"Having a litter of kittens will settle down a female cat"

Some cat owners think that their female unsterilised cat should have a litter of kittens before they sterilise them because it helps them to settle down and live a more contented life. 

They appear to believe that a female cat should have kittens because it's instinctive to them to have kittens and if you deny them that pleasure it is upsetting to them. 

Until they have kittens they can't settle down and be their normal selves. That is the argument as I understand it but it is entirely false and dangerous thought for the obvious reason that there are already too many unwanted cats in the world and to bring more into the world because of a misconception is irresponsible and ultimately cruel because what happens to the kittens? Can you find a good home for them? Will they be happy? Will they have good lives? Will they be homed with a person who is sensitive to their needs and so on?

It is a myth that having a litter will settle down a female cat. It's a myth that the cat will feel more fulfilled after having kittens.

It might be useful to touch on how female humans feel after having kids. That might provide us with a little insight. Mothers are often harassed and overstretched and pressured on having a young family. They certainly don't feel more settled down.

The veterinarians state that a spayed cat will be more playful, people-orientated and they won't miss what they never had.

Briefly, on an associated topic, there are other reasons why cat owners sometimes want their female cats to have a litter of kittens. It might be because it provides them with enjoyment. They'd like to witness the birth of kittens. They might enjoy raising them and find the whole process rewarding.

They might love the appearance of their female cat and they want to produce offspring to maintain the bloodline. Or they might do it for financial reasons to sell the kittens for whatever they can get for them to make a few pennies on the side. 

If the cat is a purebred then they can sell them for a reasonable sum of money but the amount would be dependent upon whether there was a registered lineage with a cat association.

That said you will find some cat owners advertising on Facebook purebred cats for sale at discount prices. Don't buy these cats and kittens at the prices asked. You are probably not going to buy a genuine purebred cat and I would expect it to be unregistered.

And lastly, some cat owners may have a deep emotional bond with their female cat and want to have the experience of raising a kittens to create a stronger connection with the cat and their offspring.

All these reasons may be good ones from the person's perspective but in the grand scheme of things, I think it would be fair to say that it would not be the best decision to make in terms of general animal welfare for the reason stated above.

Do male and female cats have different characters?

They do have slightly different personalities in general in my opinion but I've asked the question because the American Animal Hospital Association Encyclopaedia of Cat Health and Care states that "There are no sex-linked character differences between male and female cats". They add that "both male and female cats are loving and companionable [and] altered cats may become an even more attentive and affectionate pet".

Difference between male and female cats in terms of distance travelled from home. Image: Admiral Insurance.

Home range

I think that they're slightly wrong to be fair. Even after being neutered, male cats are likely to want a bigger home range than female cats. They want a larger area that they call their own. This means that if they are allowed outside unsupervised - and many domestic cats still are nowadays - they will roam wider and further than female cats.

Risk

This exposes them to more risks than female cats. Another behavioural trait of male cats compared to female cats is that they can be more aggressive which means they are likely to get into more fights in defending their territory against invading cats. This will also expose them to more health risks.

Stand-offish?

And it is said that female cats can be little more standoffish and even less friendly than male cats. I can't find any hard scientific facts about that so will call it anecdotal. That means that cat owners report it.

RELATED: Are male cats more affectionate with humans and other cats than females?

Ginger tabby

Interestingly, it is said that the ginger tabby domestic cat is a friendly cat. It is said that their character is linked to their appearance which is unusual but there is evidence to suggest that this is true.

And 80% of ginger tabby cats are male. This would support what I have just stated above. But, then again, female cats are more gentle than male cats. 

Tortoiseshell

There is another interesting coat type which is sex-linked namely the tortoiseshell and tortoiseshell-and-white coat. These cats are nearly always female because of the way the genetics work. You can read about that if you like by clicking on this link.

1 in 3000 rare male calico cat in the hands of an Asian vet. Image: Twitter.

But the point is this: it is said, anecdotally again, that tortoiseshell cats have what cat lovers call "catitude". This, as you might expect, means a cat with attitude. A little bit feisty perhaps. Perhaps a little more independent and minded to do their own thing and be less obedient. So, this perhaps adds to the notion that female cats are slightly less friendly than male cats if you bring into the equation all of the tortoiseshell and tortoiseshell-and-white cats.

Confidence and timidity

Because they're less likely to roam far and wide I think we can say that female cats are more timid in general but one must observe the simple fact that each cat has their own personality. It is very difficult to generalise about the differences between male and female cats in terms of character or personality.

The more timid cat is not going to get into so much trouble. They're going to be more pliable and gentler with their owner; perhaps desiring more to be on their owner's lap. But once again, whether a domestic cat is a lap cat or not cuts across the gender of the cat. It is not sex-linked as they say.

90% the same

I think it's fair to say that male and female cat characters are 90% or more the same. There will be some slight differences, in general, in terms of aggression, self-confidence, outgoing behaviour perhaps, lack of timidity and so on.

Prefer females

Personally, although I currently live with a male former-feral cat, I prefer female cats because they are more gentle and less likely to get lost. There is another point worth mentioning. If I am correct in saying that male cats like to roam further than female cats then they are more likely to get lost I would argue. The female cat will stay nearer home and be less adventurous which, for me, is a great asset in terms of peace of mind if, as I do, you have a cat flap and let your cat go outside unsupervised.

Females/mothers

Image:MikeB

I hope this helps. I would love you to share your views on the difference between male and female character.

Mother cat defends her kittens ferociously and with courage against imaginary threat

Devil cat attacks a man out walking his dog in #Istanbul 😳pic.twitter.com/hCOpQKyc4x

— Rachael Ruble (@RachaelRuble) October 26, 2020 

In this Twitter video we see a man walking with his dog in Istanbul Turkey. He walking past a café minding his own business. A domestic cat, or what I prefer to call a community cat, is in the same place as him and his dog and she has kittens to look after and care for. She decides that the man and his dog are a threat to her kittens so she attacks him with great ferocity and courage. There is nothing so impressive in terms of aggression than a female domestic cat protecting her offspring. This is clearly shown in the video which is taken from a television screen so the quality is poor.

The man almost loses trousers while he struggles to be free of this aggressive female cat. He lifts up his dog by the lead which is far from ideal but the dog is small so I suspect no harm was done. Eventually people, perhaps those who work in the café or at least know the cat, encourage the her to stop and go away thereby saving the man from further scratches and bites. It is a classic case of a mother protecting her young.

Turkey, in general, has a good relationship with domestic cats. They treat them well normally and you will see community or feral cats entering mosques where the imam has allowed the cat to enter with her young. Female cats do this because they know the mosque is a safe place in which to rear her young. The imam allows it because he is gentle towards stray cats based on the Prophet's love of cats.

There are two very famous purebred, pedigree cats which originate in Turkey and they are the Turkish Van and the Turkish Angora. They are two of the oldest cat breeds in the world. I have suggested, and I'm quite convinced about this, that they both originate in the same street cat. It is breeders in America who have separated out a Turkish random red cat into two distinct breeds through selective breeding. I have written about this and describe the original Turkish cats as the original cat breed: the real Turkish Angora and the real Turkish Van.