For those of you who own pets? Do you have a preference when it comes to the sex of your pets?
I generally think female pets are less hassle, since I would fix any pet I had (male or female) I guess that takes a lot out of it.
But I must admit I feel a bit guilty wresting around with a big old dog that’s a female.
I don’t necessarily have a preference for one sex over the other, but since my first cat was male, I chose to only have males. FWIW, I’ve heard that (neutered) males are more affectionate than females. I don’t have any girlcats to compare them to, but my boys are certainly snugglebugs.
With dogs I have a slight preference for females - they seem, anecdotally, to get more attached to male owners. Also less obtrusive licking of the dog penis ( it’s a pretty minor issue, but hey, you asked 
).
With cats I have a slight preference for males ( neutered ) - anecdotally they seem sweeter-natured than females and more demonstrably affectionate. Individual personality obviously plays a bigger role in this, but on average there does seem to be something to it.
I’ve never given it much thought. Of the past six cats I’ve owned, four have been female and two male, and three of those adopted me instead of vice versa. I don’t really get much choice in the matter.
My current dog is a girl, but I didn’t pick her based on that.
mmmkay… Didn’t yet respond ( don’t know which category) but all my cats have been neutered males. Big daft affection kittens all their lives. Would never consider having an intact cat.
Next year when my place in the province is built I want some goats, and I read/hear that they can be haemaphrodite.
You really needed an “Other” choice here.
I just recently told my husband that I’d prefer our future cats to be male. We have two boys currently; our two elderly females died last year. I do think the males are more affectionate, and frankly, three out of the four female cats we’ve had in our lives have had (behaviorally based) urinating outside the litterbox issues, versus 0 out of five males. (No, we haven’t had nine cats at all at once.)
Our dogs have been female, and they’ve been great, so if we were going to get another dog (we aren’t) I’d love to have girls again.
Where’s the option for I prefer male cats and female dogs?
I prefer male cats because I’ve never had 2 or more female cats get along. I prefer female dogs because they don’t have penises so it’s less…icky…to belly rub; they don’t lift their legs and piss on my tires; etc.
Despite my preferences, I currently live with one female cat and 3 male dogs. Funny how things work out.
All my cats have been affectionate, male or female. The female cats, however, seem to prefer my company more than the males. The boys loooooovvvvvve to be petted, but then they go away. The females will hang around me all day if I’m home.
In my experience, there isn’t a notable difference behaviorally if the pets were “fixed” before maturity. Pets that are neutered later in life tend to retain some sex-based differences.
I grew up with cats of both sexes, and the female cats were always more prone to bizarre or antisocial behavior; the male cats were always less crazy and more affectionate. And they were all neutered before puberty so that wasn’t an explanation.
So as an adult I have a decided preference for male cats, and the two strays I have currently are both boys. Not to say I would never adopt a female again, but the fact that these were male did influence my decision to adopt them.
Prefererence:
Dogs - Female
Cats - Male
Other animals - Either/Unsure
Glad to know I’m not alone in this.
Depends. Male dogs are generally more aggressive and difficult to train, so I might prefer a female. Unneutered male cats are gross, but I would never own an intact one anyway, male or female. It may be confirmation bias, but I think that male cats are more even tempered and calm, while females are more neurotic. I also prefer male rats, as they are calmer. The one female rat I had had frequent benign lumps, and I understand that that is also more common in females.
Aaand… I didn’t read the rest of the thread before posting, but it’s nice to know I’m not alone and crazy.
My pets have always been (and will probably always be) strays or rescues so male or female wasn’t really a choice for me to make- it was just which animals needed me (and a home) at the time.
I rescue my pets. I am a sucker, When I need a dog I go to humane society and want to take them all home. That is why I send my wife. I have a male beagle mix, Winston, a female beagle, Nordberg, a male kitty, Boris and 2 turtles a male and female.
Don’t male cats have a problem with urinary problems? My last male cat, back in the 70’s and 80’s, had a lot of problems with cystitus.
I much prefer female dogs.
no preference.
slight hijack: it depends on their character of course, but otherwise… i tend to think of dogs as boys and girls as cats, regardless of what they actually are. ^^’
I do the same thing. It is a really hard habit to break too, when calling dogs “he” and cats “she” and you find one that is not. My own kitty is a (neutered) male and is forever being called “she” (poor thing even has a girl’s name that was bestowed upon him before we knew his sex).
Our dog (who thinks she’s a cat) is a female. We read about the general differences between genders and we felt that a female dog would be better suited for what we were looking for, although we realize that each dog does have it’s own personality.
On a side note, after taking her to the dog park a couple times, sometimes when she would squat to pee, she would lift up one of her legs also. We don’t know what that was about. We thought maybe since she is a puppy she was trying to copy the other dogs at the park, but maybe it was just a coincidence too. She hasn’t done it for a while now, but we don’t go to the dog park anymore either, not until we are confident that she knows biting is bad!
My brother’s female dog lifts her leg to pee about 60% of the times she pees. She also marks her territory like a boy, as in when we go for a walk my female will pee once while bro’s female will pee 10 times, on random things. She’s really been into peeing on leaf piles lately!
Conversely, my friend’s male sheltie has always peed squatting. I think he just doesn’t want to mess up his fur 
I’ll admit I’m more into female dogs purely for the lack of penis. My female spends a lot of time on her back wanting belly rubs - I can’t imagine having to look at a doggy dong that much! Altho when I get my next dogs (in 40 years when my baby goes to heaven) I am SORT of considering a girl/boy pair just so I have one more dominant than the other…but I think I’ll end up getting two girls.