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Add to FavoritesMale Cats Tend to Be Friendlier Than Female Cats
Among the many cats who have graced my life with their furry pelts and charming ways, the males have always offered me more friendship than the females. In fact, my first cat, a gray tabby Manx female named Kiwi, remained aloof for the entire time that I had her. I got her as a newborn kitten in my mother's house, and I handled her gently from the time that she was very tiny, but she never became my friend. In fact, when she was six months old, she moved down the street to a neighbor's house. I was only 16 years old, and Kiwi was my first pet, so I felt crushed. But she made it clear that she did not belong to me or care about me. I let the neighbors keep her.
Hank, a gray tabby house cat, used to sleep on my bed every night, even though he was really my older brother's cat. When I fell asleep, he would hop down and go sleep with Steve, who was allowed to stay up an hour longer than I was. When we had to ride in the car, Hank would it quietly on my lap, purring occasionally, staying calm while he looked around at the strange surroundings. Mom's female cat Pickle, on the other paw, would demand attention and then suddenly turn and bite while I was petting her. She never learned not to bite, and I never learned not to pet her. Riding in the car meant stuffing Pickle into a carrying cage because she went wild as soon as I started carrying her toward the car.
Over the years, a number of cats graced our lives, and we loved them all. However, the males always tended to be calmer and more loving than the females. Mom never had any cats altered or spayed, but I always have mine "fixed" because I feel that it is not right o bring more unwanted kittens into the world. While altered males tend to be calmer than un altered males, and spayed females tend to be calmer than unspayed females, all of the males seemed friendlier than all of the females.
Smoky, my gray female cat, represents an exception to this general rule. Not only does she love to sit in my lap, but she even walks out onto the front porch to greet visitors to her house, where she allows me to live. She seems to consider me her purrsonal back scratcher and can opener. Smoky greets friends and strangers alike, demanding attention from almost everyone.
However, my orange tabby neutered male, Orion, cuddles with me longer and more often. He eyes strangers from on top of the bookcase, but if he judges them acceptable, he will sit in their laps and purr away while they pet him. He also cuddles with me while I'm sleeping. Smoky, on the other paw, sits on my feet all night long.
Running down the list of cats who have shared my life, and who sadly do not live as long as humans, I find ony two females that I consider friendly, while five out of six males fit that definition purrfectly. Therefore, I must conclude that, at least in my experience, male cats are much more friendly than females.
Learn more about this author, Tessa Dick.
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Female
Cats are definately individuals. I have two speyed females at present - Patch who is a patchy tortoiseshell and Diana who is a blend of all the tortoiseshell tones with only small areas of individual coloring. Patch is quite affectionate when it suits her; Diana is extremely affectionate any time I pay her attention. I bought Patch at a pet store over ten years ago; Diana was an abandoned kitten I rescued nearly two years ago and then couldn't bear to leave.
Patch is also quite friendly toward whoever will feed her whereas Di is a one woman cat. Di carries this to the point that I cannot leave her for others to feed. She disappears until I return, which caused quite a few worries last Christmas when I had to spend nearly four weeks in hospital. I advise any carer to just leave some dry food for her because she has the name Diana because of her prowess as a hunter (there isn't any shortage of rats and mice in this wheat-growing district).
Their attitude toward dogs also shows their individuality. I adopted a dog not long after Di joined the household and she accepted the canine family member with her usual equanimity. Patch greeted the new arrival with an arched back and some feline language that would not bear interpretation. She still cannot bear the dog's presence, unless she is sprawled out in front of the fire on a cold day. It is the same with any visiting dog; Patch defends her household with uncivil language while Di ignores the canine intruder.
My second son has a long-haired neutered male cat named Ginger. Whenever I go to visit Ginger is straight onto my lap like he has been there all his life. I have never fed Ginger and because of the distance my visits are not that frequent. Jason says that Ginger has people he likes and those he doesn't - he seems to sense which people like cats and those that don't. One very good friend had a cat allergy and as soon as he comes into the house Ginger disappears.
On the other hand my eldest son (a confirmed bachelor) has a cat he calls Forest. Forest is a desexed male - he came from the RSPCA. As big as a small to medium sized dog, he tips the scale at a little over ten kilos. He is an attack cat, very unfriendly indeed, not accepting the gentlest caress unless from his owner. He has destroyed furniture - sofas, curtains -even his scratch post which is designed for feline mistreat-ment. Given a choice between a female friend and Forest, my son said he prefered the cat. Maybe they are two of a kind.
I have had the pleasure of a lot of cats over the fifty years of my life. Generally I would say that females are friendlier than males at almost all times, the exception for some being when they have a very young litter. Some males, particularly entire animals, get quite territorial and often remain that way even after a certain visit to the vet. Forest is one of those. Males who are neutered when young avoid a lot of problems - they are usually friendier and do not leave offensive marks. I guess the last word here is get your pet speyed or nuetered and leave the hassles to registered breeders. I would say from my experience that female cats make friendlier pets.
Learn more about this author, Annette Radford.
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