Boy cats vs girl cats

"Takayuki" wrote in message
...

I've asked this question before a few years ago, but what do you think are
the differences between boycats and girlcats?

I've only had one boy - Buster. He's probably the funniest cat I've ever
had. Oh, he thinks he's completely serious about the business of being a
cat, and he always has a busy itinerary. But he's also more self-absorbed
and impulsive than any other cat I've had, which makes him seem a bit
goofy. Sticking his head into empty cereal boxes, sliding backwards off my
lap, and taking rides in the laundry basket.

The girls I've had were more self-conscious. Betty was polite and clingy.
Dot is demanding and clingy. And Spicey keeps everyone expertly at arm's
length.

~~~~~~~

I have had four cats in my lifetime, two boys and two girls. Right now, I
have Holly (female) and Duffy (male). All of my cats have been special,
wonderful companions who wanted to be close to me. I have not noticed much
difference in their behavior, although the male cats were slightly more
active. Notice: Only *slightly* more active. Holly used to jump to the
top of my 6-foot bookcases in her prime, and she never disturbed anything in
doing it.

Here is one difference that does not have anything to do with behavior. My
first cat had numerous episodes of interstitial cystitis, and I spent a
great deal of money to deal with that problem. That was a great number of
years ago, and there are newer forms of diet and medication available now.
However, my vet told me one thing that could be important to some people
when looking at adoption. He said, "Generally speaking, there is nothing
healthier than a well-cared-for female cat." He said male cats are far more
prone to bladder infections. Just a tiny grain of sand can "plug" a male
cat, but not females.

MaryL

Takayuki wrote:

However, I do find Licky more fun to talk about because he does so many
funny and weird things. Roxy has a few quirks, but mostly she's just plain
adorable and sweet. She's even-tempered, not too demanding and doesn't
cause trouble. She's my heart-cat, but I have to admit that Licky's antics
make better anecdotes for this group.

I felt that way about Betty - like Roxy, she didn't get into trouble or do
anything outrageous. I didn't often have much to write about her, so I
ended up writing more about our feelings and day to day cuddles.

Which were always lovely to read.

But still, for years after she'd passed away, there were a couple of people
who said that they still remembered her.

I'll never forget her!

Buster though, is a funny cat. I wish I could read kitty minds, so I could
know what he's thinking! Dot likes to try to get into trouble too, when
she's awake.

And Spicey will make news when she *doesn't* get into trouble. (I know
she's gotten a lot better in that respect.)

Joyce
--
"...she tells with a little bit of humor the story of the song and the Jews
as they move from the Shtetls of Eastern Europe to Western Europe to America,
to the suburbs, and to the Internet. As one interviewee says, "It's been a
long, strange journey from Ukraine to YouTube." -- "Hava Nagila": The Movie

"MaryL" wrote in message
...


Here is one difference that does not have anything to do with behavior.
My first cat had numerous episodes of interstitial cystitis, and I spent a
great deal of money to deal with that problem. That was a great number of
years ago, and there are newer forms of diet and medication available now.
However, my vet told me one thing that could be important to some people
when looking at adoption. He said, "Generally speaking, there is nothing
healthier than a well-cared-for female cat." He said male cats are far
more prone to bladder infections. Just a tiny grain of sand can "plug" a
male cat, but not females.


Which is why my vet advises not to feed a boy exclusively on dry. Boyfie
loves dry but he gets wet meals 2 x daily and a sprinkle of dry at 10 pm
(because he loves it)
He would eat dry all the time given the chance but he isn't given the
chance.
Because he is mainly an outdoor cat with his toilet duties I would never
know if he was struggling to pee.

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...


"MaryL" wrote in message
...


Here is one difference that does not have anything to do with behavior. My
first cat had numerous episodes of interstitial cystitis, and I spent a
great deal of money to deal with that problem. That was a great number of
years ago, and there are newer forms of diet and medication available now.
However, my vet told me one thing that could be important to some people
when looking at adoption. He said, "Generally speaking, there is nothing
healthier than a well-cared-for female cat." He said male cats are far
more prone to bladder infections. Just a tiny grain of sand can "plug" a
male cat, but not females.


Which is why my vet advises not to feed a boy exclusively on dry. Boyfie
loves dry but he gets wet meals 2 x daily and a sprinkle of dry at 10 pm
(because he loves it)
He would eat dry all the time given the chance but he isn't given the
chance.
Because he is mainly an outdoor cat with his toilet duties I would never
know if he was struggling to pee.

~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, your reference to dry food is very true. My cat ate exclusively dry
food at that time. That was also long before the days of Internet, and I
had no knowledge of wet vs. dry food. I did learn, during that time, that
research was pointing to what we called "ash" (at that time) as a primary
culprit. Incidentally, this was my first cat, and he was the one that was
feral when I adopted him. We trapped him because I wanted a cat to take
with me to graduate school, and the neighbors were planning to destroy him.
He was about 8 months old, and people told me that feral cats of that age
would never make good pets. Well, they were wrong. He became a wonderful
companion, and he lived to age 20. We did have to fight through multiple
instances of bladder infections/ interstitial cystitis, though. I was a
graduate student with very little money at the time, and certainly no money
for a car. So, I would take him on the bus, make two transfers, and then
walk several blocks carrying him to get to TED. I was able to make
arrangements to make payments over time, and it took monthly payments for
quite a long time to pay for his care. But he was well worth it!

By the time Duffy came along, I learned about the importance of good quality
wet diets. Holly and Duffy get canned food exclusively, and they have
thrived. On the other hand, I have been very fortunate with my cats. My
first cat lived to age 20, my second cat to age 16. Holly is now 18 years
old, and Duffy is approximately 15. You would never believe it to look at
Duffy--he is absolutely gorgeous. Of course, none of mine have approached
the age you achieved with KFC. Kudos to you!

MaryL

This is a difficult question because for every generalization there
are lots of exceptions. Some say boys are more cuddly and girls are
smarter. In my experience, every cat is different and their gender
doesn't seem to matter much. Although, my cuddliest cat ever was Kit,
a boy and my bottle baby kitty. He would jump on top of me anytime I
was horizontal and nuzzle his face into my neck, purring and drooling.
And yes, I loved it!

The girls do seem to have higher I.Q.s while letting the boys think
they are the smarter ones . . . how is that for anthropomorphising??
LOL

AB




"Takayuki" wrote in message


I've asked this question before a few years ago, but what do you think are
the differences between boycats and girlcats?

AB wrote:
This is a difficult question because for every generalization there
are lots of exceptions. Some say boys are more cuddly and girls are
smarter. In my experience, every cat is different and their gender
doesn't seem to matter much. Although, my cuddliest cat ever was Kit,
a boy and my bottle baby kitty. He would jump on top of me anytime I
was horizontal and nuzzle his face into my neck, purring and drooling.
And yes, I loved it!

The girls do seem to have higher I.Q.s while letting the boys think
they are the smarter ones . . . how is that for anthropomorphising??
LOL

AB

I think there's a great deal of truth in that, at least where humans are
concerned! (I used to see a bumper-sticker that said "Women grow up,
men grow old." - the longer I live in a senior residence, the more true
that seems!)




"Takayuki" wrote in message

I've asked this question before a few years ago, but what do you think are
the differences between boycats and girlcats?

"AB" wrote in message
...
This is a difficult question because for every generalization there
are lots of exceptions. Some say boys are more cuddly and girls are
smarter. In my experience, every cat is different and their gender
doesn't seem to matter much. Although, my cuddliest cat ever was Kit,
a boy and my bottle baby kitty. He would jump on top of me anytime I
was horizontal and nuzzle his face into my neck, purring and drooling.
And yes, I loved it!

The girls do seem to have higher I.Q.s while letting the boys think
they are the smarter ones . . . how is that for anthropomorphising??
LOL

AB




"Takayuki" wrote in message


I've asked this question before a few years ago, but what do you think are
the differences between boycats and girlcats?

My girl cat, Pickles, changes personality when she gets a haircut. She has
very long, very fine hair. She won't let me brush her and doesn't groom her
underside enough, so eventually she develops mats. Once a year I get her a
lion cut.

Most of the time, Waffles pushes her around, except when it comes to food.
If he happens to be in the room when she rolls over so I can rub her tummy,
as soon as I walk away he does the dominating thing of climbing on top of
her. Sometimes when she's in my lap he'll make her get down so he can come
up. ("This lap isn't big enough for both of us" - which is pretty much
true, since they each weigh about 15 pounds)

I've been using a mobile groomer ever since I realized she's claustrophobic.
I won't put her in a cat carrier unless it's absolutely necessary now I know
that. She doesn't like the restraints or the grooming. I could hear her
yowling the whole time. However, her whole personality changes once she's
been clipped. She becomes much more assertive and doesn't let Waffles push
her around nearly as much as he normally does. In fact, it makes such a
difference that I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the stress for her
and the expense for me to have it done twice a year. Luckily I have six
months or so to decide.

Joy

On Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:15:17 -0700, "Joy" wrote:
My girl cat, Pickles, changes personality when she gets a haircut. She has
very long, very fine hair. She won't let me brush her and doesn't groom her
underside enough, so eventually she develops mats. Once a year I get her a
lion cut.

Most of the time, Waffles pushes her around, except when it comes to food.
If he happens to be in the room when she rolls over so I can rub her tummy,
as soon as I walk away he does the dominating thing of climbing on top of
her. Sometimes when she's in my lap he'll make her get down so he can come
up. ("This lap isn't big enough for both of us" - which is pretty much
true, since they each weigh about 15 pounds)

I've been using a mobile groomer ever since I realized she's claustrophobic.
I won't put her in a cat carrier unless it's absolutely necessary now I know
that. She doesn't like the restraints or the grooming. I could hear her
yowling the whole time. However, her whole personality changes once she's
been clipped. She becomes much more assertive and doesn't let Waffles push
her around nearly as much as he normally does. In fact, it makes such a
difference that I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the stress for her
and the expense for me to have it done twice a year. Luckily I have six
months or so to decide.

That's both fascinating and cute that Pickles's personality changes when
she gets her do.

"Takayuki" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:15:17 -0700, "Joy" wrote:
My girl cat, Pickles, changes personality when she gets a haircut. She
has
very long, very fine hair. She won't let me brush her and doesn't groom
her
underside enough, so eventually she develops mats. Once a year I get her
a
lion cut.

Most of the time, Waffles pushes her around, except when it comes to food.
If he happens to be in the room when she rolls over so I can rub her
tummy,
as soon as I walk away he does the dominating thing of climbing on top of
her. Sometimes when she's in my lap he'll make her get down so he can
come
up. ("This lap isn't big enough for both of us" - which is pretty much
true, since they each weigh about 15 pounds)

I've been using a mobile groomer ever since I realized she's
claustrophobic.
I won't put her in a cat carrier unless it's absolutely necessary now I
know
that. She doesn't like the restraints or the grooming. I could hear her
yowling the whole time. However, her whole personality changes once she's
been clipped. She becomes much more assertive and doesn't let Waffles
push
her around nearly as much as he normally does. In fact, it makes such a
difference that I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the stress for her
and the expense for me to have it done twice a year. Luckily I have six
months or so to decide.

That's both fascinating and cute that Pickles's personality changes when
she gets her do.

I think so too. It's also interesting because she is really quite pretty
after her cut. Before, it's a different story. Because she won't let me
brush her, the only thing about her that is pretty then is her face. If she
were a human, I'd say knowing she looks better improves her self confidence.
However, I suspect that would be carrying anthromorphization a bit far. ;-)

Joy

On 6/9/2013 9:38 PM, Takayuki wrote:
I've asked this question before a few years ago, but what do you think are
the differences between boycats and girlcats?

I've only had one boy - Buster. He's probably the funniest cat I've ever
had. Oh, he thinks he's completely serious about the business of being a
cat, and he always has a busy itinerary. But he's also more self-absorbed
and impulsive than any other cat I've had, which makes him seem a bit
goofy. Sticking his head into empty cereal boxes, sliding backwards off my
lap, and taking rides in the laundry basket.

The girls I've had were more self-conscious. Betty was polite and clingy.
Dot is demanding and clingy. And Spicey keeps everyone expertly at arm's
length.


Buster sounds like one heck of a character! Sort of like Shamrock.
So in that way the boys do seem goofier.

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