by Tessa Dick

Created on: April 26, 2009

Male 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.

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