How to Tell If a Cat or Kitten Is Male or Female
Sexing a cat — especially a young kitten — trips up a lot of people, because the difference isn't obvious at a glance. Unlike breed, which you can read from a cat's appearance, gender comes down to anatomy. Here's the reliable way to tell whether a cat or kitten is male or female, plus the color and shape clues that help.
The anogenital distance test (the reliable one)
Gently lift the tail and look at the two openings beneath it. The top opening is always the anus. The distance to the second opening below it is the key:
- Female: the two openings are close together, and the lower opening is a vertical slit — together they look like the letter "i" or an exclamation point.
- Male: the openings are spaced further apart (with room for the testicles between them, even if not yet descended in kittens), and the lower opening is round — together they look like a colon ":".
In adult males the testicles are usually visible as a small furry bump between the two openings. Be gentle, keep the kitten warm, and don't force the tail.
Coat-color clues (helpful, not definitive)
Because some coat colors are sex-linked, color gives you a strong hint: calico and tortoiseshell cats are almost always female (a male calico is very rare and usually sterile). Orange/ginger tabbies are more often male, roughly 3 to 1, though plenty of ginger females exist. Use color as a supporting clue, then confirm with the anatomy test.
When to check with a vet
Very young kittens (under a few weeks) can be genuinely hard to sex, and a vet or shelter staffer can confirm quickly and painlessly during a routine check — the ideal time is when kittens go in for their first vaccinations or a health check. If you're unsure, there's no harm in waiting a couple of weeks as the differences become clearer.
While you're at it — what breed is your cat?
Gender is anatomy, but a cat's breed you can read from its looks — and that's something you can identify from a photo. Curious what breed (or mix) yours is? Our free cat identifier names the most likely breed from a photo in seconds, and our guide to identifying your cat's breed walks through the features to look for.
Curious what breed your cat is?
Upload a photo and our free AI names the breed (or mix) in seconds.
Identify Your Cat FreeFrequently Asked Questions
How do you tell if a kitten is male or female?
Gently lift the tail and look at the spacing and shape of the two openings. In females they're close together and the lower one is a vertical slit (like the letter "i"); in males they're further apart with a round lower opening (like a colon ":"), and there's room for the testicles between them. Coat color helps too — calicos and torties are almost always female.
Are all calico cats female?
Almost always. Calico and tortoiseshell coloring is sex-linked and requires two X chromosomes, so nearly all calicos are female. Male calicos do occur very rarely (through an extra X chromosome) and are usually sterile.
Can you tell a cat's gender from a photo?
Not reliably — gender depends on anatomy under the tail, not on the cat's overall appearance, so a normal photo can't confirm it (though coat color offers a hint, since calicos are almost always female). A cat's breed, on the other hand, can be identified from a photo.