Question...can cats be gay?

We have 2 females (inside only) that need to be spayed but money has been tight so they are getting done after we get our tax returns. All the male cats inside are neutered except one barn cat that does come in when we are home to eat and get warm, then goes out at night.

My two girls are in obvious heat (fun, fun) and we keep an eye on them when he's in the house. Basically shaperone duty. But he has NO interest in them at all. They are rolling on the ground and he just walks right by and starts eating. He is definitely intact because he is one of the barn cats that was born here when we first moved in. He's about 3 years old. He shows no interest in the females in heat (not that I'm complaining!) but he follows Harley around like a puppy dog (male, neutered, 5 yrs old). I'm just confused....

I don't know, but hey if penguins can be, then why not cats?

Well if only all of them were, we wouldn't have to spay and neuter as much!

I thought of the penguins, too, but I have no answer to this question.

Some boys are really slow to mature, 3-4 years it can take in some cases. I wouldn't keep him around your intact girls just in case he does get it.

Hmm, I have no idea. Bonobo monkeys are notorious in the animal kindgdom for, uh, "loving the one your with" though I would say they are bisexual, not homosexual. Males of many species will mount other males, but this is a dominence thing more than sexual. Its an interestion question!
I will say though to please include that barn cat on the list to get fixed once you get the money, and I would be very leery of letting him around your girls while in heat! All it would take is one moment of distraction on your part and bang, (pun intended) even though he seems not interested, that could change very fast, too fast to stop in time.

LOL!! Of course they can be gay. It has been documented that most species of animals have the homosexual trait. The most documented have been grey wolves, dolphins, killer whales (Orcas) and of course different species of primates (chimpanzes, gorillas, baboons, etc). Even dogs. So our kitties are just being natural. Think of it this way...at least you won't have to worry about raising a litter of kittens.

No - animals are NOT gay. Many of the so called "sexual" behaviors are due to dominance - not sex.

And some males can seriously be picky about who they breed. I know breeders who's male or female refuses to breed certain cats or certain colors in cats! Seriously. I knew a Persian breeder who's male would breed any color but tortoiseshell cats. They even tried to blindfold him one time, but no dice.

So the cat is not gay, he just doesn't like those particular females. As far as following around the neutered male - that's not "gay" either - he just likes hanging out with him. Cats do form bonds with other cats.

Ya know, I always wondered if Monster is gay. He is literally IN LOVE with our dog, I don't know why - the dog really doesn't like him, in fact, I'm pretty sure the dog HATES both cats. I always say that Monster has a gay inter-species man-crush on the dog, LOL.

But, I don't think animals can really be gay. Just because they don't have sex for pleasure like humans. They are driven by hormones to breed in order to keep the species going.

Originally Posted by KiTTYL0VE4

Ya know, I always wondered if Monster is gay. He is literally IN LOVE with our dog, I don't know why - the dog really doesn't like him, in fact, I'm pretty sure the dog HATES both cats. I always say that Monster has a gay inter-species man-crush on the dog, LOL.

But, I don't think animals can really be gay. Just because they don't have sex for pleasure like humans. They are driven by hormones to breed in order to keep the species going.

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I find this intresting because how do we know for a fact animals are only driven by hormonal instinct to breed? I would imagine there is pleasure there, us humans didn't invent sex, been around long before we were here. and why cant the critters have fun with it?
Look at the mating rituals of some animals, they are very involved.

Are there no low cost clinics near you? Sometimes there aren't... but if you PM me your zip code, I'd be happy to see if I can find any. ???????

I think some cats just don't "get it" you know?

Originally Posted by LDG

Are there no low cost clinics near you? Sometimes there aren't... but if you PM me your zip code, I'd be happy to see if I can find any. ???????

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We've looked into this, and the closest we found was over an hour away and with gas prices the way they have been, we haven't been able to do it. Every now and then the human society runs a spay/neuter clinic for a day but I've been leary of them. From what I understand, they do the operation and hand you the cat back, still drugged up and no observation afterwards. If there are any complications you are responsible.

We even asked our vet (who is GREAT) if we can get a frequent fixing discount with the barn cats but he said no.

But, I'll PM you my zip to see if you can find something else. I'm not great at doing searchs on the computer so maybe I missed something.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

I think some cats just don't "get it" you know?

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We'll I do have to say this male cat isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, if you know what I mean. I mean, he's a sweetheart but kind of stupid. He won't take treats or even pieces of chicken from our hands. He will smell them, look at you and walk away. But if I put it in his bowl, he will gobble it up. He also has a tendency to get too comfy in a chair, roll over and fall off. He doesn't have that instict to "flip" to land on his feet....slam, right on his back. Then, he gets up, cleans himself like "I really meant to do that", and hops right back up and does it again.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

They even tried to blindfold him one time, but no dice.

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The image of that is just cracking me up!!!!

But I agree with GoldenKitty, animals are not gay, with some exceptions like certain primates and the whales someone already mentioned..
But you never know, the fact it hasn't been documented doesn't mean that you can't have a very rare and exceptional gay kitty

IMO, just like with homo sapiens, I think there is definitely a percentage in many other species that are not strictly heterosexual. There seems to be an awful lot of documented examples that all sex is not necessarily linked to species continuation to flatly say that no animals exhibit homosexual orientation, I think.

I know few cases where the male didn't show any interest in the female and it turned out to be pyometra without visible symptoms.

In my household our neuter male definitely does it as a dominating thing, but my intact male does try to mate his own intact son and it's clearly sexual thing. I think he doesn't realize or care what gender his partner is. He surely isn't gay, he does have two litters, but bisexual is a possibility as he did fancy my other intact male quite a bit..

I don't know! But if so I imagine fewer cat pregnancies in the world

I don't know the answer, BUT, I thought it was coincidental that I saw this question while MTV is airing the episode of South Park featuring "Big Gay Al's big gay animal sanctuary."

cats can def. be gay!!!!! i had my male cat (piglet) to a vet. and they told me that it  is very true, animals don't have morruls, when they are in heat they'll go for anyone (male or (females) I have a heathly very gay cat names piglet,also have 3 other cats toots,Simon, and Minnie. Simon and Minnie are about 6 to 7 months old and my male cat piglet already went after Simon. its very heathly there is nothing wrong with it. i wouldn't have him any other way ...i love all my cats

                thanks

                       Terrilynn and piglet             

    

                                  xo