It’s always interesting (and often an endless source of amusement) when the pet an owner had imagined was a he turns out to be…a she. Most clients take the news in stride, changing a kitten’s name from Lucifer to Lucinda or Fidel to Fidelina in one notable case (as you might imagine, this Cuban-American vet wasn’t crazy about the masculine version).
But it’s even more amusing when even the vet can’t tell whether a pet is male or female. Imagine our surprise when a vaginal exam turns up an enlarged clitoris and/or the inevitable spay reveals a strange configuration of reproductive organs. More obvious is when that tri-colored cat bears a testicle or two (their chromosomes uniformly bear double X’s, not XY’s—unless something else is amiss).
Yet these rare abnormalities aren’t considered trivial by many in some human-related research communities. The dog’s chromosomal changes and gene expressions may well turn out to be relevant to Sry-negative XX sex reversal in humans or in other cases where XY or XX individuals express traits of the opposite sex. Again, here’s another instance where our household pets may well pave the way for human progress.
To us vets, though, uncovering these cases seems nothing more than a larky finding. After all, these pets are often sterile and, in fact, seldom get a chance to prove it—they’re typically spayed or neutered in short order. And owners are none too psyched to be shown how BIG their Viszla’s clitoris might be. It’s fun for us, for sure, but not so much for an owner who may or may not consider such genetic expressions to be of interest when discovered in their own pet.
Interestingly, cats and dogs elicit different psychological reactions in owners informed of transgender findings. Cats? No big deal—they tend to be viewed as more asexual anyway. Dogs? No way. People personalize sexuality in dogs to an extent I wouldn’t have thought possible were it not for my experience in vet practice. The upshot is that transgender pups are more likely to be returned to their breeders upon discovery—even when breeding was never in the cards anyway.
It’s sad, really, that even our pets are exposed to our human peccadilloes in this way. But I tend to see it this way: Having a pet can be an intensely personal experience. If an owner doesn’t feel the connection to a pet because he-she is special in this regard, then they should make an early decision and divest themselves of the relationship. There are plenty of us out there ready and willing to take on unique specimens. In the end, they’ll love us just the same.
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I can see how owners could get upset over this. They bond with a female pet, and it ends up being male, or vice versa. It would be confusing, and change what you thought of that pet, at least in the short term. Would take some adjustment. Then again, it is still the same animal, in reality. I guess human emotions can get in the way on this one.
Robin November 13th, 2007 07:39:00 PM
Do other members of the species react differently to a transgender? If a calico has testicles, do male cats treat her(him?) as another male? Female? Are animals confused?
lin November 14th, 2007 12:43:00 AM
I can't imagine caring one way or another about a transgender pet... Now, when I got Agadore I admittedly wanted a male, and I got the only make of the litter. It was love at first site and four years later he is still the dog equivelent of my soul mate. If I woke up tomorrow and found out he was a she.....it's STILL the same dog I bonded with and came to love. I don't get this.... how can you feel different cause your dog is different in an area that covers about 3 inches? You didn't bond with the reproductive organs...... you bonded with the unique personality that is your dog.
AGADORE'S MAMA November 15th, 2007 06:50:00 PM
I was given a kitten 17 years ago, and was told it was a girl by the family that gave it to me. I didn't know better at the time, and named her Emerald. Well by the time Em went in to be spayed, I realized she was going to be castrated instead.
I never adjusted her name, or her gender status. She was always female to me. Only a few times her true gender came up in her life. One was a vet who once she found out Em was male refused to call her a girl - and I refused to see that vet again.
Neutered pets care little about if you call them a boy or a girl. They only care that there is a warm bed to sleep in, a plate full of food twice a day, and a human to love. For some reason though, humans care way too much. :)
Connie November 19th, 2007 04:12:00 PM
Ever since I was a pup I have been identified mostly as male. I was expected to be tough and independent - by humans and other dogs alike, and in actuality I lived up to that expectation 5 times over, while denying my true nature... I attacked passing cyclists, and toddling children - proving to myself my masculine ferocity.. and If I was feeling territorial I would occasionally pee 6 feet up a living room wall (I am, by most accounts, a small dog, but quite agile).
Finally, as I perhaps have allowed my inner ambiguity to shine through more readily - the humans and others in my life have begun to respect the fluid and uncertain relationship I have with gender - pink polka-dotted collars and bubble baths have ensued - and I feel the journey is just beginning...
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