by Julie Hanson

Created on: April 16, 2009

I must admit that I am no longer a "cat person." That being said, based on my limited amount of feline experience I vote for the male cat as the more friendly gender. The three best cats I ever had were Charlie, Alex and Thomas J. All three were different types. Thomas J was a mixture of Siamese and Himalayan (or so I was told). Obviously, they were males and none of them were neutered. And to top that off, the first two were strays that my brother brought home and the last I purchased for twelve dollars at a feed and seed store! To be honest, female cats actually scare me. I have been scratched a great many times by female cats.

I had two females cats later on and I must say I did not own them for long! One would hide under furniture and attack feet as people walked by. The other would bite you while you pet it. Sometimes it would bite even before you had the chance to touch it. And eventually they both ran away and found other homes. Simply put: they seem far more on the wild side than males. I am not entirely sure if that has anything to with hormones or gender roles or something of that nature. For example, with "big cats" the lioness is the one to do the hunting and discipline the cubs. The male lion appears to save his energy while laying around until he is required to show aggression by defending his pride.

It is my personal opinion that male cats are incredibly entertaining. They have so much personality and do the strangest things. My males also seemed to be a bit more inquisitive. It can be entertaining to watch a cat try to understand a fish bowl or a treadmill or anything that moves on its own! Females are more of the "bite now, ask questions later" type. Thomas J actually liked water and would run into the shower when I turned on the water! He would splash around and play until I pulled him out! Charlie was a bit of a problem for our neighbors though. I mentioned that he was not neutered and the neighbors had a female. He would chase her around a lot which upset our neighbors. But he always came home and never once bit or scratched me and I was only about ten years old at the time. I will never forget that cat! He was so cool! Alex was more of the fat, lay around the house type. I don't think he had enough energy to run away!

So in conclusion, even though my husband and I are "dog people," if I had to choose a cat for someone, I would pick a male every time!

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