I took my kitten to the vet yesterday...

[Lorien]

and had a real shock. Puck is almost seven months old, and was due to be neutered. But first, here’s the prologue:

Puck is a Turkish Angora. After losing my 15 year old half Turk Peewee last August, I was set on having another Turk in my life. I had already gotten a new companion for my remaining cat, Miro; a Maine Coon kitten named Oberon. But Oberon was so gentle, sweet, and sensitive that the house was a little too quite with the equally gentle Miro and he together. I missed the intense intelligence, energy, wit and extreme affection of a Turkish Angora (the “border collies” of the cat world) so I hunted for several months online to find one. I almost achieved several adoptions from Petfinder.com, but the cats I wanted were snatched up very quickly (Turks are a fairly rare breed). I was set on getting a boy because, to be honest, the female cats I had growing up were the sort that turn people off to the species completely; aloof, spooky, and fickle. I wasn’t a cat person until I adopted Peewee, who had personality enough for a dozen pets, and was endlessly affectionate. The boy cats I’ve had since have all been great!
Anyway, I finally decided to buy a purebred Turk, and even then it took months to find one. Puck sounded perfect; both parents were VERY affectionate, and Puck was the most extroverted kitten in their litter. A few weeks before he was to be sent to his new home, a friend of the breeder insisted that the entire litter was female. The breeder thought she had three boys and two girls. She took them to a vet, and the vet confirmed her view. So two days after Christmas Puck came to his new home. He was small enough to sit in the palm of my hand (at nearly three months!) but he was pure Turk; funny, expressive, energetic, smart-as-a-whip and intensely loving. Oberon and Miro adored him, and the house was full of joyfully bounding kitties again! All my guests remarked at how “butch” Puck’s personality is compared to the other two; he just comes across as a rough and tumble 12 year old boy, pulling pranks and having no sense of his own mortality. Everyone thinks his name is a perfect fit. :-)

But then I took him to the vet; Puck is no little boy, but a little girl! Even my vet wasn't sure, and had to open him up to find..a uterus. So Puck was spayed instead.

So, all my fellow female cat owners; please tell me stories of your intelligent, eccentric, loving and devoted kitties, and help me get past this fear that Puck will grow out of her winning personality. Since my only experiences with female cats haven’t been good ones, I just can’t seem to get rid of this knot in my stomach. Please help me rid myself of my (hopefully) absurd bias!


Puck:



With buddy Oberon:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

1. I had the sweetest female cat for 15 years named Lulu

she was a real doll-grey and white with huge green eyes. She was affectionate and very intelligent. I guess I have lucked out-I have two boys now that are great too!

I never heard that female cats were not as friendly as males. I think it depends on personality.

On edit: Your cats are BEAUTIFUL!

[Lorien]

9. Thanks RationalRose!

I love the markings on your black and white boy-like a remarkable abstract painting! My Miro is black and white too:

He has lovely green eyes, but always closes them for photos.

When I picked up Puck today from the vets, the nurse remarked that she didn't know of many female cats with "boyish" personalities (I told her how Puck is the "real boy" of the bunch). She said that all the female cats she knows are "snippy". That didn't make me feel good! I'm glad to know that Lulu didn't fit that profile!

[Teddy_Salad]

16. Hey...

....I have a female cat named Lulu. And she's a sweety too.

:toast:

[GOPisEvil]

2. What beautiful kitties!

Didn't Archae have a similar story, only he thought his was a girl, and he's a boy?

[ET Awful]

3. My last two roommates both had female cats. . . .

Both of them were HUGE attention whores :). They were extremely affectionate and friendly, though not extremely active.

My most recent roommate (who just moved out last week) had a cat (named GG) who was a real sweety, when she wanted attention, she'd just sprawl at your feet and roll over on her back for a belly rub. She was really cool.

Not all female cats are bad :).

For some reason I always thought Oberon and Puck were related.

[Lorien]

12. Thanks ET Awful!

Good to know, especially since you have the amazing Quinn for comparison. Any recent photos of him? I keep wondering how he's develping-they can change so much!


Not surprising that you thought they were related; Puck looks like Obies mini me now! They were very different as "babies":
Oberon

Puck

Both have really changed a lot. Here's Puck at 3 months and five months:


Oberon today

[zbdent]

21. It's amazing how surprised they appear to be at the world, at first,

then how bored they seem the rest of their lives (the eyes go to "bored" position after a few months of age).

I once freaked out a co-worker at how I figured out the sex of the cat across the room. The face was longer, and I said that it was a male.

The co-worker said he always had to look under the tail, but I had seen it from 10 feet away and from the face.

[Lorien]

25. You'll really enjoy this quiz then:

http://www.top-greetings.com/G.py?P=/art/515/&C=vG4sBRiHXJKx88OZmVPnDg%23SF
(I won't be surprised if you ace it)!

Yeah, I can usually tell, as well. That's another reason I was so surprised; for a Turk, Puck has a very masculine face!

[zbdent]

27. I'll have to check it out later.

Actually, I chickened out.

[Lorien]

29. wimp!

;-)

[zbdent]

38. yup

:-P

[Kathy in Cambridge]

36. I got 16 out of 16-YOWSA

I really think most girl cats look 'girly' and most male cats have bigger heads/faces.

[hyphenate]

34. Oberon

looks like Gandalf the Grey. The longish face, the very wise look, the long "beard."

Gawd, I get so bad about my kids. I lost two last year and I still grieve, but cats are so wonderful, you can never forget them.

My "old ladies" who lived to be, respectively, 16 1/2, 17, and 17 1/2, were all cool. They were sedate, with great loving attitudes and a delight to be around. The girls I've had more recently, including my lovely litte girl, Kira (who got lost last October, and who I fear is forever gone), are inquisitive, bold, and a match for the males in the house. As they've gotten older, they get more mellow, of course, but it usually means they sleep more with you, tolerate petting and grooming more, and just in general are more loving.

[Lorien]

37. Lol, I thought of that name for him

I posted his kitten pic somewhere on this thread- I never would have guessed that his ruff would become so "beardlike", lol! Oh well, Oberon is in a similar vein.A friend has a cat named "Mithrandir", so I didn't want to get to close to that.

So sorry to hear about your loss last year. It sounds like you are a wonderful "fur parent" to have such long lived kitties. I know what you mean about them getting older and slower; fortunately, Turkish Angoras remain very active until the end. My Peewee would still zoom around the room at 14, but he did indeed grow sweeter as he grew older.

[Lorien]

30. Almost forgot to ask

since the roomate moved out, is Quinn now an "only kitten"?

[ET Awful]

31. Yes, he is. . .

He wants to play a lot more, but he's also alot more affectionate when I get home from work since he's been lonely all day.

[Lorien]

32. I hope you'll think about getting

a little friend for him. I found that having an "only cat" can often be much harder than two or three (for both of you). A great resource, if you are interested, is www.petfinder.com.

[ET Awful]

33. I've been considering it . . .

but I really can't afford it right now, at least not until I get a new roommate.

[sus]

4. ohmygod they're beautiful!

[aintitfunny]

5. We adopted a kitty

or more likely a kitty adopted us in the Summer. Looks just like a smaller version of Chad, my grey striped tabby who was acquired as the last presidential election wound its way to the sad conclusion.
So we took in this little 8 lb cat and named her Zelda. We posted signs but no one came forward to claim her. She was obviously very hungry and had been de-clawed.
My husband finally took her to the vet, she had not grown a bit and only put on a very small amount of weight in the months before.
We were, needless to say, surprised when Zelda turned out to have a penis. Even the vet was surprised. Now we have 2 male cats. But Zelda sure does behave like a female, so we are retaining the name.
I have known male cats and female cats. While I have a preference for males, the fact is I have known many lovely, gentle and affectionate females as well. Good luck.

[Lorien]

22. My vet says it happens fairly often

some cats are easy to sex, other are very difficult. My mom has a friend with a cat named "Harriet Potter", which obviously wasn't "her" original name, lol! I plan on retaining "Puck" as his/her name as well (I also call her "Robin Goodfellow" since that was Puck's name in "a Midsummer night's dream". And "Robin" works either way)!

[LynzM]

6. You have the most beautiful cats, wow!

I actually had a pair of cats, bro and sis, and the sis was the friendly, curl-up with me one :D I don't think you need to worry about it; if she's got a great personality now, I don't see any reason that would change!

[Lorien]

20. Thanks LynzM

I'm feeling encouraged! :-)

[blackcat77]

7. Dot/Dot Male, Dot/Dash Female... :) nt

[aquart]

8. Personality doesn't change unless you introduce trauma.

And even then you can bring it back over time.

If her personality changes, take her to the vet, it means something is wrong.

Otherwise, have fun.

[WildClarySage]

10. Your puddie tats are gorgeous!!!

I have three girliecats, two are mom & daughter, the other was an under-my-car babycat. So of the three, one is very like the girlcats you describe (Jill aka Babycat), one is a moderate snot (Libby aka Bratcat) and one is an out-and-out attentionslut (Jody aka Mommacat) Jody is the absolute friendliest thing ever, and will maul you with affection.

[SoCalDem]

11. We have alays preferred girl cats..

And your baby is what you make him-her.. :) When they are neutered, they are asexual anyway so, your kitty is whatever you want him/her/it to be :)

Gorgeous..both of them :)

[Lorien]

15. Two of my friends said the same thing

one continues to call Puck "he" because he said it really doesn't matter at this point. Sort of making up for those millions of male cats that have been called "she" all their lives by people who insist that all cats are girls, and all dogs are boys!

"Murray the Mole" is freaking me out, lol! Where do you find all those amusing animations?

[SoCalDem]

19. b3ta.com

oops..I just noticed that the attribution is gone from my sig.. oops on me.. better add it ..


www.b3ta.com is kind of a "cheeky" fark..(British).. The language is "oh my", but they are some very talented photoshoppers..

Every week they have a themed challenge and they are hysterical.. I lose hours there, just laughing like a loon..

My fave was the Victorian Internet challenge.. They are in the archives on the front page.. The message board is where the majority of the funny photoshops are though :)

[Lorien]

28. Thanks SoCalDem! I'm gonna check it out

I'm sure my dad will enjoy it two. We both LOVE British humor! More hours on the web, lol!

[DenverDem]

13. Our two female cats have wonderful and warm personalities.

The mother of the family, "Tiny", a pure white shorthair and her pure white daughter, "Pearl" are very affectionate and playful. The beautiful mother has a soft, but distinctive voice , but her daughter has quite a set of pipes. "Pearl" sleeps on me, literally draping herself across my chest and pillow. Many would find this unbearable, but it is very sweet to me.

The three boys in the family, from the same litter as Pearl, (a solid white "Omar" and his two brothers, orange tabbys "Bevo" and "Tex") have distinctive and lovable personalities as well. (Bevo is the alpha male.)

It has been a very special ten years for Cindy and I with our kitty family.

[Lorien]

17. Awww-Pearl sounds like such a sweetie!

I love it when a kitty drapes itself across you to sleep. My Peewee did that every night, and I, like you, found it more comforting than annoying.

Sounds like you have a wonderful family, DenverDem!

[nini]

14. I'm gonna cry...

Oberon looks EXACTLY like my cat I had to put to sleep last Sept.


:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

I still miss him..

beautiful cats though ;-)

[Lorien]

18. So sorry for your loss, nini

How old was your kitty? I know how hard it is; Peewee died of cardiomyopathy, but I had a 17 year old cat, Jasper, who had to be put down just a few moths ago (kidney failure). I miss them both.

Do you have other fur kids? I didn't think I'd want more so soon, but the house is much happier with them in it!

:hug:

[nini]

26. He was about 12ish

a feral(sp) that would only come near me and became a house cat 0- smart cat!

The surviving cat is very lonely without him and I'm not sure I'm going to get another quite yet.

thanks for the hug

:hug:

[eyesroll]

23. Appropriate name...

Puck's actually pretty sexually ambiguous in the play.

[SayitAintSo]

24. Beautiful Kitties

Just beautiful !

[MrSandman]

35. Which did the vet charge for?

Neutering or spaying?