What Will It Be: A Male or Female Siamese Cat?

Deciding on whether to get a male or female Siamese cat is worth spending a bit of time investigating.

I am assuming that you will be neutering (fixing castrating or spaying) your cat? If not then you are a professional breeder and you have other concerns over and above possible character differences. (Naturally your decision to keep cats unsterilized is part of a planned breeding programme.)

What are the physical differences? Your male Siamese should be physically larger, although just like us you can get small Siamese boys and large girls. Can you tell them apart without checking out the under tail area? Only sometimes because since we sterilize our cats young, the more obvious sexual differences are minimized.

I have a part feral black cat who was several years old before he became part of my family. There is no mistaking that he is a male cat: he has really plump cheeks and is quite solid and large. The reason? He had already developed his male characteristics before the operation and he will keep them in most areas! A Siamese male would be just the same but you are unlikely to see an entire male outside a Siamese breeder's home.

As an aside, spaying a female is more complicated and a little more expensive than castrating a male, and she might take a day or two longer to recover.

If there are no major differences in appearance between the sexes, how about male or female Siamese character differences?

As is the case with appearance, when cats are sterilized at a young age the differences are much fewer. In my experience I have found males to be a little more calm and solid emotionally than females, but this is a generalization. The females on the other hand seem to be better hunters and more likely to enjoy the hunting adventure and spend more time doing it. Males seem to have developed lounging to an art form if they are well fed.

This of course all changes if they have to fend for themselves. Both sexes are quite good at dominant behavior, with males probably having the upper paw.

Both sexes are also capable of spraying to mark territory, so don't be surprised if you see your female cat doing this as well. It is perfectly normal though a huge nuisance in the house! Siamese I believe have a tendency to do more of this territory spraying than house cats. So it is really important to make their lives as unstressed as possible so they don't feel the need to start this destructive habit.

So as you see there are differences between male or female Siamese cats but no hard and fast ones. You could end up with a naughty female who loves to doze, hates hunting and loves greeting every visitor into your home. She'll never bites or scratches and never has off days. Or you could end up with exactly the opposite.

Ask your breeder about the different characters of their kittens. They will have an opinion and will happily guide you towards a quiet or extrovert version, whether male or female.

Return from Male or Female Siamese to Siamese Cat Behavior