feline homosexuality

by Lisa
(Montreal)

My 8 year old neutered cat is constantly trying to mount his male feline housemate by biting him behind the neck and then trying to copulate. The male cat he is trying to mate with is very passive and other than screaming from the pain of being bitten does not defend himself. Why the sudden interest in mounting the other male. He has been neutered for at least 7 years and started this behavior approx. one year ago. How do I stop it.

Answer by Kate
Hi
this can be a common issue. male cats are sometimes driven by instinct rather than just hormones and so even though he is neutered something has triggered his instincts to mate and as your other male cat is the only other cat around, he is fair game.

Cats are very much rules by scents and so it may be that your other male cat has an hormone imbalance which is mimicking the female mating scent. Or indeed the main male cat may have some sort of hormone imbalance which is mimicking testosterone.

your best option is to take your cats to the vets for a check over to rule out anything that could be causing a hormone issue. Apart from that their is not much you can do to stop it. It is up to the submissive male to tell the other cat where to go.

best wishes Kate

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