Reasons Behind Female Cats Cry During Mating
Disclaimer: This article has been shared to ensure animal welfare and published purely for educational purposes because most people are misinformed about what happens during their normal mating and try to separate them. It is a normal behavior in cats.
Maturity and Estrus cycle in cats
Females reach maturity between 5 and 9 months of age. The males, on the other hand, do so a little later, between 9 and 12 months. It’s pretty obvious when cats are in heat. Apart from the characteristic meowing, there are many other signs that a cat is in heat, such as licking, raising her tail, etc.
Cats have an average of 5 to 7 days of heat and repeat it once a month. This interval will depend on whether or not the cat has mated with a male during the heat. Other factors that can intervene are the season of the year and breed. If you have a cat in heat and don’t want her to have kittens, find out how to help a cat in heat.
A small distraction will be enough for the male or female cat to run out the window in search of sexual intercourse. Hence the importance of cat castration, especially if we want to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. We must also be responsible if we do not want to contribute to the abandonment of stray cats.
The increase in the number of cat colonies continues to exist and we must be very aware of this in order to prevent this serious problem. We must not increase the number of cats in the world without securing a home for the little ones, as a homeless cat is exposed to countless dangers such as hunger, accidents and abuse.
Why female cats scream during mating?
It is well observed that a female cat will scream, screech or become very aggressive during or just after mating with the tomcat. When cats mate they caterwaul and it can be quite loud.
The reason for this aggressive behavior is that the tom cat’s penis has little barbs or spines on it.
When the penis is inserted the spines lay flat, but when withdrawing the penis, the spines cause a raking action on the female’s cat’s vagina, causing pain, and so the female reacts by attacking the male.
Why does the tom cat’s penis have spines?
Female (virgin) cats who have not mated do not ovulate. The pain caused the first time the female cat mates causes shock, initiating the ovulation cycle (this will take a little over 24 hours to actually begin).
The female is then ‘on intense heat’ for around 3 days. A queen may mate as quickly as 30 minutes after the first copulation.
Why does the male (tomcat) bite the female on the neck during mating?
This all explains why the female cat is so angry and tries to swipe the male, and also why the male has to be very careful not to get injured – hence why he holds the female by the neck (scruff of the neck).
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) ON CAT MATING
Why do cats scream when they mate?
Cats scream when they mate because of painful scratching from a male cat’s barbed reproductive organs. Male cats may also yell in response to the female cat’s noises. The noise is a natural reaction to stimulation critical for ovulation and getting pregnant.
Why Do Cats Make Loud Noises When Mating
There are a few loud noises that cats make when they are ready to mate and mating. Female cats tend to be much more vocal than male cats, but male cats also have particular calls and sounds that they make in response to vocal female cats.
If your female cat has gone into heat, chances are you’re already familiar with the loud trilling call they make for about a week at the height of their heat cycle. Some cats will get much louder than usual, while others are a little quieter and may only have a noisy day or two.
This trilling call usually increases when your female cat is ready to ovulate and is meant to attract Tomcats in the area to her.
Cats are simulation-based ovulators, which means that the cat’s ovaries will not release an egg without mating. Stimulation ovulators like cats also rarely get pregnant from the first mating, which is why female cats will often try to mate several times in only a day or two – multiple mating improves her chances of getting pregnant.
But, calling in males to mate doesn’t explain why your cat will often call or even make screeching noises while mating.
Those loud noises are because the male cat’s reproductive organs are barbed on the ends. Those barbs provide the stimulation your cat needs to ovulate, so they are an essential part of the process. However, many people theorize that the extra stimulation isn’t comfortable for your female cat, which may be why Queens often get aggressive with male cats immediately after mating.
That aggression is also why Tomcats will usually leave a Queen alone after mating until/unless she starts making mating calls again.
How Do Female Cats Act After Mating?
Female cats can seem very strange right after mating. They have a wide and varied combination of behaviors that may all be entirely out of character at any other time but happen every time they mate.
It’s important to remember that your female cat is very unpredictable after mating. She may even be more aggressive with you until she’s had some time to calm down, so it’s best to approach a recently mated Queen with caution.
Female cats will often actively scare off a Tomcat that sticks around too long after mating. That’s because she needs some time to react to the hormones released by the initial mating, and because it takes a little while before she’s ready to mate again.
Once the Tom is gone, most Queens will go back and forth between grooming themselves, including their private parts, rolling around, and calling. She may seem to move oddly quickly between different actions, in part because of those same hormones flooding her body and confusing her.
However, this frantic period often passes reasonably quickly as the Queen gets ready to mate again. Most Queens will try to mate 3-4 times over 1-2 days. They might be ready to mate again in as little as 30 minutes and will start calling to attract the Tomcat again.
However, cats usually aren’t picky about who comes to mate when they are ready, so it’s common for Queens to mate with multiple males if more than one is available. A single litter of kittens may have several fathers.
Why Do Female Cats Roll After Mating?
This behavior isn’t always clear. It’s a reaction to mating and the hormones associated with ovulation, of course. Still, rolling behavior could be a way to relieve tension, spread her scent in an area, or even a way to try and get rid of the scent of the Tomcat in case a different male cat is also interested in mating.
While there are many possible explanations for why female cats roll after mating, one thing is sure: it’s an entirely natural response to mating and not something you need to worry about.
How Long Does it Take for Cats to Mate?
Cats mate incredibly quickly. That’s a good thing for them since neither animals wants the process to take too long, and mating can leave wild cats relatively vulnerable.
For most cats, mating will be over in under a minute, though it can occasionally last longer. You may also notice your cats in mating position longer if a fixed male tries to mate with an intact female, though not always.
Do Cats Stay in Heat After Mating?
There isn’t a clear-cut answer to this one. Mating will not take a cat out a heat immediately, but she will probably get out of heat within a couple of days of mating successfully.
Since mating triggers ovulation, your cat’s body will naturally move into the next phases of their hormonal cycle, pregnant or not, as long as ovulation happened. Cats that are pregnant will continue to deal with those hormonal changes throughout their pregnancy and will not go back into heat while pregnant.
However, it can take several days before your cat completely exits their heat cycle, and your cat likely won’t be calmer the same day they mate since they want to make several times in a row.
It’s also important to note that your cat likely won’t take any longer than usual to go back into heat after mating. The cycle may end sooner, but they’ll still be back in heat two or three weeks later.
If you are a breeder (or your cat accidentally got pregnant before you could get her fixed), it’s also important to know that female cats can become receptive to mating and get pregnant while they are still nursing their previous litter. It’s incredibly hard on their bodies when that happens, but it does happen without careful management and segregating un-spayed nursing Queens from mature Tomcats.