Kitten humping rug?

[Attica1962]

My seven months old kitten takes his favourite rug all over the house. Today I discovered that he is humping the rug!! In our last visit to the vet, he advised us to neuter him in December, before he starts marking his territory.

Should we hurry up our visit and have him neutered this month? Or it's not something to be worrid about?

And also, what kind changes should we be expecting after the operation?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Seven months is well over the normal timeline, so get it done!!

After surgery changes can vary by cat, mostly being a bit calmer once their hormones dissipate - and certainly a good chance that he will stop humping. Even if he doesn't, who cares? Thank your lucky stars that he hasn't started spraying!!!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The sooner he is neutered now, given that his hormones are obviously fully functional, the better. Will he stop humping his rug? Probably, but maybe not. Neutering does not take instinct away, especially in males, it simply reduces the drive to wander looking for a willing girl, fight over it, and totally eliminates kittens, of course. However, since the rug has no objections, this isn't a big problem.

 

[cmshap]

After surgery changes can vary by cat [...] and certainly a good chance that he will stop humping. Even if he doesn't, who cares?

since the rug has no objections, this isn't a big problem.

First point, I totally agree with getting him neutered as soon as you can.

Second point, I agree that there's a chance humping might keep happening after, but if it does, it's harmless.

There's a good chance your cat will never hump again after being neutered, because he loses the drive to do so.

There's also a chance (no idea what % of male cats) that he will continue to hump, maybe just once in a while, because he has learned that it feels good. This is literally cat masturbation, and it does happen with some male cats.

My 11-year old hasn't done it in quite a while, but he continued to hump after being neutered. It was never a constant thing, just occasionally.

Most of the time, no fluid is produced after a male cat does this post-neutering. At least from what I've read about other experiences with cats like this.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

LOL, do be aware that, should the behavior continue, if someone important to your life comes over, he may well "perform" for them. Because cat.

 

[cmshap]

LOL, do be aware that, should the behavior continue, if someone important to your life comes over, he may well "perform" for them. Because cat.

I've talked to every cat owner I know about this, and it is WAAAAY less common than dogs humping.

For some reason, everybody seems to be used to dogs humping things (I mean neutered dogs) but not cats.

With one friend I was talking to, I was describing how my cat continued to hump things after he was neutered. She was so surprised, she said she didn't even know cats humped at all. She thought that was a dog-only behavior.

I asked her, "how do you think they reproduce?" (She's not unintelligent, it's just such a foreign concept to some cat people, they never consider it.)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I know. One of my friends had a lovely neutered tom who fell in love with her fuzzy slipper. ONLY the left one. He was a faithful little thing, and took that slipper EVERYWHERE with him!

 

[cmshap]

I know. One of my friends had a lovely neutered tom who fell in love with her fuzzy slipper. ONLY the left one. He was a faithful little thing, and took that slipper EVERYWHERE with him!

Like you said... the inanimate object doesn't have any objections.

Not making any assumptions about the OP's ( Attica1962 ) attitudes, which could be different. But I've found more cat people, in general, to be offended by seeing a cat humping than by a dog humping. In either species' case, after they are neutered and healthy, it's completely harmless.

 

[IndyJones]

Be glad its the rug.... Kabuto used to jump up and hump me, sometimes in the bed and others sitting on the computer chair.

Im positive thats what it was because he would run off with a boner. Yes neutered male cats can still have a boner but usualy no fluid with it.

 

[cmshap]

Yes neutered male cats can still have a boner but usualy no fluid with it.

From my understanding, erections and orgasms are indeed just as possible for males (of other species, too) after castration. Fluid production is usually nonexistent with castrated cats, but the prostate gland still can produce some fluid in some cases.

What I read from people who experienced this was that it was no more than one or a few tiny drops, which dry very fast.

This is all based on things I've read, I am not a vet or expert at all.

Edit: Adding a link to this article. It's informative, but has a little bit of crass language, if that might bother you (the author takes a humorous tone at times, but it's about behavior and biology).

Does Your Cat Like to, Umm, Pleasure Himself? Feline Masturbation Explained - Catster

 

[Attica1962]

Many thanks for your replies. The humping behaviour doesn't bother me. It's only that our vet said to us in our last visit that we should have him neutered in December, before he started peeing to mark his territory, but he never mentioned the humping. And to be true, I had never heard of cats humping things, or people. The first time I observed it I mentioned it to my husband and he said it was my imagination.

I will call the vet first thing on Monday, and I will discuss it with him.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Excellent plan. If he's starting mating behavior, spraying will follow in a foreseeable time. Best to cut that off (bad choice of words, LOL, but I'll let it stand) now.

 

[cmshap]

Excellent plan. If he's starting mating behavior, spraying will follow in a foreseeable time. Best to cut that off (bad choice of words, LOL, but I'll let it stand) now.

I just want to add a few more details on my cat's case, if it helps. We never got to the spraying stage with him, but as soon as humping started, we got him neutered.

I had an abnormal case. My cat arrived as a stray who was somewhere around 1 year old. He was very sick and starving, and needed significant rehabilitation first. So surgery wasn't safe right away.

He got better, and then started humping ME first (despite what I said, that I find humping to be harmless just by itself... when it's done on you, it's unsettling ). The humping always started with kneading and purring, so it's not like there were warning signs. He would also knead and purr and then just settle down on my lap and go to sleep, other times, so I didn't want to dissuade the affection, completely, when it was starting.

But as soon as it started happening, we reported it to the vet and she did the neuter surgery right away. No spraying ever ensued, even though he did continue to hump occasionally after.

Interestingly, he never once tried to hump me again after his neuter surgery. It's always ever been his cat beds, and one time it was a towel. I'm quite glad for this.

 

[FriendofFerals]

I've got one that's around 16-17 years old, former feral, late neutered TNR and he humps a teddy bear or blanket every night. It's just something I've learned to deal with. The other two aren't humpers. One was neutered as a kitten and the other was a rescue neutered at 3 and he doesn't hump anything. But the old feral guy is ridiculous. When he doesn't hump his teddy bear, I know he's not feeling well!

 

[cmshap]

But the old feral guy is ridiculous. When he doesn't hump his teddy bear, I know he's not feeling well!

That honestly sounds great to me... like another marker to watch for when looking for changes in my cat's health.

I've consistently read about how you should use litter box habits and watch excreta for signs of health issues. This sounds like a potentially similar marker.

 

[cmshap]

I will call the vet first thing on Monday, and I will discuss it with him.

Just wondering if you talked to your vet, and if so, what they said.

If you haven't had the conversation yet, no problem. I just like to follow up on threads I participated in, because sometimes users forget to update (as I have before).

 

[Attica1962]

Yes, I spoke with the vet and we are taking the surgery next week. My husband told me that the vet didn't want to do it earlier, because unless there are risks, he prefers the kitten to be more phisically developed before undergoing surgery. Not that my cat is small or underdeveloped!!! He must weight 4 kgs at least at 7 months old!!!!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

LOL, I'd say, off-hand, that "He's humping the rug" indicates a pretty good physical development!