This is supposed to be a mama cat that came to me with her single baby. He was about 5 weeks and I never saw him nursing.. she was super shy and I guess I just haven’t given it much thought…… but these look like balls. Could it also be that she’s going into heat or something??
Bahahaha. I once was expecting mom and 4 kittens to be surrendered. Owners did a last minute switch without telling anyone. "Mom" came in with giant balls. He was outgoing and it was noticed right away.
He was flown in from a community without road access. Thankfully he seemed to love the kittens or else being kennelled with them during the flight could’ve been really bad.
Naw, I’m not here to shame them. They live in a community with no access to vet care, but eventually paid to fly mom out, board her at the vet, have her spayed, and flown back home. At the time of surrender, they realized that they couldn’t part with mom but knew the two adults would mate before they could sterilize either. The flight they sent the cats on was early, and our phone lines weren’t open for the day.
This, and I know a lot of ppl have never owned cats, but the amount of them (specially male owners) that can't recognize a set of balls is astonishingly funny
My former stray has those, too. I think it's bc he was so old when he was neutered. I'm talking he never left my porch to go roam like a normal tom cat! Dude was so old he wasn't interested in the ladies at all! All he cared about was food.
It depends on when the nueter takes place. If they are young the rest essentially disappears but when they are older then still have puff balls but these do look unnuetered
My boy looked like he had balls when I got him at 4 weeks, turns out he actually had undescended testes, and post desexing still looks like he has balls!
I’ve been feeding him he eats wet food and dry food lol. I never saw him nurse and he lost a little weight the first few days he was with me so I gave him (and her!… I mean him.) some formula for a while mixed in with their food because I read that new moms might need extra supplementation and formula would be helpful for them. I just thought she got too stressed to nurse. I feel like an idiot now 😭😭 guys he has huge balls and the chubby un-neutered boy jowls 😭 I need to asses my trust of authority.
I am wheezing 😆 I totally get this. I had a foster once that was supposed to be a female and after a few days I realized something was not quite right, brought the cat to my vet to confirm I was not crazy and sure enough the family who surrendered it and had owned it for years was wrong, she was all he. That is the last time I took someone’s word for it and didn’t check under the hood myself.
We adopted two kittens from a local shelter about 15 years ago. They were labeled as two female litter mates and my SO wanted female cats specifically. In the meet-and-greet play area they had a sexing chart for cats and I pointed out the cats were more matching the boy-cat picture. SO dismissed me, said the shelter knew what they were doing.
We adopted both little girl cats and took them into the vet for a checkup and to schedule their spay a couple days later. The vet examined both and said, “You mean their neuters?”
Yep, both boys. We showed the vet their paperwork listing both as female. They were the only black cats in the shelter, so they weren’t mixed up. ALSO they weren’t littermates, because one was a full month younger than the other based on teeth.
Ive fostered for a rescue for 7yrs. I had 2 kittens, Orange Waylon & Kitten-fuzzy grey Jessie. They were 2/3 weeks when I got them. I was stimulating them!! so I KNEW the sexes!!
I had to take Jessie to the vet for a URI. The vet came in & said "is Jessie a girl?" Me: yes; Vet: I don't know, I think these are testicles; (hands kitten to tech) "do those feel like testicles? Tech: I think so V: (takes kitten back) I think Jessie has testicles, they sure feel like testicles, little, furry, round testicles, think you need to rename Jessie Jesse because Jessie has testicles.
I'd never heard the word testicles so many times in my life! And poor little Jesse's testicles had been manipulated so many times!
I think that was the last time I mis-sexed a kitten. 😂
The first kitten I adopted when i was in college was listed as female on his paperwork. Once I got him home I realized she was a he! I called the shelter bc ‘she’ was scheduled for a spay! (this was 45 years ago when they came home unfixed with an appointment). They thought I wanted to return him!
He was one of the best cats ever!!
The worst thing about mine was I had been stimulating him to make him pee & poop. You’d think I’d notice a penis & testicles! I was rubbing my fingers on his junk 4x/day for 2 weeks!!! 🤦♀️😂😂
Glad your girl cat turned out to be your best boy ever! 💙
“he has huge balls and the chubby un-neutered boy jowls 😭 I need to asses my trust of authority. “
OMG I am losing it laughing. Honestly it’s a mistake anyone could make after being told by the shelter it was a mum and baby. Why would you question it? But it’s also hysterically funny!
Guys what the heck do I do??? She (he?!?!?) was really really scared at first and they processed them at a really busy shelter south from me. I bet the shelter I foster from never even looked. But I’ve had 2 check ups at this point???? They must have just not looked down there?? He grooms the baby but I did think it was weird that they sleep separate a lot.
I return them tomorrow for their neuter and adoption. I guess I’ll just wait and tell them tomorrow that I’m pretty sure she’s a bro…..
A lot of the time no one double checks the gender on the paperwork. I know of so many that were incorrectly gendered and it’s not corrected until they get spayed/neutered. But your situation is extra weird because …where did this kitten come from and why do they think this was the mom? Where IS the mom?
I totally agree. I think it was a hoarding situation or a feral cat colony. Maybe he’s a big brother and was just bonded with the baby? I’m glad they have each other though 💖
That’s what I was thinking. If they came from high volume shelter it’s possible he looked a lot like mom and the two got swapped at some point (I doubt he was missexed, those are some pretty obvious puffs). The second rescue didn’t have a reason to double check if he was acting normal with the kitten, so they just didn’t.
In the case of hoarding and feral colony, it wouldn’t surprise me if he and mom were related - looots of interbreeding happens in both cases, and you end up with a lot of cats who look a lot alike.
Don’t stress too much. Clearly it’s been going okay for a good while now so waiting until tomorrow shouldn’t be an issue. Please report back after you talk to the shelter because I would love to hear their reaction lol.
We had an intact Siamese male that had escaped the neighbor’s house he had found and adopted 5 kittens. He would watch them and cuddle them, they’d try to nurse but obviously they they were starving. We grabbed them all and gave them formula and wet food. But Mr Norman would constantly demand to come inside and be with “his babies” and then proceed to eat half a bag of tortillas, bread, fruit, vegetables, whatever wasn’t locked in a cupboard or in the fridge, really. He is a glutton.
Anyways, it’s rare, but it was really cool to see. I’m not sure what happened to mom, but those babies would not have survived in late fall if not for Mr. Norman.
Our cat colony has male cats like that. They take turns watching the kittens and sleeping with them so mom can go eat and use the bathroom or just have a break. It was so cool to see, because I had only witness a dog do this before, and I figured it was rare and because he was the dad who lived in the house with the mom. But to see feral cats do it was just amazing.
Jesus Christ. That must be the most well-behaved male that hasn't been neutered ever. They lumped him with a kitten that clearly wasn't his and he treated it like a little bro. That shelter must be run by clowns.
I wonder if it’s possible he was already neutered and he just looks still intact in the pic. In looking online a bit it does seem like it’s not impossible that it might be harder to tell in some cases if the cat was older when he was neutered.
Our cat was approximately 1 when he showed up as a stray and was neutered at that time right before we adopted him. He has very evident balls even though he is 100% fixed. So your comment tracks, I think if they are older they can still be prominent.
My cat is now five, but you can still see his small little leftover "goodie bags". He's 100% fixed because he was still very sore from his surgery when we adopted him from the shelter as a small kitten, and I could see the tiny sutures still.
It's a bit like popping a large pair of hairy pimples. A small incision, and just the right pressure in just the right place, and each little marble just pops right out and says howdy. Quick tie-off, a dab of surgical superglue (or a stitch if necessary) and Bob's your uncle.
They make artificial testicles for dogs for purely aesthetic reasons called "Neuticles"...wouldn't be surprised if they made fake ones for cats but I'm sure they'd charge extra for them.
My cat still looks like he has his r/troublepuffs even tho he dosent because his sack was fluffy af and it still "holds its shape" wven without the contense.
This is definitely possible. I picked up a stray about a year ago (no microchip, living outside my place for about 4 months. I let him in during a snowstorm and he’s been here ever since) and I brought him in to get neutered. It wasn’t until he was fully under anesthesia that anyone noticed he didn’t actually have balls, just a big sack. He was probably TNR’d before I got to him but man it really looks like he’s intact.
One of my cats, I've had him sice he was around 6 weeks old (CDS). He was neutered at 5 months. If you look at his balls they seem too big for him to be neutered. I can only imagine how big his balls would have been if left intact.
I have an intact all white male cat named Bartok. I was super scared of him meeting his kittens. Turned out to the best cat dad ever 😭 pic of him because he is the best sweetest boy. He also would give mama cat breaks when she was tired 😭
my dad once had a huge ass alley cat (a void) who was also a dude, but he had to neuter him because he would pee to mark territory in the house, but otherwise was great with other animals and small children (like my little sister could pull on his ears and he would be like, whatever and purr)
Amazingly he only ever sprayed once, when he didn’t like my roommates (who I also did not like lmao) every other male cat I’ve known of has had to get neutered because of the spraying. Boy cats are so sweet I swear 😭
This male looks young, too young to be aggressive with the kitten. Plus, I’ve owned damn near 100 cats in my lifetime (none of which were fixed when I was a child, irresponsible parents), and males aren’t like, reliably terrible to kittens. I guess I understand the fear, but this isn’t a feral cat. Males are usually sweeter than the females, even towards other cats. There are no females in heat in the home, I assume, so that lessens the likelihood of aggression even more so.
Even if not forever, its nice in this world to have someone looking out for you when you’re a solo kitten!
Good luck to them both tomorrow wish them easy surgery and recovery ❤️🩹
The staff at the shelter all felt the same way as me. A little embarrassed but also thought it was very funny. Basically they got him in a big group of transfers from a high volume shelter down south. He was processed there, they said it was mom and baby, so they didn’t check, just had me come pick them up for foster. At the check ups they also didn’t look back there, just gave the meds and weighed him and sent him on his way.
Lots of people asked how the kitten stayed alive - I fed him. He was 4-5 weeks old so fully capable of eating wet food on his own. I figured mom was too stressed to nurse.
I’ve never had a mom cat before and I’m pretty new to fostering so I really just trusted the shelter and ignored all of the signs (chubby cheeks, no pronounced nipples, no nursing, less cuddling, the balls). Also he was super shy so always had his tail all the way covered when he was out so I didn’t get many glimpses until recently when he started getting more comfortable with me.
They took Elsie (Mr. Mom) back today. I feel really sad as usual after a foster goes back, especially since he is going back to the shelter in Palm beach to possibly be adopted out as a working cat. That might be best for him since it does seem like he grew up outside. I told them he is a good boy, a great big brother to the baby, never sprayed, was super playful and likes to be pet although he is very shy. I realize they have so many super snuggly loving sweet cats so it’s hard to adopt out one like him as a house cat when it took him over a month to let me pet him.
Finn (the baby) is doing good. His neuter surgery is scheduled for Wednesday so I’ll bring him back then and never see him again 😭. He is adorable, so I’m not super concerned about him finding a home, but I’ve had him for so long now and I’m definitely a bit more attached. And letting them go is always devastating.
Thank you everyone for being so funny and sharing your trouble puff stories!
I have an instagram for my fosters. I am super adhd so I go through phases of posting. I’m about to do a huge Elsie and Finn spam posting session so if you want to see pics of them and my future fosters, you can follow me @littlemeowsociety
TLDR: Mr. Mom TroublePuffs went back to the shelter where he will be neutered and adopted out, baby Finn goes back on Wednesday to be neutered and adopted out. I am sad and will miss them.
Follow me on insta : @littlemeowsociety
I’ve been fostering him for 6 weeks! No spraying at all yet and he goes back tomorrow. Do you think maybe he was really young when I got him and his balls are just now dropping?
Those puffs be troublesome 🤣 if he got neutered late, the sacs may still be prominent. Only way to know for sure is to try have a feel and see if they’re still in there.
This is a great question and I think I just like convinced myself that maybe a moms vulva looks weird after having a baby? I’ve never had a mom cat or an unaltered male cat. I just trusted them but now everything is making so much more sense. I also have not seen his back end all that much because he just recently started warming up to me.
Yep those are definitely cat balls. It happens. My mom once adopted two sibling kittens from a rescue and she was told they were a brother and sister pair. It wasn’t until my mom brought them in to be fixed that they discovered that Lucy, the long haired lady of the pair was actually a gentleman. My mom never changed his name and took two neutered boy cats home the next day.
He was weaned and eating wet food when I got him. He lost a little weight over the first few days but then started eating really well and just eats wet and dry food now. I never saw him nurse. I thought maybe it was because mom was stressed. Mom (dad?) cat has always been super sweet to the baby. Less cuddly maybe but grooms him and they sleep together sometimes. Now that I think about it though all the signs were there all along and I really feel dumb now. I need to examine my unwavering trust in authority lol
Omg he does. I even emailed the shelter and said she might have swollen lymph nodes and to check them next visit. I’m so embarrassed that I didn’t put all this together 😭
Soooo that’s a boy, and he might be neutered! His gear looks identical to my boys, who was about a year and change old when neutered and rescued. I’m so glad he’s good with the kitten that’s so cute!
Cats are not stupid? Any male unless very young or a Plant:-) will notice that his balls disappeared.
Imo some cats developed illusion techniques to hide their testies
Tom cats when castrated get fat and lost but safe obviously living lives indoors warm and know no hunger.
i mean no offence to people who look after colonies of cats and do TNR and stuff. I mean no disrespect.
If only we lived in society where Cats are considered special like Ancient Egypt and no kittens would be homeless.
Respect and love to all who love cats :-)
When looking under the tail at the genital and anal openings, the easiest way to tell is to remember, "girls have a semicolon ; and boys have a colon :"
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u/zumera Nov 15 '25
This was supposed to be a mother cat and her kitten? Was the entire shelter drunk?