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Pets

In reply to the discussion: Cats - male versus female [View all]

wnylib

(25,259 posts)
1. Ember is the first female cat that I've had.
Fri Sep 29, 2023, 11:28 AM
Sep 2023

I have noticed some of the male/female differences mentioned in the video.

Of course, cats are individuals, with their own personalities, so some females might be very territorial. But one difference between Ember and my last cat, a ginger male named Leo, is that Ember is less territorial.

Leo was so territorial that he "fought" with me over a favorite seat on a dining chair. I often read at the table, or watch online videos there and always sit on the same chair. I've read that male indoor cats often develop rules of territory sharing with other cats in the home, e.g. a window seat for one in the morning and for the other cat in the afternoon.

Well, Leo decided that I should share my favorite chair with him. He refused to budge from it if I wanted to sit there. (The layout of my apt. makes it the choice seat for me.) He dug his claws into the upholstered cloth seat. I once turned the chair upside down to get him to move, but he still clung to it.

When I was seated in the chair and Leo wanted it, he launched into a contest of king of the mountain. He got on the chair behind me and pushed hard against my back with his whole body, trying to dislodge me.

OTOH, as soon as Ember sees me coming toward the chair when she is on it, she hops down without my even asking her. Same with the couch. When I approach it while Ember is on it, she moves to make room for me or gets down. Leo never did.

But, Leo was more demonstrably affectionate. A real lap cat. Even when lying on the couch next to me, he always stretched out a paw to make physical contact and left it there. Ember, OTOH, prefers to sit on an arm of the couch, nearby, but not in physical contact. She is affectionate, but always on her own terms, much more so than Leo, who ALWAYS wanted to cuddle.


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