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RSS FeedFriendlier cats: Male or female?
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| Male | 63% | 727 votes | Total: 1145 votes | |
| Female | 37% | 418 votes |
Male
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Add to FavoritesI must tell you about my Cat, George. First off, he is the single most affectionate cat I've ever spent time with. He follows me around the house, sometimes waves at me, winks at me, will crawl up and curl on my chest while I'm reading or watching TV, and many times I catch him just gazing at me.
He's an amazing judge of character as well. I can tell withing seconds what he feels about a guest, and many times his opinion is spot on. He has an uncanny way of knowing if someone is a good or bad person. I don't want to go into detail, and slander some of my acquaintances, but let's just say those I don't like and trust are the people he hates.
Geprge is sweet, playful and has a ton of personality. He will roll onto his back when I come home, a sign of submission and love, and will come when I call him (who has ever heard of a cat doing that?). He also lets me bathe him, without putting up a huge fight. He will protest at first, when he realizes it's time to be bathed, but once the water hits him, he calmly sits there, and lets me soap him up and rinse him off. He usually will climb onto my chest and dry himself off afterwards.
I've been around several female cats who were family pets, and they always seemed to be aloof, and somewhat shy about being pet and sitting in laps, etc. George is definitely much more affectionate than any of them, and I've also found most male cats seem to be more affectionate as a rule.
I know cats have a reputation for being independent, and somewhat less "friendly" than dogs, but I think that George is the exception to that rule. I feel a lot of this stems from his early development and training. I adopted him from the shelter as a kitten, and I was very strict in disciplining him when he was a rambunctious kitten. He was a handful, let me tell you! He would scratch me and my wife, knock over glasses of water, eat the plants, scratch furniture, etc.
Anytime he would misbehave, I would take him to the litter closet (a closet where we kept his litter box) and lock him in there for a while. I did this as many times as it was needed, and finally, after a few weeks he was not doing the naughty things anymore. Since then he's an extremely well behaved cat. He will roughhouse with me from time to time, but doesn't scratch, or bite hard (just love bites)!
I also trained him to let me hold him like a baby. I do this by cradling him in my arms, with one of my arms supporting his spine and neck. This gives him a sense of security and helps build a loving bond. His first bath, I wrapped him in a towel, cradled him and gently lowered him into a bathtub of warm water, this gradual introduction worked beautifuly, as he didn't freak out, run away or even scratch me, and has been fine with bathing ever since.
I hope lots of you decide to go out and adopt a shelter kitten like I did. Just know if you get a boy, he'll be more affectionate than your typical female cat, but make sure to have him neutured early on, as this will keep him from spraying. George makes some spraying motions from time to time (shakes his butt at a piece of furniture) but he doesn't actually spray anything.
So in conclusion, male cats rule!
Learn more about this author, Roy T.
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Female
A purring cuddly cat is certainly a joy to have as a pet. Even a friendly cat who prefers to sit by you and purr as you read or watch a dvd. Definitely one who enjoys being petted and patted. This kind of relationship can be yours with a female more often than with a male.
Why Are Females More Friendly?
The role of the female is to stick around home and have kittens. Then having done that to take care of the kittens. The mother cat teaches her kittens, grooms them and just generally enjoys them.
When a cat learns to love this role they translate it into the rest of their life. They like to stay home and play, groom and enjoy themselves too. They may like to play with a string,toy mouse or ball. Sitting on a sunny windowsill is a big deal to a contented cat. The cat will enjoy, too, the relationship with you and your family just as she did with her kittens.
In Time They Mellow
Female cats seem to grow gentler and more content with age. They sit around a bit more instead of racing around. A nice spot on the couch beside you will seem more inviting than hiding in a paper bag waiting for a chance to jump out at you or chasing her tail until she tires of the race.
Males on the Other Hand
Hunting and wandering are two characteristics of male cats. They like to define their territory as large. They tend to spray the outlines of their territory to mark it. Other males coming into it are supposed to smell that and shudder. Of course sometimes they do, too. Other times the other males in the neighborhood take that as a challenge and your cat is likely to come home with chunks missing from his ears or perhaps not come home at all.
Fighting
Male cats do have a tendencey to fight the other males around them. Ultimately there will be a top cat and an undercat. Sometimes the tougher cat kills the undercat. Often stray males will come after other males and females in an attempt to prove something to both of them.
Males Are Aggresive
Sometimes male cats will kill kittens, especially male kittens. For this reason females will sometimes attempt to drive males away. So they will not always get along well with females or with fellow males. They tend to be loners much of the time with stretches of being willing to hang around with other cats. That is often how they treat their owners too. They are more aggressive. Male cats will scratch and bite their owners a bit more often when they are trying to be playful. This can be troubling especially if you have children.
Who Cares About You?
At other times male cats are rather aloof. They can be so wrapped up in hunting and adventuring that they don't have much interest in you. Even if confined to the house they can still be busily stalking flies or dustballs. They have a role to play and it might not involve you very much.
Since males are more aggresive they often are more friendly as kittens but become too friendly, alternated with unfriendly, as adult cats. They also tend to grow bigger which sometimes is intimidating to people who just want a nice small cat to purr at their feet. It depends partly on your personality what you prefer. But females are often perceived as being more friendly because of the way they express their interest in their owners.
Learn more about this author, Candace Williams.
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