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Male cats are fairly just like feminine cats in some ways, however boys do have some fascinating character traits and bodily variations. If you’re a cat lover who has each male cats and feminine cats as pets, you might need seen some distinctive traits about your male cat’s temperament, habits, bodily look, and extra. Learn on for 14 fascinating info about male cats.
1. Male Cats Are Extra More likely to Be Left-Pawed
Like people are right-handed or left-handed, cats may be right-pawed or left-pawed. Based on one research, about 75% of cats present a desire for utilizing one paw greater than the opposite.
And because it seems, 52.3% of male cats most well-liked utilizing their left paw, whereas 52% of feminine cats most well-liked utilizing their proper paw. Total, fewer cats present a desire for a dominant paw in comparison with people. (99% of people have a robust desire for being right-handed or left-handed.)
2. Most Orange Tabby Cats Are Male
As a result of the genes answerable for shade are sex-linked, orange cats usually tend to be male than feminine. The gene answerable for the colour orange is carried by the X chromosome. Black can be contained inside the X chromosome. Feminine cats all the time have two X chromosomes (XX) and males all the time have one X and one Y (XY).
For a feminine cat to be orange, she should have the genes for orange in each her X chromosomes. Nonetheless, the gene for black is extra widespread in cats than the gene for orange, so it’s uncommon for females to inherit the 2 orange genes that they should be orange. However male cats solely want one orange X gene to be orange. Because of this, about 80% of all orange tabby cats are male.
3. Male Cats Are Nearly By no means Calico or Tortoiseshell
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The identical shade genetics come into play for the calico and tortoiseshell shade patterns. Nearly all calico or tortoiseshell cats are feminine. To be calico or tortoiseshell, a cat should have two X chromosomes (XX) that every carry the completely different alleles that create the calico or tortoiseshell shade sample. Two XX chromosomes make the cat feminine. A cat with one X and one Y chromosome (XY) is male, in order that they theoretically can by no means show these colours.
Nonetheless, hardly ever, a male cat is born calico or tortoiseshell. This implies the cat has an additional chromosome that causes a situation referred to as Klinefelter’s syndrome. Male calico and tortoiseshell cats have three chromosomes (XXY) and are all the time sterile. Cats with Klinefelter’s syndrome would possibly endure extra well being points, together with cognitive and growth points, elevated threat of damaged bones, and lowered life span.
4. Male Cats Have Shorter Life Spans Than Feminine Cats
One research discovered that the common life span of male cats was 13 years, which was two years lower than feminine cats (15 years). This shorter life expectancy is probably going on account of the truth that intact males are extra inclined to have wanderlust in quest of fertile females, which might put them into harmful conditions with vehicles, canine, and wildlife.
Cats that roam exterior are additionally extra uncovered to lethal illnesses like feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonitis, and rabies. Need extra years together with your male cat? Think about neutering him. Neutering male cats will increase their life expectancy—neutered male cats reside about 62% longer than unneutered male cats.
5. Unneutered Male Cats Are Known as Tomcats
Intact male cats are sometimes referred to as tomcats. If the phrase sounds old school, it’s in all probability as a result of it comes from a fairly outdated e book. Though nobody is aware of for sure, it’s doable that the time period happened due to a well-liked kids’s e book referred to as The Life and Adventures of a Cat, which was printed in 1760.
Within the e book, the primary character is known as Tom the Cat, and it’s seemingly that over time, folks merely started referring to any male cat as a “Tom” or “tomcat,” and it caught.
6. Male Cats Have Nipples
Male cats don’t need to nurse kittens, so that you is perhaps shocked to find that each one male cats have nipples. Like feminine cats, male cats have 4 to 10 nipples organized in pairs alongside their bellies. A male cat’s small, undeveloped nipples are vestigial—they don’t produce milk or serve every other function. If it appears unusual, do not forget that most male mammals have vestigial nipples—together with people!
7. Male Cats Have Barbs on Their Penises
When you’ve got ever heard the screaming (also referred to as caterwauling) that arises when cats are mating, the method would possibly sound painful. The truth is, it very seemingly is painful for the feminine cat. It is because the male cat’s penis is barbed with tiny, keratinized spines, which in all probability trigger ache and discomfort for the feminine throughout mating.
The aim of the barbs is two-fold. First, they maintain the penis in place so the act may be accomplished. In addition they are thought to set off ovulation within the feminine once they scrape the perimeters of the feminine cat’s vagina throughout withdrawal. Nature definitely has fascinating methods of making certain the survival of a species.
8. Male Cats Have Bigger Territories than Feminine Cats
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Male cats wander farther than feminine cats, whether or not we’re speaking about free-roaming feral cats, owned outside cats, or indoor cats that go exterior. On common, male cats have territories which might be 3 times bigger than feminine cats, however some males might need territories 10 occasions bigger than females.
9. Male Cats Are Extra More likely to Urine-Spray than Females
Urine spraying is a traditional feline intuition that may be problematic when cats share their lives with people. Urine spraying includes a standing cat depositing urine on vertical surfaces like partitions, couches, or timber.
Urine spraying is extra widespread in unneutered males as a result of it’s associated to territorial and mating habits. Most often, neutering dramatically decreases urine spraying. Even so, neutered males are twice as seemingly to spray as spayed females. Some intact males may additionally scratch to mark territory greater than females or neutered males. Offering loads of scratching posts all through your own home might help comprise the scratching to applicable locations.
10. Intact Male Cat Pee Smells the Worst
Whether or not male or feminine, cat urine typically has a robust odor. Nonetheless, the urine of unneutered male cats by far has probably the most pungent and offensive scent. This is because of excessive ranges of testosterone and different hormones. Neutering is the easiest way to minimize the odor of your male cat’s pee.
11. Some Intact Male Cats Have Tomcat Jowls (Cheeks)
When male cats are usually not neutered, their larger ranges of testosterone typically lead their our bodies to develop some options distinctive to males. Considered one of these options is giant, spherical, pronounced cheeks, often called tomcat jowls. These jowls let feminine cats know that the male is able to mate and may defend the cat throughout catfights with different males.
12. Intact Male Cats Have Larger Heads than Feminine Cats
The upper ranges of testosterone present in unneutered male cats result in bigger, extra muscular our bodies. However one thing most individuals don’t know is unbroken male cats can have noticeably bigger heads in comparison with females and neutered males.
The cranium itself is bigger and thicker, and pronounced cheeks, whisker pads, and snout add to an intact male cat’s total head largeness. In some breeds, the scale distinction between the female and male specimens may be fairly important, particularly in intact males.
13. It’s Cheaper to Neuter Male Cats than to Spay Feminine Cats
Neutering male cats is comparatively fast and simple, for the reason that veterinarian doesn’t need to enter the physique cavity to take away the testicles. The process requires much less anesthesia, surgical instruments, and time, so it normally prices a lot lower than a spay surgical procedure for a feminine, which is a extra invasive stomach surgical procedure.
Neutering your male cat reduces behavioral points like urine spraying, eliminates the prospect of testicular most cancers, and lowers the chance of different hormonally linked illnesses. Male cats are inclined to recuperate from the neuter shortly and normally don’t require stitches.
14. Some Male Kittens Have Undescended Testicles
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A medical situation referred to as cryptorchidism happens when one or each of a male cat’s testicles don’t descend into the scrotum as they need to. These boy kittens would possibly seem to have a penis with no testicles, however the testicles are there—simply contained in the cat’s physique. Typically one or each testicles in the end descend on their very own, however in some instances, they by no means come down.
A cat with one undescended testicle can be fertile however shouldn’t be bred for the reason that situation may be hereditary. Neutering is advisable for all male cats with cryptorchidism as a result of undescended testicles are at a better threat of creating most cancers. The neuter process is extra concerned and dear for cryptorchid cats as a result of it requires the veterinarian to make a number of incisions to extract the testicle(s).
