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Behaviour of a male neuteured cat and kitten

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  • 28-04-2009 10:52pm
    #1
    iguana2005
    Registered Users Posts: 226 ✭✭


    The funniest thing...the male cat is ours and apprx 7 years of age. The kitten a stray. He is acting as surrogate mother to her?!! When he comes in to feed in the house she starts cryingwe have banned her from the house!)...they sleep tgether...she plays with him 24/7. She is very wild and no human contact.

    Cuteness factor 110%

    Unusual behaviour for male neutered cat?


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    #2
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    Not necessarily weird. Some cats get tremendous comfort out of a companion animal. Would you consider taking her on as your own and as a companion for your boy? The bond has started so easily because she's a kitten.

    (BTW, are you certain she's female?)

    If you wouldn't consider taking her in, it's sad but you need to catch and deliver her to preferably a no-kill shelter, but otherwise the pound. If you don't do it, she'll be pregnant and you'll have another litter of unwanted kittens within six months.

    As an intact female, if you leave her that way, she'll start attracting ever intact tom from a five mile radius and they WILL fight with your boy. Even if he's neutered, your garden is still his territory and he'll try to defend it from visiting toms. She'll continue to hang around him, and the intact toms will follow her.

    They can spread disease that will kill your cat if they fight with him, so to be honest either she stays as your cat, you neuter her and worm her and vaccinate her and take responsibility for her, or she's gotta go to avert a bigger problem in the long run.

    Of course the happily ever after is if you take her or your neighbours take her so she can still be your cat's best buddy, but I have to stress that the pound is, unbelievably, the lesser of two evils when it comes to feral cats. They WILL breed like rabbits given the chance.


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    #3
    Call me Socket
    Registered Users Posts: 527 ✭✭✭Call me Socket


    Great post!

    I have one neutered male and 6 females (all spayed now) but when one of them was only about 3 months or so a tom started to hang around a lot and my boy would stay between him and the kitten, sometimes he'd chase him off or stare him down, but he always defended his patch and his pride. The kitten's mother did her bit too (she came to me a heavily pregnant stray) but the majority of protection came from Simba.

    So I agree with Minesajackdaniels' advice- either take her in and spay her, or find her somewhere else to go- sooner rather than later.


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    #4
    MsFifers
    Registered Users Posts: 997 ✭✭✭MsFifers


    It would be great if you could follow your cat's lead, and take care of her too! :D Aw - go on - he loves her!

    If they are in close contact you should make sure they are both up to date on worm and anti-parasite doses, so that she won't pass on any nasties to him. If she is a stray she probably has a few "passengers".

    My neutered tom also is best buds with the neighbour's kitten. She loves pouncing on him, and he is so tolerant (most of the time!) and just rolls over and lets her. The big sissy! :D


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    #5
    anniehoo
    Registered Users Posts: 6,596 ✭✭✭anniehoo


    MsFifers wrote: »
    Aw - go on - he loves her!
    Lol love the emotional bribery there :D


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    #6
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    You know, I was trying not to do that... :D


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    #7
    PinkTulips
    Registered Users Posts: 383 ✭✭PinkTulips


    when our female had a new litter her older kitten was about 4 months and after a week or so he started climbing into her nest with her and sharing parenting with her... he cleaned the kittens bums, let them suck on his fur, played with them and slept with them.

    he's a hulking great tom now and still as soft and placid as you can imagine, we've actually had to hold off neutering him until his little brother who we kept for comany for him is old enough to be done too as the little one beats him up as it is! i don't want to worsen things by having him neutered while the little guy is still a full male... they're both heading off to the vets together next week.

    we had another big male a few years ago and when the neighbours got a kitten he played with it and minded it all day long, he once chased off a black lab that was nosing around to defend the little kitten!

    some cats are just softies :)

    agree with the others, she's obviously in need of a home and your guy obviously wants the company.... would it make that much differance to keep her and take care of her?


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