Neutered Male With An Erection?

[musical_chick121]

Hi guys! I know I've posted a couple of times on different topics already, but I'm new to this site and have quite a few questions about my kitties and it really helps to have other cat owners to talk to about my concerns.

So I have a 3 year old neutered male named Buddha (black kitty in my display pic) and for the past few months I've noticed him doing something pretty strange...when I'm lounging around it laying on my bed he will jump on me, start kneading for about 5-10 minutes and then jump down and start licking himself 'down there'. at first I didn't think much of it, but I glanced down at him while he was licking himself one time and realized he had a boner! its now become apparent that he gets a boner every time he does this, which is every day, sometimes multiple times a day. He doesnt seem to have any potty problems or anything of that nature. He only does it with me, no one else in the house. He just jumps up, kneads on me, jumps down, licks his weewee for a few minutes and then it goes back in.


What the heck?!?

I'm taking one of our other kitties into the vet tomorrow so I'm gonna ask her about this when I go.

 

[Eva Fitz]

Definitely take him to the vets. The surgery might not have worked as this surgery can fail occasionally.

 

[musical_chick121]

Okay. He doesnt direct this behavior towards any of our females or objects in the house, and I never see it happen anytime other than when he is kneading on me. I am definitely going to ask our vet about it tomorrow though. I never considered the fact that the surgery could fail. That is unsettling.

 

[Eva Fitz]

Yeah vasectomies usually work but sometimes the tubes aren’t sealed off completely and reconnect. Its easy to fix and won’t harm the cat.

 

[She's a witch]

Vet once told me it's totally ok, my cat used to get erection during petting time, but it stopped when he got older. Personally I wouldn't worry about it, I believed it's unconnected to neutering, but yeah, check with your vet.

 

[ArchyCat]

Vasectomies for cats? Every tom cat I've had neutered left his gonads at the vets. Just like when you have a female cat spayed, the vet just doesn't tie off the fallopian tubes, everything is removed.

 

[musical_chick121]

Vet once told me it's totally ok, my cat used to get erection during petting time, but it stopped when he got older. Personally I wouldn't worry about it, I believed it's unconnected to neutering, but yeah, check with your vet.

Yeah, that's what I've gathered from browsing other posts on this site too. If he was doing it all of the time or something I'd be more concerned, but seeing as he only does it with me I am assuming it's behavioral. We'll see what the vet has to say.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

What most people fail to realize is that neutering doesn't necessarily stop the activity, it just stops the consequences. And it definitely cuts WAY down on the willingness to wander for miles, or to fight over the matter. It is not unusual for neutered males to become aroused. The testes are not the only organs that produce testosterone, which is why it is found in females' bodies, both human and animals, as well as in males'. Therefore, sexual excitation is greatly diminished, but not necessarily gone entirely. And, in animals, there is no psychological link between the testicles and sexuality at all. They don't really realize that they have them, nor do they particularly miss them when they're gone.

I'm betting he's perfectly fine, just VERY happy in your lap. I know that there is a squick factor at play here, but give him a break. He's a cat, not some random guy.

 

[Willowy]

Supposedly, back when human eunuchs were more common, they had quite the reputation as lady pleasers. . .so yeah. Things can still work after castration.

If he were still a tomcat, you'd know by now . The urine odor alone would be a big clue.

 

[Norachan]

This is perfectly normal behaviour, no need to worry.

Even after neutering male cats have the ability to......oh I can't think of a better way of putting this.....extend their penis as if they have an erection.

They do it while grooming themselves. They also do it while kneading something or being petted or groomed. Some male cats even try to scruff and hump things like pillows, soft toys or even other cats. It's partly to do with soothing and comforting themselves. With other cats it can be a dominance thing, but as he is doing it with you it's probably just a sign that he is happy and comfortable around you.

In very rare cases it can be a sign that a cat has a certain type of cancer where a tumor presses on the prostrate gland, but this is very unusual and there would be other symptoms too.

By all means ask your vet about it, but don't worry yourself too much.

 

[musical_chick121]

This is perfectly normal behaviour, no need to worry.

Even after neutering male cats have the ability to......oh I can't think of a better way of putting this.....extend their penis as if they have an erection.

They do it while grooming themselves. They also do it while kneading something or being petted or groomed. Some male cats even try to scruff and hump things like pillows, soft toys or even other cats. It's partly to do with soothing and comforting themselves. With other cats it can be a dominance thing, but as he is doing it with you it's probably just a sign that he is happy and comfortable around you.

In very rare cases it can be a sign that a cat has a certain type of cancer where a tumor presses on the prostrate gland, but this is very unusual and there would be other symptoms too.

By all means ask your vet about it, but don't worry yourself too much.

Thank you for your comment. I will definitely ask the vet about it, but I feel a lot better knowing this is a normal occurence. I have another neutered male kitty (Buddha's daddy) who has never done this so I wanted to be sure.

 

[Libby.]

Totally normal behavior. I've owned male cats for decades. All neutered. All able to erect their penis to clean it. Normal and natural even for neutered males.

 

[fionasmom]

It happened to my GSD. He is definitely neutered...he was a rescue from MO and was neutered at the shelter in order to get him out and then when he got to CA had to bring him to my vet to have additional certification that it was done the right way and that he was not able to reproduce. For years he would get erections when he played with his best cat friend Billy and would try to hump him. Billy, seemingly, did not mind at all and went along with it.

I have known a couple of cat breeders who kept vasectomized toms.