I have seen several cases of aggression by neutered male cats to females that takes the form of sexual aggression. Now back to the subject of sexual aggression, but this time in neutered males. It is possible that this explanation accounts for the 10 percent failure rate of neutering in male cats in suppressing all sexually dimorphic behaviors. The various male behaviors that I have described, including inter-male aggression and sexual aggression, may not be completely suppressed and may persist for years following castration of a super-male. Such a cat (or dog) might have more residual maleness and be more prone to exhibit male-typical behaviors after castration, which brings me to my main point. It has been shown in rodents but not yet in dogs and cats that a male fetus flanked on either side by other male fetuses can be “super-masculinized” by transamniotic transfer of small amounts testosterone from its two neighbors. I like the analogy of a dimmer switch, by which the light is turned down but not off. In the absence of testosterone, it is not inactive, simply less active. This area of the brain is activated by testosterone to produce full red-blooded male behavior. Masculinization is a process that occurs in utero as fetal testes secrete testosterone and cause masculinization of specific brain regions, particularly the preoptic area of the anterior hypothalamus. It is true that a neutered male is not an “it” but is rather a male lacking significant levels of testosterone. But there are other factors operating here, too. With mounting, at least, prior sexual experience has been shown to persist longer when the neutered male is constantly presented with a female in heat, as you might well expect. Many of these male-typical behaviors disappear soon after neutering, though some may persist for weeks, months or even years. Mega Masculine KittyĪs we all know, neutering is very successful in cats at eliminating male-typical behaviors, curtailing most of these behaviors with something like 90 percent efficacy. That’s why most cat owners who are not specialist cat breeders gladly accept neutering, in addition to birth control reasons. Most of us don’t want this type of behavior going on in our homes, and neither do most pet owners want an intact male cat around for other reasons notably, intact males are generally more aggressive, frequently engage in objectionable marking and mounting behavior, and have a constant eye for the door, particularly when a neighboring queen is in heat. As he withdraws, the backward-pointing spines on his penis lacerate the female’s vagina, causing her to scream and roll away, and she may smack him if he doesn’t get out of range quickly enough.Īll in all, a pretty unpleasant sounding experience though, surprisingly, the female will tolerate such ravishes multiple times from multiple suitors when she is at the peak of estrus. A male waits for his moment and then darts after the female, pouncing on her from behind, biting her in the neck and pinning her to the ground, while he intromits his barbed penis. Sexual behavior by cats is a pretty gnarly business.
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