Do Spayed Female Cats Still Have The Urge To Mate?

The short answer is no, probably not. Spayed female cats generally don’t attract male cats with their serenades after being spayed.

But the answer to this question may not be as simple as it seems. Sometimes, residual hormones cause cats to continue with their sexual behaviors temporarily even after the surgery.

Sometimes, what we think to be sexual behaviors could actually be signs of some health problems. Sometimes, it is simply normal cat behavior.

At what age you get your cat spayed or neutered plays an important role in determining how your cat might behave after the surgery.

If you’ve been wondering about how spaying or neutering will change the sexual behavior of your cat, you’re not alone. Welcome to the club! A lot of owners, especially new cat parents, often have a lot of these questions –

Will neutering reduce my cat’s sexual urges?

Will my cat continue to mate even after I spay or neuter it?

Is my cat’s humping a sexual behavior, or does it indicate an underlying health problem?

If these questions sound like the thoughts you’ve been having, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we explore all the possible reasons behind why cats may seemingly be showing sexual behaviors even after they have been spayed or neutered.

Will My Female Cat Have an Urge to Mate After Being Spayed?

Yes, as surprising as it may seem, your female cat can continue to show the urge to mate for a few days after spaying.

This urge can be more or less intense depending upon the age of your cat while spaying, whether or not she has experienced mating earlier, as well as whether or not she is in a heat cycle during the surgery.

Spaying is the process of surgically removing the reproductive organs of a female cat. Since this removes the source of the reproductive hormones, spaying should ideally mean that your cat does not have any more sexual urges.

However, how quickly the effects of spaying start to show will depend upon 3 major factors:

1. What is the age of my cat when I’m getting her spayed?

The ideal recommended age for spaying a cat is when she is around 5 to 6 months of age. In fact, rescued feral cats may reach their first heat cycle as soon as 8 weeks of age. It is recommended to get your cat spayed before she reaches her first heat cycle.

If your cat has already experienced heat cycles, the effects of spaying may take some time before your cat completely loses her urge to mate. Residual hormones in the body may take up to 1 to 2 months to completely leave her body.

2. Has my cat experienced mating before she gets spayed?

If your cat has experienced mating, it means her cycles of reproductive hormones have already started in the body. So, after spaying, it could take a few weeks for the hormones to completely leave the body.

3. Is my cat experiencing a heat cycle during the surgery?

It is highly recommended to not have your cat spayed when she is in heat, as it may make the surgery cumbersome and complicated.

When your cat is in heat, she is already at peak levels of her hormonal cycle. Spaying your cat while in heat will not have an instant effect on her sexual urges. The hormones will have just peaked in her body and will take time to settle down.

Depending on all these factors, your cat may still seem to show sexual urges temporarily after spaying. But after a month or two, her sexual urges will reduce substantially, and perhaps even be completely eliminated.

Interesting read: Will Male Cats Mate With Females Not In Heat?

Do Female Cats Still Mate After Being Spayed?

Yes, female cats may still mate for some time after being spayed, but they do not produce kittens.

After spaying, the hormones may take time to completely leave the cat’s body. So, for some time after spaying – usually around 1 to 2 months – spayed female cats may still mate.

However, since their reproductive organs are removed during the surgery, their mating will not lead to any unwanted pregnancies.

Also, check out Can A Neutered Cat Live With An Unneutered Cat?

Do Female Cats Feel Attracted To Male Cats After Being Spayed?

Your spayed cat will not attract male cats after a few weeks of surgery with her annoying advances and serenades.

Due to the reduction of the sex drive your cat may gain weight but they are just more affectionate now.

Will My Male Cat Have an Urge to Mate After Being Neutered?

Yes, your male cat may still have an urge to mate after being neutered. However, these urges will only last for about 1 to 2 months after the surgery.

Like in the case of female cats, even for male cats, the intensity of their urge to mate will depend largely on 3 major factors:

1. The age of your cat at the time of spaying

Neutering your cat after he has crossed 5 or 6 months of age can lead to some delay in the effects of neutering to show. It is advisable to neuter your cat before he reaches his first heat cycle.

2. Whether or not your cat has experienced mating before

Like many other behaviors, even mating is a behavior that cats learn during their developmental age, i.e., in the first year of their life.

If your cat has experienced mating before he gets neutered, he is likely to continue to show the tendency to mate even after the surgery. But this mating will not cause any unwanted pregnancies.

3. The heat cycle of your cat during the surgery

If you get your cat neutered while he is experiencing a heat cycle, the effects of the surgery will take time to show. This is because, during a heat cycle, the testosterone levels of your cat have already peaked. His body will need time to settle the levels of testosterone after the surgery.

It is recommended to not get your cat neutered during a heat cycle. During this time, the reproductive organs of your cat will become engorged with blood. This will make the surgery cumbersome and complicated.

You might also like to know the answer to Can A Spayed/Fixed Cat Get Pregnant?

Do Male Cats Still Mate After Being Neutered?

Yes, male cats may still continue to mate for 4 to 8 weeks after the surgery.

After neutering, the testosterone takes about 4 to 8 weeks to completely leave the cat’s body. So, during this time your cat may still continue to mate. But this act of mating will not result in any unwanted pregnancies.

Why Do Neutered Male Cats Try To Mount On Spayed Female Cats?

Neutering or castration will not automatically eliminate the habit or tendency of your cat to hump. Even neutered and castrated male cats can continue to hump other cats, including spayed female cats.

The neutering surgery only reduces your cat’s behavior than eliminating it. So let us hope your cat has curbed its mating behavior a bit if not eliminated.

If your male neutered cat is near a female cat in the heat it will be stimulated and try to mount on the female cat. This is due to the scent of the female cat.

Your neutered cat may even mount on a spayed female cat. This could be due to the scent of the female cat.

The male cat can easily be attracted to the scent as it knows it is different.

If the cat was not spayed then your neutered male cat could have smelt a female cat in heat from a distance too.

The spayed cat will not get into heat but still, her scent is strong enough to attract the male cat to her.

Male cats who are older are more likely to engage in the mounting behavior. If your cat is going through social stress then it is more likely to mount just like it is more likely to make a urine mark under stress.

Your cat’s mounting behavior could also be a sign of marking its status.

This behavior is more likely to take place if you leave your neutered cat outside and it finds a female cat in heat.

These behaviors indicate that your neutered cat might need more activities to let out this energy of his.

They require more attention from your end.

You might also like to read about do cats get nicer after being spayed

Have You Misinterpreted Your Cat’s Behaviors Like Humping As Sexual? 

Humping is a behavior that some neutered or spayed cats perform which appears sexual but is not.

Humping is a part of normal play for your cat both male and female. Sometimes it’s your cat’s way of working out social hierarchy at home.

Humping is not a sexual behavior or a problem until it bothers you or your family members. Your car’s humping can often upset and trouble other animals.

If your cat humps on other cats or animals and if they feel distressed make sure you take your cat away or else it may turn into a fight.

You can reduce your cat’s humping by redirecting your cat’s humping on a soft toy.

Another act you will mistake for sexual is spraying as now it is just a habit that was developed by your cat when it had active sexual hormones.

You have to reduce all these habits with patience.

Is it true that female cat in heat attracted to male human

Why Is Neutered Cat Sexually Active? 

After getting spayed or neutered for several weeks if your cat still is sexually active then you should first contact your vet.

Take the advice of your vet and follow the steps your vet suggested to you.

After you have discussed the behavior of your cat you might have to go to the vet for an examination of your cat.

You might have to get your cat lab-tested to check the hormone levels of your cat and its metabolism. This is needed especially if your cat is a female.

The report of the lab test will decide what has to be done with your cat.

The other reason could be that even though neutering is very successful it would only reduce the male-typical behaviors in your cat and not eliminate them.

So some behaviors may persist for a long in your cat.

So if your neutered cat continuously comes in contact or comes around a female cat in heat then it is likely to have sexual urges in a greater amount than expected after neutering.

Your male cat just lacks the testosterone level from its body.

So masculinization is a process in which the user as fetal testes secrete testosterone and hence cause masculinization in your cat.

Must Read: Why Do Neutered Male Cats Try To Mate With Spayed Female Cats?

It causes masculinization of only particular regions of your cat like the specific brain region, especially the preoptic area of the anterior hypothalamus.

In this area of the brain, testosterone activates it and produces red-blooded male behavior.

Hence to conclude that testosterone is absent and so the sexual behavior is less active and not inactive.

So this was compared to an example of a dimmer switch that does not turn off the light completely but just dims it.

The cats with super-masculinization have more residual maleness and show more male behaviors after neuter.

Hence to conclude the inter-male aggression and sexual aggression amongst male cats would not completely go away but will be there for more years.

So there could be a 10 percent failure rate in the process of neuter in your cat. As it cannot suppress the sexual dimorphic behavior completely.

Interesting Read: Can A Male Cat Still Impregnate After Being Neutered?

Will My Cat Continue Mating If Not Neutered Before It Is 6 Months Old?

Yes, there are high chances that your cat should continue mating if it is neutered after 6 months of age.

This is because before 6 months your cat will not have been exposed to mating and so will probably not have many sexual urges.

But if your cat is older when it is neutered then it will still have the urge to mate. That is why it is recommended to neuter your cat by the time it is 6 months old.

If you let your cat go unneutered he will be interested in female cats as a lot of testosterone might get accumulated in his body and he will be able to smell a female cat in heat from blocks away.

Your cat will want to go out of the house to mate with the female cat and if he won’t be allowed he shall start humping on something else in the house.

Your neutered cat will keep showing interest in females for months and years after neutering too.

If your male cat is living with a female cat under the same roof then it is more of a problem as your male cat will run after the female cat even if it is spayed.

 He will keep watching the female cat move from room to room and go after her.

Your female cat may feel uncomfortable and terrified and will try to hide.

But as soon as she is out your male cat might ounce on the female cat from behind, bite her neck, drag to the ground, pin her and then try to mate with her.

Your male cat will follow the same sequence as he did during a true mating sequence earlier.

Even though neutering a cat reduces a lot of unwanted behaviors but 10 percent of the male cats still show rapacious behavior.

They shall even continue to spray urine and mark their territory.

So neutering as we now know would not completely suppress all the behaviors of your male cat but will surely reduce them.

You being the owner of the cat should try and curb this behavior of your cat as it would make your female cat scared and nervous all the time.

Myth or Truth: Find out are male cats more affectionate

Why is My Neutered Male Cat Still Humping Even After the Surgery? How Do I Stop It?

If your male cat is still humping even after 1 to 2 months of being neutered or castrated, and especially if he is humping not just other cats but also inanimate things like blankets and pillows, it could be because of one of the following reasons:

1. Behavioral Problems

Humping isn’t always a sexual behavior. Cats also tend to hump things when they are stressed, bored, frustrated, or feeling too confined. Cats love routine. So, changes in the household can induce stress or feelings of irritation, anxiety, or frustration.

In such a case, the best way to stop the humping is to identify what could be the underlying cause of stress for your cat, and then fix that.

If your cat is feeling too bored or under-stimulated, a good alternative to humping can be provided in play activities. Get some new toys for your cat. If you have the space for it, let your cat go outdoors and play – after all, nature is the best stimulus there is!

And most of all, spend time doing such fun physical activities with your cat. Let it know that you are not just your cat’s protector and guardian, but also its best friend and playtime buddy!

2. Underlying Health Problems

If your cat has suddenly started humping months after being neutered or spayed, keep an eye on its behavior during urination. If you see signs like your cat straining to pee, or peeing more or less frequently than it normally does, schedule a consultation with your cat right away.

Humping is an unusual, but not unheard of, symptom of urinary tract infections in cats.

3. Introduction of a New Cat in the House

Humping can sometimes be a social behavior shown mostly by male cats to assert their dominance or decide who will be the “alpha” in the house.

If you’ve introduced a new cat, your cat may hump it to assert its dominance in the house.

Moreover, if you’ve had two kittens that got along well but now are trying to hump each other – even that is a sign of your kittens trying to determine who will be the dominant cat in the house.

4. Sign of Insecurity or Vulnerability

Another reason why your cat may be humping things, or even your leg, is because it might be feeling insecure and vulnerable. Humping is a way some cats use to ask for more attention from their humans.

This can serve as an indication that you need to spend more time with your cat and give it all the attention and care it needs.

5. Your Male Cat Was Neutered at an Older Age

Just as a dimmer switch won’t completely switch the light off but only dim it, so does neutering an older cat not completely eliminate its sexual aggression or behaviors, only reduces it.

There is a 10 percent failure risk of neutering if the cat is being neutered after he reaches sexual maturity.

That is to say, the later in life your cat gets neutered, the less likely it is for his sexual aggression to be eliminated. This is why it is recommended to get your cat neutered before he reaches 6 months of age.

When it comes to neutering or spaying, always remember – the sooner, the better.

Must Read: Can A Neutered Cat Still Get A Female Cat Pregnant?

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Words

Both your male and female spayed cats have the urge to mate and feel attracted. This should last only for a while.

You need to take care and improve the behavior of your cat if it is troubling anyone around.

For any more queries, you could comment below.

Also, check out Why Do Cats Hump?

Also, check out: Do Male Cats Go Into Heat After Being Neutered?

References

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9811369/
• https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/endocrine/c_ct_hypoangrogenism
• https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2055116920981247