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Do you want to know if your kitten is a female or a male? Determining the sex of a kitten is easy if you know what to look for. To be absolutely sure, it is best to have your kitten examined by the vet, but this simple method will not often get you wrong. Start at Step 1 and learn how to determine the sex of your kitten.

To step

1. Lift your kitten's tail. There you will see two openings. The top opening is the anus and the bottom one is the genital opening (in both males and females).
   • Make sure someone can help you with this research. The kitten will have less difficulty lifting the tail if he or she is in someone's arms.
   • Cuddle the kitten gently on the back at the base of the tail to encourage him or her to lift the tail.
2. Look at the second (bottom) opening. The shape of the genital opening in a female kitten is a small vertical slit. The shape of the opening in a male cat is a small round hole. If possible, compare a male and female kitten. You will then see that the difference is very clear.
3. Look at the distance between the two openings. A female genital opening is high and close to the anus, while the male genital opening is about 1 1/2 inches below the anus.
4. Examine the area above the second opening. If you see the testicles there, it's a hangover. If you don't see it, it could still be a male; a kitten's testicles are usually not visible until the kitten is about 6 weeks old.
5. Look at the kitten's coloring. The colors of a kitten's coat can also tell you something about its gender. Genetically, calico cats (with spots of three or more colors) and tortoiseshell cats (marbled brown and black like tortoise spectacle frames) are almost always females, while orange cats are generally, but not always, males.