What If You Cat Attracts Different Suitors?

[Applecat]

My cat goes out at night and has had 2 different male suitors. What are cat relationships like? Do they fight over the same female cat? Do cats stay loyal to their mates? She brought home one guy and he never came back because I think he knew I did not approve. (I was not prepared). Then another tough kitty came yowling at my cat, scaring her. He rubbed against our door and meowed to be let in. So she hid indoors. Than started chirping and meowing at her and they became friends. They started meowing at each other. What does this mean? I preferred the first cat but he never came back. Does the female go with the stronger kitty?

 

[Kat0121]

My cat goes out at night and has had 2 different male suitors. What are cat relationships like? Do they fight over the same female cat? Do cats stay loyal to their mates? She brought home one guy and he never came back because I think he knew I did not approve. (I was not prepared). Then another tough kitty came yowling at my cat, scaring her. He rubbed against our door and meowed to be let in. So she hid indoors. Than started chirping and meowing at her and they became friends. They started meowing at each other. What does this mean? I preferred the first cat but he never came back. Does the female go with the stronger kitty?

Yes. Intact males will definitely fight over a female. It is not uncommon for a tom to be killed over a female in heat. These fight are also a major way that FIV is spread. An infected tom can also pass it to a female through bites that occur during the mating process.

No. Cats do not stay loyal to a "mate". Many times mating happens whether the female wants it or not. It can be violent and painful for the female.

It is not uncommon for a litter of kittens to be fathered by multiple toms.

If the one male didn't come back, it was not because they didn't think you approved. It was because he got chased off by another male, likely the "tough" kitty. Intact males are quite territorial.

Cats are not teenagers going out on dates. They don't want to take her to the prom. They are around her for one reason. Impregnating her. Please have her spayed. These males will not stop coming around and will not stop fighting until she is no longer attractive to them (going through heat cycles).

 

[Norachan]

You really need to get your cat spayed.

If you let her go out she will be mated by as many toms are in the local area. Mating isn't pleasant for female cats, she risks being injured in the process.

She is also at risk from Feline AIDS, Infectious Feline Leukemia, Feline Herpes, Feline Distemper, Toxoplasmosis, Feline Parvo, scabies, mange, ringworm, fleas and various other diseases and parasites that outdoor cats carry. Some of these are fatal, many are expensive or, in some cases, impossible to treat. Any kittens conceived while a cat is infected with some of the more serious diseases will be still-born or else suffer from birth defects

If you allow her to have multiple pregnancies she risks other fatal conditions such as Pyometra and cancer.

Please keep her indoors and make an appointment to get her spayed as soon as you can. Cats can't make logical decisions about which male to mate with, you're putting her at serious risk by allowing her to form "relationships" with feral tom cats.

 

[Kat0121]

You really need to get your cat spayed.

If you let her go out she will be mated by as many toms are in the local area. Mating isn't pleasant for female cats, she risks being injured in the process.

She is also at risk from Feline AIDS, Infectious Feline Leukemia, Feline Herpes, Feline Distemper, Toxoplasmosis, Feline Parvo, scabies, mange, ringworm, fleas and various other diseases and parasites that outdoor cats carry. Some of these are fatal, many are expensive or, in some cases, impossible to treat. Any kittens conceived while a cat is infected with some of the more serious diseases will be still-born or else suffer from birth defects

If you allow her to have multiple pregnancies she risks other fatal conditions such as Pyometra and cancer.

Please keep her indoors and make an appointment to get her spayed as soon as you can. Cats can't make logical decisions about which male to mate with, you're putting her at serious risk by allowing her to form "relationships" with feral tom cats.

Wise words as always. I'd also like to add that if you have a local TNR group that you try to contact them to see if they would trap these toms and have them neutered then returned. You would be doing them a great service. The life of an intact feral tomcat is not fun and often short.

 

[di and bob]

Just keeping her inside will not work They cycle in and out of heat almost continuously until bred. the meowing will drive you crazy. Mating cats are seriously hurtful to the female. And they often get in the middle of fights. please get her spayed so she can have a happy life, and so will you!

 

[Willowy]

Cats have rather complicated social relationships, and you never really know which cat will be friends with whom.

But at far as mating, they aren't monogamous at all, and a female will mate with as many males as she can. This is not conducive to a long and happy life (wild cats have a lot of babies and then die young), so if you care about her, she should be spayed.

She's almost certainly pregnant right now, but likely very early on. If you don't want kittens, and are comfortable with terminating the pregnancy, she can be spayed now.

 

[lutece]

Is your girl spayed already and just making friends with the local cats? Or is she unspayed, having heat cycles, and mating with these unaltered males? It's difficult to tell from your description of her behavior.

 

[Kflowers]

No one mentioned a side effect of male cats coming to court your lady cat. They will fight in your front yard, your back yard, your side yards. Cat fights are loud, seriously loud, they have a pre-fight challenge that mimics a siren. They also like to mark their territory, or what they hope will be their territory. Any day now you will walk out your door and get a whiff of tom cat spray. It's unlike any other scent in the world. The only thing that can be said for it is that it isn't as strong as skunk spray or wolverine musk.

You probably don't want those things to happen. Your lady cat will be happy without having kittens. If she has them and you give them away, she will grieve for her lost kittens. If you have her spayed now she'll never know she was carrying them and won't grieve.