Mounting Issue

isis

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Hello, I'm new to the boards, and I'm hoping someone can help me with my problem. I have a two year old neutered male and a 7 year old spayed female. The female has been moved around a lot, introduced to multiple cats (one of whom was very aggressive, and led to the separation of the two cats), and thus is prone to nervous issues. When we got the male kitten, he started to mount our girl, even though he was supposedly "too young" to be neutered. At this time, my female started pulling out the fur at the base of her tail. I assumed it was in response to his smell on her. Two years later, our male is STILL mounting her several times a day (he IS neutered), and she has continued to pull out the fur by the base of her tail. Is there anything I can do to stop his mounting (he hurts her by biting, and she hisses and yowls, but he is twice her size), and to stop her pulling out her fur??! My poor girl! Another issue is that he (at 2 YEARS OLD) still tries to nurse from her (she isn't his mother), and this has led to swollen red nipples on occasion. She eventually kicks him away, but I'd like to try to stop this behaviour as well.

Sorry for being long-winded! Any help would be very much appreciated.
 

cyberkitten

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I have never had this occur with a cat but my neutered male bunny used to mount stuffed toys - and tried to do it to my beagle (a male!). I bought him (my beloved bunny) a Ty Beanie Buddy (the larger ones), a rabbit that was almost as big as him, given that he was a Dwarf Netherlands abd he proceeded to mount his Buddy when he felt the "urge". Pet stores actually sell buddies for pets who - even after neutering - have this occasional need. It seems to happen in animals who were neutered after they've experienced at least one heat cycle but I am unsure if this is scientifically verified. I am sure somewhere on the net and with research, you can find out with certainty. "Buddy" seemed to help Tanner when he needed it and it certainly was preferable than him chasing a beagle puppy or running after my socks, lol

I would get him a buddy and give him a treat every time he plays with that instead of your female kitty.You might have to seperate them for awhile until he gets used to the buddy. Certainly, the unwanted behaviour should be strongly discouraged in no uncertain terms. When he does it, you should pick him up and hiss at him and place him where he cannot get to her.

As to the nursing, it sounds like he may have left his mother too soon (was he younger than 12 weeks when you got him?). You should also separte them when he does that as well, especially since it sounds like it hurts her.

Many small cats can defends themselves and I am at loss to understand why she does not scratch him when he mounts her if she does not want him there. Does she show any signs of stress around him? How do they get along otherwise? Cat play can be rough and look worse than it is so I am just wondering if she really does discourage him? (Not suggesting she enjoys it, is she intimidated by him in some way?)

I am sure others have other ideas. Good luck!!!
 

gardenandcats

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Grooming is a normal behavior for the cat. In addition to being a survival mechanism designed to ward off predators, it also is soothing to a cat.When a cat starts having exccesive hair pulling it many times is a stress factor.( sounds like this stress is being caused by your male cat)

"It is what's known as a displacement behavior," "If our cats have a lot of energy and no outlet, they turn to grooming to self-sooth. If the cat faces a high degree of stress, it can even turn into an obsessive-compulsive behavior and result in what's known as psychogenic alopecia.
First rule out any physical causes. If no physcial cause is found then. Medication along with behavior modification can help put a stop to this. Consult with your vet about this.
 

yayi

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Your girl is in stress. Pulling out the hair is not to remove any sort of scent but stress. Because of her background, she is very submissive. Poor baby!

I agree that they should be separated immediately when it happens and the boy be told (like Cyberkitten described) that his behavior is unacceptable. Hopefully he will learn or else you might have to keep them apart all the time.
 
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isis

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Thanks for replying so quickly! They do get along fairly well otherwise. She is much older (5 years older), and is a bit of a cranky you-know-what, but she lets him know when she doesn't want to play. He seems to be trying to establish dominance (I have read that that is one reason why neutered males continue to mount), as he is an aggressor, and likes to start playfights, but generally leaves her alone when she really fights back. With the mounting, I have a hard time getting him off of her, because he bites her neck (as male cats do when mounting), and if I try to pull him off, he bites harder, and she yelps. I have tried throwing pillows, towels, etc., making loud noises, and nothing seems to work besides chasing him off. He's never tried mating with anything else (a lot of people I know have cats who mount pillows, teddy bears, etc, but not other cats), so I don't think a buddy would work. He only seems to be interested in her. My female has been diagnosed with FLUTD, and I'm wondering if she smells differently when it flares up, something that may signal him?? Her FLUTD is flaring up again (I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow), and lately it seems to have gotten worse (the mounting)... I haven't tried separating them once I get him off of her, so that may be something to try. Our apartment only has one door however (it's a loft), so he will be locked in the bathroom for a while. Maybe that will work.

With the nursing, I think he was actually OLDER than the woman I got him from said he was, because they were supposedly 12 weeks, but he looked much older than that when I went to pick him up. And, he started mounting a month after we got him (which would make him 4 months old, if what the woman told me was true), so I think he was probably closer to 4 or 5 months old when I got him.

I know that my female has nervous issues when it comes to other cats. It seems like when he does things like nurse and mount, she just kind of freezes, until she can't take it anymore. She is extremely cautious when it comes to other cats, on account of being attacked on numerous occasions by the cat at my parent's house when I moved back there. We had to separate them (no matter what people say, some cats WILL NOT get along, no matter how much sniffing, etc. you let them do
). We got the male since then, and he was even meek and fearful of him then. I think it's just that she is now nervous around other cats because she was traumatized by this other cat. So she just sits and takes it until she really can't stand it anymore. But he is so much bigger than her that he doesn't really seem to mind her swats or bites.
 

hissy

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It could be an incomplete neuter- rare, but it does happen. Bloodwork will tell you- it could also just be a dominance issue and if the male was able to mate prior to being neutered it will be hard to break the habit.

Your female does indeed sound stressed. I would look into rescue remedy to help her as well as start burning several feliway comfort zone room diffusers.
 
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isis

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Thanks for the additional two comments that appeared while I was writing my long-winded reply. I'm going to ask the vet about it tomorrow. Last time I brought her in I asked him about it, and he said she was trying to remove his scent, and that the pulling would stop. I told him that she was stressed, that she'd been doing it for over a year, and that I had a previous cat who pulled fur, and was diagnosed with a nervous disorder, and he said she'd be fine on her own...
Guess I'll have to bring it up again, I think sometimes we really do know our pets better than any vet can...
 
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