Sexual aggression in fixed cats?

[Paperclip75]

Maybe?
I’ve posted before about the tension between my Poppy (about 26 months, spayed , adopted first) and Gus (about 15 months, neutered, adopted about six months after Poppy, when he was a couple of months old and she just a year).

They were gradually introduced and got along ok, the initial issue being he didn’t know when to stop playing and she’d have to tell him fairly aggressively...but I also didn’t leave them alone together for a long time because he was so tiny.
Since getting bigger than her, the issue is different...

They play together a little bit, mostly chasing, but sometimes this results in her hissing continually while running away from him. She also goes through periods where she grumbles and hisses when he comes near her or as she goes past him (sometimes deliberately, more than once...testing him? Challenging?). I think this is sometimes because she’s afraid of him based on the sexual aggression thing I’ll describe next. At the moment she does this several times a day.

Gus seems to be doing a pouncing, neck biting, faux mating thing - which makes her scream and sends fur flying. It’s super upsetting and I’m sad if she is feeling scared or stressed. ..

I just read this article :What You Need to Know About Sexual Aggression In Neutered Cats - Veterinary Practice News
And am wondering if anyone has tried the pheromone thing? If so, how did you go about it? Where do you find the right stuff?

Gus also, sometimes just attacks and it seems more predatory maybe? Or, again, like he doesn’t know how to play properly?
I don’t have a video of his mounting behaviour but do have one of him just attacking, from yesterday, that I can share... and then I have video from the same day of them licking tuna juice off each other (my attempt to make them friendly) , and photos of them cuddling ...which they do a couple times per week.

i just want them to have a peaceful home Any more advice out there?

 

[Paperclip75]

Also! I had Gus quarantined for almost three weeks recovering from a surgery and following that reintroduction they seemed to get along better for a while ...maybe because he was less active and also in onesies which seemed to calm him? She had a long period of not being attacked by him anyway, and stopped the growling mostly, unless he sat right on her for snuggles...but even then she would sometimes growl a bit and then groom him...

 

[Paperclip75]

Hi again ...thought I’d just bump this in case anybody with thoughts missed it . Sorry if I’m being annoying.

 

[AmyTheKittyMommy]

Hello,
I haven’t personally dealt with sexual aggression in cats, but the article you linked suggested using Boar Mate or similar boar pheromones to prevent the male cat from bothering the female.
I looked it up and found some other links of cat owners suggesting they had success using Boar Mate, though one person did note it was particularly stinky. Here’s one article that discusses it and even has a link to one place you can buy Boar Mate.
Lions, Tigers and Boar Spray?!
I hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Paperclip75]

Thanks.

 

[susanm9006]

Maybe sexual aggression but I lean more towards it being a young cat with a whole lot of energy that is annoying the heck out of his housemate cat. It’s pretty normal to have one that plays harder and rougher than the other and for there to be screams, hisses and slaps. Usually what happens with a kitten is that they get great leeway to be obnoxious when they are little because of a built in instinct in adult cats not to hurt kittens. Usually though when they near adulthood the older cat starts to get tougher with them and hissing/slapping starts. So your female may still be working out their relationships and the times they really get in to it may help him settle down.

Your boy is still a youngster and very well may settle down and play a little nicer in another six months or so. I wouldn’t worry about your female too much, she sounds like she is willing to let him know when he is too rough. You can help by making sure he gets enough play to wear him out at least once a day and that there are plenty of places where she can go to get away from him.

 

[cataholic07]

I wouldnt say its sexual frustration just too much energy. My 9 month old kitten hisses and growls at the boy if they are playing too rough with her. Even though she will bunny kick them in the face, come out of nowhere and bite their head lol. She just doesnt like to be on the bottom and will hiss, swipe and growl at them. But if she's on top she's just fine. Probably cause the boys are still bigger then her lol. She's slowly catching up in size though. She sleeps with them all the time though and never seems to hold a grudge at all. She's currently sleeping with Fynn who has his paws on her, who about an hour ago was playing too rough with her and she was hissing at him and running.

But I'd suggest more play time with a wand toy for sure. I have found that is has helped here.

 

[Paperclip75]

Thanks folks. She’s not that much older than him and tends to have more play energy when not involving him (because of the biting - sometimes he pulls her hair out )...but maybe I just need to relax and make sure they’re both getting lots of play and attention

 

[cml2015]

Maybe?
I’ve posted before about the tension between my Poppy (about 26 months, spayed , adopted first) and Gus (about 15 months, neutered, adopted about six months after Poppy, when he was a couple of months old and she just a year).

They were gradually introduced and got along ok, the initial issue being he didn’t know when to stop playing and she’d have to tell him fairly aggressively...but I also didn’t leave them alone together for a long time because he was so tiny.
Since getting bigger than her, the issue is different...

They play together a little bit, mostly chasing, but sometimes this results in her hissing continually while running away from him. She also goes through periods where she grumbles and hisses when he comes near her or as she goes past him (sometimes deliberately, more than once...testing him? Challenging?). I think this is sometimes because she’s afraid of him based on the sexual aggression thing I’ll describe next. At the moment she does this several times a day.

Gus seems to be doing a pouncing, neck biting, faux mating thing - which makes her scream and sends fur flying. It’s super upsetting and I’m sad if she is feeling scared or stressed. ..

I just read this article :What You Need to Know About Sexual Aggression In Neutered Cats - Veterinary Practice News
And am wondering if anyone has tried the pheromone thing? If so, how did you go about it? Where do you find the right stuff?

Gus also, sometimes just attacks and it seems more predatory maybe? Or, again, like he doesn’t know how to play properly?
I don’t have a video of his mounting behaviour but do have one of him just attacking, from yesterday, that I can share... and then I have video from the same day of them licking tuna juice off each other (my attempt to make them friendly) , and photos of them cuddling ...which they do a couple times per week.

i just want them to have a peaceful home Any more advice out there?

Hi Paperclip,

I know exactly what you are going through with your kits .Had the same problem with my two, brother and sister.
The sexual aggression thing got me to the Vets to make sure he was neutered properly, LOL.
No problem there but would constantly go after her and she would just lay there . I felt so bad because my boy is bigger than her, is a bully, and punishes her if I am too cozy with her. He owns me, does not like sharing.
I got the Feliway plugins for multi cat households and that has helped a lot with the aggression. They release a scent that cats pick up but humans can't smell. I have placed in bedroom and kitchen/breakfast room area. Maybe try these and see if that helps the tension. I got them on Amazon