Should I get a Male or a Female Kitten? What are the PROS and CONS?
Disclaimer:
Firstly and most importantly, - selection of the animal's gender is a PERSONAL CHOICE. Please remember that cats are INDIVIDUALS and, as individuals, may greatly differ from a "typical" definition of male or female. Siberians have particularly strong personality and, for that reason, are especially difficult to predict in advance. At the time you select your kitten, his/her personality has only STARTED to develop and will be developing for a long time.
Please remember that the final result of that future personality will be a combination of breed and genetic traits, sexual predispositions and environmental factors, such as sterilization, socialization in their "forever home", and extraneous circumstances, such as the safety of their living environment and general stress.
Please take the following description as only a very rough sketch, no more. In addition, my experience with "fixed"/sterilized animals is very limited as most of my animals have always been intact, therefore displaying their sex-related tendencies MUCH stronger.
Sterilized or de-sexed pets, however, are not strictly speaking one gender or another but behave somewhere closer to the "golden median". Often, many of the typical sex-related attributes ruled by male & female hormones become inapplicable after sterilization surgery. One aspect I need to emphasize, though, that in my experience, when male cats are neutered early, tend to have an underdeveloped urinary track and, combined with their specific physiological feature (namely, kinked urethra) tend to have more urinary problems than females. However, IF fed carnivore-appropriate diet (raw diet), this problem is almost non-existent or greatly minimized. That is why I recommend keeping males intact for as long as possible (up to 9-12 months) and feeding raw. So if you are not comfortable with either, I would recommend getting a female.
Having said that and assuming we are talking about INTACT cats, the main differences between male and female felines are as follows:
Firstly and most importantly, - selection of the animal's gender is a PERSONAL CHOICE. Please remember that cats are INDIVIDUALS and, as individuals, may greatly differ from a "typical" definition of male or female. Siberians have particularly strong personality and, for that reason, are especially difficult to predict in advance. At the time you select your kitten, his/her personality has only STARTED to develop and will be developing for a long time.
Please remember that the final result of that future personality will be a combination of breed and genetic traits, sexual predispositions and environmental factors, such as sterilization, socialization in their "forever home", and extraneous circumstances, such as the safety of their living environment and general stress.
Please take the following description as only a very rough sketch, no more. In addition, my experience with "fixed"/sterilized animals is very limited as most of my animals have always been intact, therefore displaying their sex-related tendencies MUCH stronger.
Sterilized or de-sexed pets, however, are not strictly speaking one gender or another but behave somewhere closer to the "golden median". Often, many of the typical sex-related attributes ruled by male & female hormones become inapplicable after sterilization surgery. One aspect I need to emphasize, though, that in my experience, when male cats are neutered early, tend to have an underdeveloped urinary track and, combined with their specific physiological feature (namely, kinked urethra) tend to have more urinary problems than females. However, IF fed carnivore-appropriate diet (raw diet), this problem is almost non-existent or greatly minimized. That is why I recommend keeping males intact for as long as possible (up to 9-12 months) and feeding raw. So if you are not comfortable with either, I would recommend getting a female.
Having said that and assuming we are talking about INTACT cats, the main differences between male and female felines are as follows:
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Male
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Female
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General Appearance
Behaviour
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- Much larger in size: typically 4-8 kg, sometimes more
- Slow to mature: between 3 & 5 years - Usually develop much fuller coat, especially around the neck - "lion mane" or "ruff" - Have much wider faces - often giving an appearance of oval. This (very desirable!) feature of Siberian male's face is due to testosterone & greatly depends on the time of sterilization - Generally strong musculature, wide chest, stocky body - Have stronger urine smell (which is MUCH stronger while intact but returns to normal smell soon after neutering) - Typically, adult males are more affectionate, especially with female owners. (My personal advice for a single woman - get a male cat and you would be greatly adored! Although some jealousy issues towards your male partners are quite likely :)
- A male cat is mostly concerned with the safety of his living quarters and protecting ALL females (including human ones) inside from the intrusion of other males. Once neutered, he often loses the "main purpose" of his existence and tends to get more laid back or even lazy. |
3.5 - 7 kg
1.5 - 3 years _ _ Typically more "feminine" & may be quite delicate - Usually prefers male family members
- Can be quite moody, even "bitchy" and "hormonal" - but more even after spaying; problems w/other female cats in the household can arise. |