The answer to if female kittens are more aggressive:
There is no personality difference among kittens based on gender. Some female kittens are aggressive, while others are not.
A female kitten can be aggressive or not depending on the environment it was raised in, and the breed.
Behavioral differences are seen when kittens reach sexual maturity.
The gender of a cat is something that most cat owners consider before acquiring their furry friend.
Some assume female kittens are aggressive and male kittens are affectionate. So, before you adopt your kitten, you want to confirm if this is true.
You want to adopt a kitten that fits your lifestyle and personality.
Keep reading, to know if female kittens are more aggressive.
No Personality Difference Based on Gender
There is a lot of heated debate surrounding this topic. Some cat owners say that from their experience, male kittens are more affectionate and cuddly, but female cats take time to trust their owners.
Studies support this. According to a poll of veterinary practitioners many years ago, male cats were rated as more affectionate than female.
Female cats are generally more territorial, especially when they have newborn kittens, because they feel they have to protect their young.
Breed matter too. Some breeds are known to be friendlier than others who are more reserved, even aloof.
But kittens just have their bad days as we do. According to feline experts who have worked with different breeds and genders of cats over the years, there is really no personality difference based on gender.
Each furball has its own personality. Whether you have a loving, playful, and cuddly kitten, or own a territorial and aggressive kitten, it is a matter of personality and not gender.
Behavior is Different during Sexual Maturity
It is not possible to make a general conclusion about certain behavior and associate it with your kitten’s gender.
Besides, each kitten has a different personality. You might have a female kitten that is friendly and social, while another female kitten might be aggressive.
Differences in kittens’ personalities are seen when they reach sexual maturity. If not neutered, the tomcats will try by all means to escape the house, become aggressive and spray urine.
A female cat becomes very vocal and rubs against everything. Still, there is no consensus that these genders act in these ways. Some female cats become aggressive while other males get affectionate.
A kitten’s Environment Determines its Personality
When choosing a cat, don’t stick to a particular gender. You can check in an adoption center that has many kittens with different personalities. Shelter staff can tell you more about a kitten’s background, and behavior.
However, whatever kitten you choose, the sex of a kitten doesn’t matter much. As your kitten grows into an adult cat, its personality is mainly shaped by the environment you bring it up in.
Even if you end up with an aggressive female kitten, here are a few tips and tricks to help your kitten feel more relaxed in its environment.
1. Always be available always
If you need your kitten to be friendlier and less aggressive, shower it with love and kindness. A kitten might be aggressive because it grew up in a hostile environment.
Your presence assures your kitten that it is in a safe environment. Be available for your kitten when it needs some interactive play, body massages, treats, or just to sit on your lap.
In time, your kitten will get used to your company and feel less threatened.
2. Keep it clear of loud noises
Avoid shouting at your kitten, or scaring it with loud noises. A calm environment ensures your kitten feels relaxed and comfortable in your home.
Your kitten responds well to gentle care and affection. If you find your kitten guilty of annoying behaviors such as clawing on your expensive curtains, or bringing you a dead rat, find ways of dealing with it that don’t involve shouting or harsh punishment.
Furthermore, you cannot punish your kitten for being a cat. These are entirely natural behaviors, so keep cool.
3. Socialize your kitten
Socialization helps a lot when it comes to owning a happy kitten. Take time to socialize with your kitten, but this can also extend to other household members and pets.
Introduce your kitten to new experiences such as walking it outside under your supervision, or showing them to your children.
Your kitten soon learns that other people and pets mean no harm, and there is no need to be aggressive when around these people.
Remember, that a kitten’s aggressiveness is mainly because of fear. But once your kitten spends time with different people, they feel more confident and relaxed.
Just don’t force these interactions. Make sure your kitten has a place to retreat when it wants to rest from too much attention.
They should socialize on their own terms.
4. Don’t treat it like an adult cat
As humans, we know the different behaviors between teenagers and adults. In the same way, kittens have different wants and may act differently from adult cats.
For example, your kitten may want to eat all the time. This is because it is growing and very active, so proper nutrition is essential to facilitate this growth.
Don’t feel bad if your little one hangs around you all the time, meowing for food. It’s a good way to bond with your kitten because they associate you with food and treats.
Understanding Aggressive Behavior in Your Kitten
If your kitten has suddenly become aggressive, take time to understand what got them upset. Look at where it happened, and what was going on before the incident.
Understanding the circumstances that surround your kitty’s aggressive behavior can help you know how to help them.
Some medical conditions such as toxoplasmosis and trauma can cause aggression in your furry friend. That means the first step in helping a kitten who has aggressive behavior is to take them to a vet to assess their physical health.
These are the common types of feline aggression:
1. Territorial aggression
The most common type of aggression between two household felines is between two unneutered males.
If you have two male kittens and they reach adulthood, they start to challenge each other for access to mates and territory.
However, for two cats living in the same household, the aggression is subtle, and most of the time as a cat owner, you will not notice it.
When the aggressor kitten confronts the other, the recipient makes themselves look smaller and may walk away to avoid the aggressor. Aggression in a multiple cat household can occur between females, or females and males.
Both female and male cats are territorial, but the tomcats tend to defend larger territories than females. Territorial aggression is mostly directed towards other cats, but your kitten may also be aggressive towards people and dogs too.
They may also choose to be aggressive towards some members of the household, and not others. Or, be aggressive towards some cats and not others.
Your kitten’s perceived territory may be a part of the house or the entire house. When an unwanted person enters its territory, it displays offensive body postures such as hissing, swatting, or growling.
Here are examples of situations that could trigger territorial aggression in your kitty:
- A kitten reaches sexual maturity.
- Stray cats enter your neighborhood.
- A new cat was introduced to the family.
- Changes in the family arrangement such as moving to a new house.
Some kittens are slow in their display of aggression, while others are quick to give a chase to a cat that invades their personal space.
2. Fearful or defensive aggression
Fear aggression in your kitten occurs when your kitten perceives a threat, and they feel they can’t escape.
For instance, if you bring a kitten home to a new environment, and lock it in a small room full of noisy children and people, they might feel threatened.
The more threatening these people and noises seem to the cat, the more frightened its fear reaction will be.
Body postures associated with fearful aggression in your kitten are:
- Crouching
- Flattening the ears
- Growling
- Hissing and spitting
- Pupil dilation
- Biting and scratching
If your kitten displays these signs, it is often best to leave them until they have calmed down. It’s also advisable to minimize the causes of aggression. In this case, remove strange people from its room.
3. Play aggression
Rough play is common and even natural in kittens. They like to explore with their claws and teeth, which sometimes can cause injury to people, or valuable items in the house.
Play aggression in a kitten is mostly directed towards their owners. Perhaps you have tried to play with your kitten and had to stop because it kept hurting you with its claws.
Play aggression involves typical predatory behaviors such as stalking, attacking, pouncing, leaping, ambushing, and biting.
Mother cats often teach their young ones that rough play is bad. Kittens orphaned or weaned too early miss out on this lesson, and have not learned how to temper their behavior.
Your kitten engages in play aggression if it stays for long hours without play or physical activity. You should not allow your kitten to attack your feet or hands while playing, because you will be encouraging the behavior.
4. It does not like to be petted
Each kitten reacts differently to petting. Some like to be petted and carried. Others may enjoy being petted but not carried. When your kitten feels irritated by too much petting, it might slightly bite or nip you.
It may then jump and run away. This type of aggression is common in males than females. It is caused by the unpleasant feeling your kitten gets by too much physical handling.
The experience might have started well, but your kitten now feels irritated and wants you to stop.
