Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice regarding a bit of a problem. I have two neutered male cats: Romeo, who will be 4 in two months, and Titou, who will be 3 in a month. For about a fortnight now, Romeo has been mounting Titou as if he’s trying to mate with him. Titou is completely submissive but lets out a meow that sounds like he’s in pain or scared – I can't quite tell which, but it’s obvious he’s not happy about it. Naturally, I don’t let Romeo get away with it.
They were both neutered when they were young, so it’s not as if it’s a habit he’s kept from before the op. That said, there has been a bit more bickering between them since the start of the year, though they still regularly sleep together and groom one another.
Does anyone know why this might be happening and, more importantly, what I can do to calm things down?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Translated from French
The forum content is sometimes translated from another language, and posts may concern countries with different animal laws. Do your research before making any decisions.
Since the forum is translated by AI, the translations may contain errors.
Bloody hell, what a nightmare. He bolted this morning and I found him in a bush, but he wouldn't come quietly. He’s been a right feisty one since he’s had his girlfriend around.
Neutered cats no longer show sexual behaviour. However, the later a male is castrated (after 6 months), the more likely he is to keep up the habit of spraying that started before the op. Late neutering can also lead to dominance displays where a male mounts a submissive cat (male or female), without any penetration or ejaculation.
Haha, I didn't actually pick his name, the rescue did. And he was so unsettled those first few weeks... it took him a month to even come out from under the sofa when we were around, so we gave up on the name we’d chosen, thinking it would be one less change for him to deal with lol
I agree, it sounds like dominance or redirected aggression to me too; he’s just trying to show him who’s boss. Mind you, what were you thinking calling a cat Romeo? You’re just asking for trouble! 😁 The hormones will have been long gone for ages now; if I remember rightly, they only stay in their system for about 3 months max after they’ve been neutered.
I’ve got the same situation with my neutered cats. From what I understand, getting them "done" stops them from breeding but not necessarily from mating; they’ve still got some hormones, just not as many.
I’d understand if he was going after a female. But in this case, on top of the fact that it’s a male, he gets right on his back, and given how the one on the bottom is positioned, he only reaches his back—basically about 4 inches from the base of the tail.
Hi, I also think it's down to dominance behaviour, likely due to unneutered cats in the area, as your cats will be very sensitive to their stressful scent. On top of that, a male stressed by any sort of change can show signs of redirected aggression, such as 'dominance mounting'. It would be a good idea to reassure the dominant cat as much as possible, while making sure he doesn't bully the submissive one.
Thanks for your reply. Actually, it's usually the other way around. Titou is generally the boss at home. Roméo is very timid. Having said that, he doesn't think twice about going to defend his mate if another cat is bothering him; the amount of times we've been in the garden and he hears Titou meow and he's off like a shot to defend him and bring him back with him. Yet at home, Titou almost always has the upper hand. Mind you, I don't let him get away with it regardless of the reason. I live in a village and people around here seem pretty responsible; there are a few cats out and about but they are all neutered or spayed. Then again, they maybe roam further than I realise and their sense of smell is so keen. I've ordered some Bach Flower Remedies as suggested above. I hope it'll calm things down a bit. But even so, Roméo is often just sleeping peacefully when Titou goes over and starts biting him or batting him with his paws—gently, mind you, just playing. But what I mean is, until he’s actually on top of him, he keeps pestering him. They still eat at the same time from the same bowl, so there's no war on that front. And it just takes him like that out of the blue. Last time, Titou was asleep and Roméo climbed onto his back and tried... well, it looks like mating, but he’s right on his back and doesn't bite him. Titou didn't even move or try to get away.
I’ve got the same situation with my neutered cats. If I’ve understood it right, neutering stops them from breeding but not necessarily from mating. They still have some hormones, just not as many as before.
I also reckon it’s dominance behaviour, likely due to unneutered cats in the area whose stressful scent your cats are picking up on. Additionally, a male cat stressed by any kind of change can show signs of redirected aggression, in the form of ‘simulated dominant mounting’. It’d be a good idea to reassure the dominant cat as much as possible, without letting him bully the submissive one.
