The Gender Myth

Recently, I’ve been talking to a lot of people about introducing new cats to their homes. Most of the homes already have resident felines and it’s an interesting thing to find that people will say they would prefer their newcomer to be a certain gender because they think their personalities are nicer.

I have to say, in the seventeen years spent sharing my home with my own cats and various fosters it’s never become apparent to me that a gender dictates that cats attitude to life. The most laid back cat I ever had the pleasure of sharing my home with was male….which is not what people expect, it seems.

To me, it may be that one thing is being forgotten. If a cat is neutered or spayed earlier then their hormones no longer play a part in the behaviour they exhibit when older. So, for instance, a lot of cats left unneutered for longer are likely to be more territorial and prone to standing their ground in a fight rather than high-tailing it out of the situation. This means their owners think they’re aggressive….but they aren’t. They’re just following a genetic programming to protect their supply of potential mates in an area.

The important thing to remember when introducing a new feline to any home is that if you assess both cats and their personalities effectively there are measures that can be taken to make the new arrivals appearance as stress free as possible.