# How to tell if its a boy or girl?



## fredboy (Aug 30, 2011)

We always assumed our cat was a girl, but the other day when at a trip to the vets we asked the vet if it was a boy or a girl and he said that he was 90% sure its a castrated boy but i don't know I still think its a girl

Any help?


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## Beckie210789 (May 9, 2011)

If you look at a cat from behind, a boy should look like a colon ( : ) and a girl should look like a semi-colon ( ; ) if that makes any sense. If not, this article is a bit informative as well. 

How to tell if a cat is a boy or girl - by Janet Farricelli - Helium


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## spotty cats (Sep 23, 2011)

Wow I'd be concerned if my vet couldn't tell males from females, even if castrated young there is still a difference. Can you get a clear photo?


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## fredboy (Aug 30, 2011)

I can, the cat realy doesnt like the vets and i mean realy doesnt, the vet could only get a glance and said he was 90% sure it was a boy, I think he said that just incase it was a girl and we took him to court or whatever lol, I'll take a picture of his backside and post it


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

If your cat was a female who hasn't been spayed, and if you've been allowing her outside, she almost certainly would have been gracing you with litters of kittens several times a year. If she's a spayed female, she'll have a spay scar on her abdomen (which can be difficult to see unless you shave her belly).

As noted above, a male's backside will look like a colon, while a female's will look like an upside down exclamation point.


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## fredboy (Aug 30, 2011)

i dont get what you mean by a colon? what part? the actual ring or what?

Heres a pic so you guys who know what your talking about can decide lol


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Unfortunately, we can't tell anything from your photos because your cat's long hair and the fuzziness of the photos themselves prevent us from clearly seeing the area. There is a second opening below the anus. In a male cat, that lower opening is small and circular. In a female, the lower opening is a small, vertical slit. The distance between the two openings is greater in a male than in a female.

If you want to try to take pics again, you're going to need to either shave the area or part the hair so that we can see the shape of and distance to the lower opening. You're also going to need to use a camera with a macro setting that will allow you to take clearly focused, close-up photos.

Or, you can assume that your vet's best guess is correct.

Laurie


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## fredboy (Aug 30, 2011)

ahh right cant realy shave it, and the photos are blurred because it was hard work getting him to raise his back end for long enough for me to take a pic, are you sure you cant tell anything at all from this?


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

All I can make out from the photos is the anus, and that's the same for either gender. Your question will be answered by the second opening below the anus, and that is obscured by all of that hair and the blurriness of the photos. Of course if you could feel testicles below the anus, that would identify the cat as a male.

Laurie


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