women prefer” unneutered male cat appearances and bringing up that women called an unneutered cat “hansome” as if that means something. Actually sexist

        Reply
        • Are you sure I am being sexist? You are obviously very woke. Although I respect the woke movement and thoroughly understand the fact that there is a wide spectrum of genders in society. Society is not solely made up of male and females as if the world is black-and-white. But I also respect a person’s natural instincts. I also think that if a male human likes the male appearance in a domestic cat, it should be respected also. It is what makes us human. It is why men are attracted to women and women are attracted to men which is the default situation although of course there are a wide range of alternatives which I, as mentioned, fully respect.

          Reply

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