Answer: Sexing kittens will be much easier if there are two sexes in a litter, because then you can compare one with the other. Any problem arises from the fact that in cats, unlike the larger domestic animals, the urogenital opening in males and females is at a very similar site beneath the tail.
If the kitten is held in the hand with its rare end towards you and its tail raised, two opening will be apparent. The upper one, nearest the tail is the anus, the opening from the rectum, and the lower one is the urogenital opening. In the female this opening is a vertical slit very close to the anus. In a male two small swellings, the testicles, may be evident about half an inch below the anus and just the beneath them the small round opening of the prepuce. However, although at birth the testicles have usually descended to his site, they may not be obvious until four to twelve weeks latter. Gentle pressure either side of the opening of the prepuce will cause the small, bright pink penis to protrude.
This is the only way to tell the kitten’s sex accurately. The look of its face, the way it urinates and the presence of teats (which occur in both males and females) are not reliable guides. In general, orange (ginger) cats will be male and tortoiseshell cats will be females, but there are even exceptions to these general ‘rules’.
Usually sexing is easiest just after birth or at about one month old, though in long-haired breeds it is an advantage to sex kittens early before the growth of the coat obscures the openings.
