Boy or Girl Cat?

Are there differences between male and female cats, generally speaking? In my experience: yes - HOWEVER that doesn't mean that all males are male-ish and all females are female-ish!

Of course there are the physical differences between male and female: Males tend to be bigger and they (obviously) have boy parts, whereas females are generally smaller and have girl parts.

Males tend to be more inclined to territorialism, and may be more aggressive with other male cats (following that primal drive to spread their seed far and wide, and eradicate the evil spawn that are other males).

I have not seen that there is a great difference in terms of marking territories between males and females. I have witnessed both spraying (the pee while standing in an outward "spray" onto something they want to mark as theirs - this is usually a more aggressive way of marking, compared to rubbing their faces on things to release happy pheromones).

Now, on to behaviour: Generally males are more cuddly and affectionate than females - but that doesn't meant that all females are aloof and disinterested in cuddles. I have had a few very affectionate, cuddly females. But yes, females tend to be more aloof, less interested in our attempts to smother them with affection, and more willing to let us know (with tooth and claw) when they've had enough of us pestering them. Females tend to be more demanding, less tolerant, and often tend towards getting a little more chubby than males. Males to tend to enjoy going walkabout more than females, though this I think is more likely in an intact (unsterilized) male.

Allow me to give you an example of a typical male, and a typical female cat:

Male - Will be genuinely pleased to see you, may even give a little "meow". They'll come strolling to you and purr their little hearts out. When you sit down at your desk, or on the couch, or lay down in bed, they'll be there (either on you or close by). They love to eat. You can stroke and scratch them forever and they'll just keep loving it.

Female - May glance at you when they see you. Will probably ignore you when you talk to them (unless you have food, or they are hungry). When you walk up to them to stroke them they may walk away, but if they allow you to touch them you had better stop when they get that cooky look in their eyes, or you may lose a finger. Having said that, there are moments when they will, out of the blue, come and place themselves on your lap and purr contentedly for a time - making your heart swell with love. Be careful not to irritate them, because they will only tolerate so much touching.

Please bear in mind that all of these points I have described are taken from my sterilized cats. Unsterilized cats may behave differently!

See my original post here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/boy-or-girl-cat-16857477