Boy or Girl?

My last Boy or Girl? post got so many hits from people trying to figure out the gender of their kittens that I thought I'd try to do a compairison.  Clicking will make the images larger.

Boy

Girl

 I am 99% accurate sexing kittens the day they are born.  The way I determine it is if there is fur between the two openings.  If there is fur it is a boy.  no fur it is a girl.  Unfortunately this "girl" shot is a little washed out so you can't tell that her white fur isn't growing between her anus and her vaginal opening.  You can however see how much closer it is.  Again, when they are newborn there is very little difference in how far away the two openings are, but as they get older it is easier.

Boys will also develop a scrotum.  Testicles often do not 'descend" until they are a few months old, but often you'll see two little "bumps" on top of the penile opening.  I've had a few "REAL MEN" who had quite prominent sacks.  These tend to disappear after neutering.  The penis itself is inside the penile opening and comes out when they pee, when they groom, and when they have sex.

If you didn't know, the feline penis develops barbs with the introduction of testosterone.  Once they are neutered those also go away.

boy bits on a black kitten.
You see the anus, the place where testicles will develop
then the opening for the penis.

Got to love google.

and web stats for telling me about google..

I was checking my web stats today (I do it randomly to see how people found me) and saw that someone googled "pictures of mom cat protecting baby" they came to me via this image

I thought aww.. isn't that sweet.  So I clicked on the link to see what other images came up, and wouldn't you know it that image was the second to come up... at least it was at the time I post this.

Want to know what the first image was??

Which is also my image..

talk about your ego boosting.. (and those aren't the images that don't come up for you, please don't burst my bubble.. )

Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Moooommmmm.... MOOOMM!!

Hey Minerva, you should come down off that toilet and deal with these kittens

Why? They aren't mine!

Because they need you..

oh all right.. 

Thank you, that was really kind of you.  Wait.. where are you going???

*I stick my tongue out at you* They are so needy

How about if I feed you.  Will that bring you down here?

nom nom nom

Thank you

They are not making this easy

Yup, but they can't help it.  You are the only mom they know.

....

Well I appreciate you taking care of them.

yea,, k..

(her tongue just hangs out of her mouth most days.. it's really cute.)

I guess Minerva really isn't thrilled at this wet nurse job. Sorry honey, but it did buy you a lot of time to learn more social skills so you'll make a more adoptable pet.  Before there was no way we could place you in a home... now it is much more likely.  Not 100% since you bit the sock on my foot after these pictures were taken because I spent so much time paying attention to the kittens and not nearly as much to you.  But I knew it was coming and your very obvious about it and you could have actually bitten me and you didn't and you did lick me for the first time which was really sweet.  I bet there is someone out there who can understand that.  *crosses fingers*

These kittens are easy to "hypnotise"

As I was handling Rory the other day I noticed he went limp if I just THOUGHT about touching his neck.  It was so cute.

I know it is just a scruffing reaction.  Kittens are supposed to go limp when mom picks them up by the neck to move them, but some kittens scruff better then others, and some are just so scruffable it is friggen adorable..

Picture time

Everyone looks this way!

Donna!  turn around!! ~Amelia

Will my walking over here help? ~Minerva

Donna & Mickey

Can we come out now? ~Amelia

Lap full of kittens