The Behavior Of Neutered Male Cat Mounting Spayed Female !

A neutered male cat mounting spayed female can turn out to get very embarrassing if the characters are your male cat and the female cat from the neighborhood. Such situations can be very tense for both the households and to prevent them from happening, you must not act in a hurry. Let us explain the factors that lead to neutered cat humping and how can you deal with it.

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Mechanism of humping or mounting in cats

Humping or mounting in male cats is the name given to the way the male cats perform sexual intercourse with a cat in heat. The males wait for the right moment before pouncing upon the female from the back, then pin her down along with biting her neck and continue to intromit their barbed penis into the female. This behavior of mounting is a part of the set of normal feline behavioral characteristics.

The sexually aggressive behavior of male cats is related to a process called Masculinization which happens in the utero organ involving the secretion of testosterone causing the masculinization of particular brain parts like the preoptic region of the anterior hypothalamus.

Effect of neutering on male cat humping

Neutering causes a lot of male-specific behaviors in the cats to minimize and the results of it have been proven to be around 90% successful. The testosterone levels get decreased after the male cats are neutered and as a result, the process of masculinization just slows down but it doesn’t die out completely. This is why you may still come across a neutered cat humping or trying to mate with a female cat in estrus as this behavior of humping can continue to persist for longer to a lesser degree or re-surface in the company of a female in heat.

The cats that get neutered at an older age have higher chances of experiencing persistent sexually dimorphic tendencies and can attempt mounting more often than the cats neutered at younger ages.

Major reasons behind neutered cat mounting spayed female

As established already, mounting in neutered cats is just a mild continuation of their natural sexual behavior and they might happen to do it anytime anywhere with anything. However, if castration dampens the urge, then what factors promote them to mount still. Here are some of the common reasons that lead to a neutered male cat trying to mate with spayed female:

Presence of a female company

The scent of a female in the estrus period appears very distinctive to the male cats and that is enough to lure them to the urge of mounting the female. However, they can display the same behavioral urge towards a spayed cat and this means that the presence of a female cat in the vicinity is enough to make the neutered male cats want to mount them. The smell of a female cat, spayed or not, can be detected by the male cats easily.

Social discomfort

In surroundings that cause physical or mental discomfort to the cats, they tend to suffer from stress, anxiety, or even depression that can cause an imbalance in their behavioral actions. Social stress can be another factor that can trigger sexual tension in them weirdly and lead to them attempting mounting. This is much similar to urine marking.

Assert social status

Cats feel conflicted in a social set up that involves other cats or pets as well and do various things to assert their status. Mounting a female is a major way for male cats to mark their strong presence which is a way of them declaring their potent reproductive status. This is also a typically male behavior among cats.

Health issues

The anomaly that occurs after the castration surgery has been explained above causes males to experience the urge for humping later too. However, you may see a neutered male cat mounting spayed female due to other health problems like urinary tract infection.

Symptoms of humping

It can be very embarrassing if your neutered male cat starts humping the leg of any visitor or your family member. To save that situation, you must be vigilant, and watching for these symptoms can help you to make the preventive move on time:

Observe the pupils of the cats and see if they are dilating. If yes, then it is a sign that they might be fuelling for humping. Immediately put them down and ignore them.
It’s a warming feeling to see cats showing much affection but there are all chances that it can get followed by them humping into your leg. Be watchful.
During petting, the male cats might start mewing and purr excessively along with aggressive kneading on the floor. This can be a sign of the rising urges in them and you must immediately put them away.

Tips on preventing neutering cats from humping

You can’t stop a neutered male cat trying to mate with spayed female or even wean out mounting urge from the neutered male cats completely. However, you can prevent them from doing so or stop that urge at the moment too. Here are some tips that you can use for that:

The first thing to remember is never to punish or hit the cat in such a situation as that won’t make them learn the right away at all.
You can train them into understanding to stop when you ask them to and actions like verbal cues combined with distraction can help a lot. Just relocate them and say NO in a firmly gentle tone. Do this every time the situation occurs.
Carefully introduce cats to the surroundings, especially female cats, as that can trigger conflict, stress, or other factors to finally lead to the neutered cat humping.
Distracting is a major preventive measure and you can do so by redirecting them to play with their favorite toys or spraying some catnip at a closer location with their scratch post. The idea is to help them burn the energy but in an alternative way.
Give them more space that they can mark as their own via cat trees, perches, walkways, beds, etc. and so they won’t need to establish their status through mounting.
You can also provide them with more resources like litter boxes, toys, and nap time to allow the feeling of undisputed superiority.
Spend more time with your cat to be able to understand their actions and meet their needs rightly. With a better relationship, you will be able to discipline your cat more easily.

Conclusion

That was all that you needed to understand about neutered male cat mounting spayed female. It’s a natural behavior in male cats that must be dealt with wisely and calmly and our tips would surely help you with that. Don’t forget to share your experiences and thoughts with us.

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Luna Tran

My name is Luna and I am a great cat lover and a cat owner of three lovely cats. I have owned many cats till now and have dedicated many years to nurturing and caring cats. Through this blog, I am here to share my knowledge and experience about cats.