Perkins, T.C. 2015. Sexual dimorphism and offspring sex ratio in feral cats.
This pilot study investigated several reproductive parameters including anogenital
distance and intrauterine position to determine its effects, if any, on fertility factors such as litter
size and sex ratio in feral cats in the NC triad. While it is known that males possess larger
anogenital distances across many mammalian species, some of the first averages on anogenital
distance in feral cats were calculated in this study. The average anogenital distance on male cats
in this study was found to be 2.22 cm and 1.29 for females (includes all females analyzed:
pregnant and normal females). The data obtained in this study indicate that there is no
statistically significant correlation between body mass and anogenital distance in neither males
nor females. No conclusion could be made as to whether anogenital distance affected litter sex
ratio due to sample size limitations of this study. With regards to anogenital distance and an
effect on litter size, no statistically significant correlation was found between the two variables.
Intrauterine position results were inconclusive, once again due to sample size limitations of this
study. While more information is necessary before it can be determined whether the
phenomenona of anogenital distance and intrauterine position are reliable predictors of
pregnancy outcomes (including litter size and sex ratios), the results of this study demonstrates
the lack of correlation between several variables and indicates the relationships between
variables that require more data collection. It also established the sexual dimorphism of
anogenital distance in feral cats.
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