When I was a kid, I didn’t quite understand how you told a boy cat from a girl cat. My cat (Buttercup) was a girl, but I didn’t know why. I had no choice but to rely on the representations of my parents.

Inquisitive child that I was, I wanted to know more. What was the trick? I didn’t ask my parents. I prided myself on being a smart kid, and I loved puzzles. The clues were all there – I just had to solve the mystery. After all, I’d seen both of my parents flip a kitten upside down, take a look, and proudly declare whether it was a boy or a girl. I just knew that I could figure it out if I put my mind to it. 

And I did.

However, my answer to this question turned out to be wrong (and to be honest, slightly ridiculous). Here’s a hint:

I’ll spare you a photo of where else I thought this mark might be…

Yes, after careful consideration, I determined that it must be something simple. Namely, that all kittens and puppies had something written on the bottom of them that told the answer. I suspected that it might be as simple as an F or M (or even B and G for boy and girl).

I couldn’t confirm my hypothesis, as none of our animals were particularly willing to let me to flip them over and do a thorough examination of their undercarriage to find the location of the mark. (I was pretty sure it wasn’t on the paws, as I’d gotten a good look at those.) Nonetheless, I felt certain that I’d cracked the case.

Confident in my problem-solving abilities, I promptly moved on to the next case, secure in the knowledge that I’d figured out the secret to my parents’ expertise.

(I told this story to some of my relatives this past weekend. My aunt then told me a story about a cat that she adopted and named Miss Maizie. When she went to the vet, he took one look and informed her that she might want to rename the cat Mr. Amazing instead. I guess it runs in the family.)

What crazy things did you believe as a kid? Did you ever have a cat or dog that you mistakenly thought was a boy or a girl?