Every cat rescuer knows a Bella who turned out to be a Bob. Tiny kittens all look alike from the front, and their faces give nothing away. The answer is under the tail, and it takes a few seconds to read once you know the shapes.
The short version
- Wait until the kitten is calm, warm and fed.
- Gently lift the tail. Don’t pull it.
- Girl: the two openings sit close together, like the letter i.
- Boy: more space between them, like two dots, with room for the testicles in between.
- It’s much easier from 8 weeks. Not sure? Ask a vet.
What you’re looking at
International Cat Care says to look at two things: how far apart the two openings are, and the shape of the lower one.
- Girl. The bottom (anus) and the vulva sit close together. The vulva is a short upright slit, so together they look like a small letter i, or a semicolon.
- Boy. The opening below the bottom is round, not a slit, and it sits further away. Together they look more like a colon. In the space between, you may see or feel two small round testicles.
In a young kitten the gap is only millimetres. If you have a litter, compare them side by side. The differences jump out much more when you can see a boy next to a girl.
Age makes all the difference
In the first few weeks everything is small and soft, and mistakes are common. International Cat Care says it’s easier from 8 weeks, when kittens are more developed. By then, a boy’s testicles can usually be seen or felt.
Keep it short with very young kittens. A minute or two away from their mother and their littermates is plenty. Hold them over a towel, on your lap, in a warm room, and put them straight back. If they’re street kittens and the mother is around, don’t handle them at all. Read found kittens first.
The coat can give it away
- Calico or tortoiseshell? Almost certainly a girl. Only about one in 3,000 calicos is male. Our story on male calico cats explains why.
- Ginger? Probably a boy. PDSA, a UK vet charity, puts it at about 80% of ginger cats. That still leaves one in five a girl, so check anyway. Read why most ginger cats are male.
- Any other colour? No clue at all. Black, white, tabby and tuxedo cats come in both sexes equally.
Telling grown cats apart
The same check works on an adult, though few street cats will let you lift their tail. A few other clues help from a distance:
- Big round cheeks and a thick neck usually mean an unneutered tom.
- Spraying walls and car tyres, and a strong smell, are tom habits too.
- Loud calling, rolling and a raised bottom mean a female in season.
None of these is certain, and neutered cats of both sexes lose most of them. On the street, the surest sign is an ear tip: it tells you the cat is neutered, whatever its sex.
Why it matters
A female can get pregnant from around four months old. If you’re fostering a litter, knowing who’s who tells you when to book the vet, and keeps the kittens apart before anyone has kittens of their own. When a street kitten is neutered, the vet will settle the question anyway.
Questions people ask
At what age can you tell if a kitten is a boy or a girl?
It’s possible from birth, but it’s much easier from about 8 weeks old, when kittens are more developed and a boy’s testicles can usually be seen or felt.
Are ginger cats always male?
No. About 80% of ginger cats are male, so one in five is female. Calico and tortoiseshell cats are the opposite: almost always female.
Can you tell a cat’s sex from its face?
Not in kittens. Grown toms that haven’t been neutered often have big round cheeks, but that’s a hint, not proof. Look under the tail, or ask a vet.
Snap the litter with Island of Cats. Every kitten on the map gets counted, boy or girl.
