I think my cat is humping.

[Tiger Girl]

Hey all,

My 18 month old (fixed) male just started getting into kneading. At
first it was just the usual thing, kneading soft spots, pillows, etc.
I was delighted because I thought (from previous experience) that it
meant that he was really happy and really relaxed.

Then he REALLY started to get into it, would get a look of intense
concentration, and after a while, would start kneading with his back
legs too. This was the first time I'd seen a cat pound away with four
legs. Then I noticed his tail was jerking rhythmically and thought
"what the heck". Picked him up and saw that his little willy was right
out.

He's a shelter cat, was on his own for who-knows-how long, and wasn't
altered when they picked him up at about a year old. That was last
spring.

I've never had a cat that humped. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.

Is this normal? Is it normal for a neutered male to do this? Now I'm
worried that he's going to...er...exude...something eventually, and
I'm pretty sure I don't want that to happen on my clothes, my sofa, my
pillows, or any of the other places that he does this. Can a fixed
cat get his rocks off, as it were? Or is that a physical
impossibility? Also, is this behavior perhaps linked to his tendency
to play really rough, and would it be a problem if I got another cat
at some point? Or would it depend on the cat?

Thanks - I'm in completely new territory here...

[Diane L. Schirf]

Post by Tiger Girl
I've never had a cat that humped. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.
Is this normal? Is it normal for a neutered male to do this?

Hodge used to do this -- often on my leg, like a dog (dominant bitches
will do this same as males, as anyone with experience of dogs knows). It
was his way of asserting his dominance (the reason dogs do it, too). I
read a cat behaviourist who called this "dominant dog syndrome" in cats.

Over two and a half years, however, he's finally getting the hint that
he's not top dog here, which sounds weird, but I'm not a dominant person
(plus my previous cat was neither dominant nor submissive) and had to
force myself to make the point. The displays and the biting have
diminished (although not gone away entirely), and if I go toward him
when he's doing something he knows he's not supposed to, he now rolls
over into a doglike submissive posture. As for ejaculation, I don't
think he's ever done that -- I doubt he can -- although he has peed
inappropriately.

It's actually pretty funny -- a cat that thinks like a dog.

[Hodge]

Post by Diane L. Schirf

Post by Tiger Girl
I've never had a cat that humped. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.
Is this normal? Is it normal for a neutered male to do this?

Hodge used to do this -- often on my leg, like a dog (dominant bitches
will do this same as males, as anyone with experience of dogs knows). It
was his way of asserting his dominance (the reason dogs do it, too). I
read a cat behaviourist who called this "dominant dog syndrome" in cats.
Over two and a half years, however, he's finally getting the hint that
he's not top dog here, which sounds weird, but I'm not a dominant person
(plus my previous cat was neither dominant nor submissive) and had to
force myself to make the point. The displays and the biting have
diminished (although not gone away entirely), and if I go toward him
when he's doing something he knows he's not supposed to, he now rolls
over into a doglike submissive posture. As for ejaculation, I don't
think he's ever done that -- I doubt he can -- although he has peed
inappropriately.
It's actually pretty funny -- a cat that thinks like a dog.

P.S. My veterinarian handles Hodge very carefully. I once made fun of
him for it, and he said, "I don't hate Hodge. We simply have mutual
respect." ;)

[Priscilla Ballou]

Post by Tiger Girl
Hey all,
My 18 month old (fixed) male just started getting into kneading. At
first it was just the usual thing, kneading soft spots, pillows, etc.
I was delighted because I thought (from previous experience) that it
meant that he was really happy and really relaxed.
Then he REALLY started to get into it, would get a look of intense
concentration, and after a while, would start kneading with his back
legs too. This was the first time I'd seen a cat pound away with four
legs. Then I noticed his tail was jerking rhythmically and thought
"what the heck". Picked him up and saw that his little willy was right
out.
He's a shelter cat, was on his own for who-knows-how long, and wasn't
altered when they picked him up at about a year old. That was last
spring.
I've never had a cat that humped. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.
Is this normal? Is it normal for a neutered male to do this? Now I'm
worried that he's going to...er...exude...something eventually, and
I'm pretty sure I don't want that to happen on my clothes, my sofa, my
pillows, or any of the other places that he does this. Can a fixed
cat get his rocks off, as it were? Or is that a physical
impossibility? Also, is this behavior perhaps linked to his tendency
to play really rough, and would it be a problem if I got another cat
at some point? Or would it depend on the cat?
Thanks - I'm in completely new territory here...

It's perfectly normal. Not all altered males do it, but some do.

I had an altered male who really got into kneading, in a fashion similar
to what you describe. I found out that i's perfectly normal, but it
icked me out so when I'd notice he was moving from regular kneading into
the other stuff I'd gently pick him up and move him elsewhere. He never
ejaculated, and I don't think he could, since (if felines are structured
like humans) the ejaculate is created in the testicles and, well, those
went bye bye a long time before. My current boys don't do this, for
which I am grateful. It really did ick me out. "I'm your MOTHER, not
your girlfriend!"

Priscilla, anthropomorphizing madly

[Elizabeth Blake]

Post by Tiger Girl
I've never had a cat that humped. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.
Is this normal? Is it normal for a neutered male to do this? Now I'm
worried that he's going to...er...exude...something eventually, and
I'm pretty sure I don't want that to happen on my clothes, my sofa, my
pillows, or any of the other places that he does this. Can a fixed
cat get his rocks off, as it were? Or is that a physical
impossibility? Also, is this behavior perhaps linked to his tendency
to play really rough, and would it be a problem if I got another cat
at some point? Or would it depend on the cat?

I have a male & female cat at home. Tiger (female) is 14 and Otto is 5. I
found Otto outside my building when he was around 6 months old. He was
neutered a couple of months after I found him. From the time he was fully
grown, he mounts Tiger and tries to do his thing ALL THE TIME. Every day I
have to yell at him to get off her at least twice. He has a couple of
pounds on her, plus she's not a young cat anymore and she yowls & hisses
whenever he does it. Several times I have found a wet spot on Tiger that
smells awful. Not like pee, even worse. I can only assume it came from
Otto.

Otto loves to knead, but his kneading behavior is normal. He likes to sit
on my stomach or chest and knead away for a few minutes (front paws only)
and then he curls up on me and sleeps. He will also knead a blanket
sometimes.

--
Liz

[Rene]

Post by Tiger Girl
Is this normal? Is it normal for a neutered male to do this? Now I'm
worried that he's going to...er...exude...something eventually, and
I'm pretty sure I don't want that to happen on my clothes, my sofa, my
pillows, or any of the other places that he does this. Can a fixed
cat get his rocks off, as it were? Or is that a physical
impossibility? Also, is this behavior perhaps linked to his tendency
to play really rough, and would it be a problem if I got another cat
at some point? Or would it depend on the cat?
Thanks - I'm in completely new territory here...

My Tucker will do this once in a while. When he was about a year, his
"mate" of choice was a weasel ball (kid's toy). He soon forgot about
it, and I thought all was over. . .until I brought home a new toy on
a stick from a cat show this summer. He's quite possessive of it, but
doesn't actually do "his thing" very often.

I figure it's harmless. He's not humping people or other animals, and
it's not an every day thing, so I don't worry about it. I *do* think
his choice of "mates" is interesting--how can a stick toy look like a
cat?!

Rene

[Tiger Girl]

Oh, Lordy, it's definitely an every day thing for Buster. He had a
pet sitter over the holiday weekend just now, and when I got back and
he settled into the evening routine, it was pound, pound, pound the
sofa pillow and jerk, jerk, jerk the tail. Fifteen minutes of this,
after which he collapsed off the sofa, fell onto his back, and curled
up to lick his Thang, the little pervert.

Thanks to y'all, I am not so concerned about this - I'm reminding
myself that if he were my child, I'd have to be careful not to give
him a Complex by getting all icked out by this...and that the poor
guy's had a rough life so far, and that he deserves his
little...er...pleasures.

I haven't discovered any vile-smelling wet spots, though. I see
anything like that, and I'm afraid that he's going to get the water
gun treatment.

Thanks, all.

Post by Rene

Post by Tiger Girl
Is this normal? Is it normal for a neutered male to do this? Now I'm
worried that he's going to...er...exude...something eventually, and
I'm pretty sure I don't want that to happen on my clothes, my sofa, my
pillows, or any of the other places that he does this. Can a fixed
cat get his rocks off, as it were? Or is that a physical
impossibility? Also, is this behavior perhaps linked to his tendency
to play really rough, and would it be a problem if I got another cat
at some point? Or would it depend on the cat?
Thanks - I'm in completely new territory here...

My Tucker will do this once in a while. When he was about a year, his
"mate" of choice was a weasel ball (kid's toy). He soon forgot about
it, and I thought all was over. . .until I brought home a new toy on
a stick from a cat show this summer. He's quite possessive of it, but
doesn't actually do "his thing" very often.
I figure it's harmless. He's not humping people or other animals, and
it's not an every day thing, so I don't worry about it. I *do* think
his choice of "mates" is interesting--how can a stick toy look like a
cat?!
Rene

[Luvskats00]

Ahem...your cat needs to get into dance class right away! <g>