Sexually aggressive neutered male?

[horselo285]

Guys I need advice.

I have a roughly 1 1/2-year-old cat that we took in when he was a small kitten. he was neutered whenever the vet said to do so… I believe it was around three or four months.

When he was about seven months old he started showing some occasional aggression. That mostly subsided until a few months. He began acting sexual in nature out of nowhere. He will kneed at me or at a blanket and then will start this weird meow and try to hump. he will also bite at this point. I obviously don’t allow him to do this to me, but it is not unusual to find him humping my blankets which does not make me too happy.

more concerning though, he has become more aggressive again. I can read his body language and get him away from me before he attacks but I have three children and am worried for them. My older two are cautious around him and pretty good at avoiding getting attacked but both have been at one time or another. My youngest is only three and I’m becoming increasingly worried about her. She cannot read his body language and also cannot stop him if he goes to attack. The other day she was cuddling in my bed with me and he was laying next to her and all she did was reach over and try to pet him (very gently with only one finger). I was awake and saw his body language change and put my hand between them just in time. He lunged both claws out at her face. Thank God my hand was there to shove him away

tonight, he was in my bed lay next to me and began kneading at my arm. I was half asleep and not paying attention when all of a sudden he meowed and lunged at me. I shoved him away and everything is fine… But I am really concerned. I am afraid I cannot keep him if this continues. I do not want my children being injured.

I should note that I have a spayed female cat. While he annoys her at times I have never seen him do the sexual behaviors towards her.

advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[vyger]

Some male animals, and this includes cats horses and people, all animals, can have a condition in which one or possibly both testicles don't descend out of the main torso. When this happens the testicle remains inside the body. The result is that the animal is sterile, in that it will not produce viable sperm but it does produce testosterone and so will cause an animal to fully develop into a male. If the testicle had not descended when the kitten was neutered it likely was not removed. The vet should have noted this since to fully neuter the kitten a more invasive surgery needs to be performed where the undescended testicle is removed. It is a more difficult surgery. It looks like the vet that did the procedure just skipped mentioning it. After all the cat is sterile which was the big goal. They may have not realized that the strong male habits that testosterone causes would be a problem. Anyway, this sounds like it is the problem that you are having.
Another possibility is that the cat is picking up significant amounts of testosterone from the environment, something like hormone pills or supplements that he has picked up small amounts of. Somewhere he is getting testosterone and reacting to it.

 

[ArtNJ]

Kneading a blanket is normal, but if you are seeing actual true humping then maybe it is the issue vyger describes. I've heard some properly neutered cats continue to hump when neutered, so it could also be something else but if you are sure its humping then it does sound worth asking the vet that did the procedure about.

 

[Norachan]

I have a neutered male cat that does the same thing. He's never tried it on with me, but he has his favourite blankets and pillows.

I've heard that cats do this to "self sooth" when they are feeling stressed out. Maybe your boy is expressing his anxiety about something? It could be anything from something different in the home, the fact that your youngest child is growing and so now more capable of walking around and reaching him, or other animals he's seeing/hearing/smelling outside.

There are lots of products available that will help to calm and anxious cat, but agree that talking to your vet should be your first step.

 

[di and bob]

The kneading is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. 'Humping' is usually related to stress. Since he is neutered, try to think of it as not sexual, but more of a way for him to reduce his stress. It's annoying but harmless. I think your children are at the ages where it is a little too much for him, they are loud and quick. Your youngest is maybe unintentionally hurting him at times or scaring him. I would encourage all the children to ignore him and leave him alone.
There are calming treats on Amazon you might try, I use half doses for vet trips and they work well. The next time he lunges at you or your children, grab him by the scruff of the neck and pin him to the ground until he becomes quiet, just a few seconds, but EVERY time for it to become effective. He may struggle and come at you again, but keep doing it until he quiets. This is what mama cats do for discipline. He is upset at something and is lashing out. I hope you can maybe provide him with a quiet place to go so he can unwind. My Chrissy had a bed on top of the fridge. Give him a few places to get out of reach a cat tree would work too. All the luck!

 

[Hellenww]

I'm sorry you're going through this. You're probably already doing it but make sure he's not unsupervised with your youngest.

Rule out anything physical. I'm pretty sure there is a blood test to check his hormone levels. Check him for any kind of pain. Will he let you check his whole body, mouth, and ears? Several sessions might be needed if he's agreeable or ask the vet to be extra thorough. Is he eating, drinking, and using the litter box ok? While he's at the vets ask them to trim his nails if your not comfortable doing. Keeping his nails trimmed could lessen the damage if he does make contact.

He's a young cat and needs lots of exercise. Have wand toys and toys to toss in every room. Get the older kids to have toy play sessions with him several times a day. You want him tired out and to change his mind set from humans are playthings and prey to humans have the best toys and will play with me when I'm nice. If he was very young when you got him he might not have learned play ettiquette from his Mom and siblings and treating the humans as he would cat family but you don't have claws or teeth to teach him they hurt. If this is the issue he can be taught.

Use di and bob s technique and precede it with a stern NO. Eventually the stern no might be enough.

Do you know if there are outside animals that could be causing stress/ re-directed aggression?

Good Luck.

 

[horselo285]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

in his case, the kneading absolutely appears to be issue. As soon as he starts it he starts twitching and his penis comes out And he will bite onto something and hump or attack. It doesn’t matter if he’s doing it to a blanket or me or a child. Once he starts kneading, it either turns into a hump session or aggression. Pretty much every single time. I feel like I constantly need to have my guard up around him… Not just for myself but for my family as well.

I have had cats my entire life and I’ve never seen anything like this. I am also a dog groomer so well-versed with animals and animal behavior. If it was just me it would not be a big deal… But as I stated I am concerned about my children.

As far as stressors go… there is nothing new or different in the house. Everything is the same as it has been since we took him in at 8 weeks old (adopted from my vets office).he is overall sweet and friendly and has no other behavioral issues. He uses the litter box he eats fine. He plays fine. but when he starts kneading, things are not fine.

I supervise him with all my children as much as possible but as he is a cat who can move around the house freely, it is hard to supervise 100%... even with my youngest because I am not always on top of her. I am always nearby but not always literally on top of her.

that said I worry most at night because I have no control over situations when I am sleeping. And he will start kneading at a blanket or me at night and then attack. and I worry that he will do it to my daughter or one of my sons.

he is just about due for a check up anyhow so we will be going to the vet to see if there’s anything physical going on. I’m just so worried. I don’t want to rehome him but I don’t want him to hurt one of my children. It’s scary when he goes to attack. He is not himself when this happens… It’s almost like he is possessed LOL

 

[horselo285]

Some male animals, and this includes cats horses and people, all animals, can have a condition in which one or possibly both testicles don't descend out of the main torso. When this happens the testicle remains inside the body. The result is that the animal is sterile, in that it will not produce viable sperm but it does produce testosterone and so will cause an animal to fully develop into a male. If the testicle had not descended when the kitten was neutered it likely was not removed. The vet should have noted this since to fully neuter the kitten a more invasive surgery needs to be performed where the undescended testicle is removed. It is a more difficult surgery. It looks like the vet that did the procedure just skipped mentioning it. After all the cat is sterile which was the big goal. They may have not realized that the strong male habits that testosterone causes would be a problem. Anyway, this sounds like it is the problem that you are having.
Another possibility is that the cat is picking up significant amounts of testosterone from the environment, something like hormone pills or supplements that he has picked up small amounts of. Somewhere he is getting testosterone and reacting to it.

as far as I know we don’t have anything in the house that contains testosterone. Nobody is on testosterone medication or anything like that. So I don’t think that’s a possibility unless there’s somewhere it’s hidden that I don’t know about. As far as I know both his testicles had descended before he was neutered. Although I’m sure I didn’t get all up in there and actually feel the area… So maybe it just looked correct. He went for a bunch a check ups before being neutered though and no one ever mentioned anything and no one mentioned anything after he was neutered. I will definitely be discussing this with my vet. Thank you!

 

[Norachan]

A blood test will be able to determine whether he has high levels of testosterone, either because some tissue was left behind when he was neutered or because something else is causing elevated levels.

It is quite common for male cats to hump things. It's more about dominance and asserting themselves in the hierarchy than it is about sexual desires.

He'll see everyone in the family, human and feline, as part of his colony so may just be trying to establish his place in the group.

I have 20 cats and the one who humps the most is the most submissive male, the one who backs down to all the other males and almost all of the females.

If it is a behavioral issue ask your vet Feliway, Zylkene, calming treats and other ways to modify his behavior. Ask for a blood test first though, just in case.

 

[iLivewithCrazyKat]

Hi horselo285, i can understand your fear. I just joined this catsite to find support in understanding my own cat better.
He has also been neutered quite late though at are 9-10months old, he is F5 Savannah and he is about 10 years now, he also still humps our 1 yr old female cat quite aggressively going for the neck at weird positions even sideways and i have to come to her rescue shooing him off many times.
He has given me so much love and yet so much grief - attacking all other 4 male cats one by one until he is separated from them, he has also attacked me, sinking his 2 fangs into my leg in a redirection of aggression that has traumatised me till now
Like Norachan recommends, i swear by Zylkene (recommended by a cat behaviourist) and he has been on it for almost a year and we have had his blood work done twice this year by the vets and its super safe. It keeps his calmer i find (although he cannot help with the humping) but its worth a shot to try and calm him and make you feel safer around him