How to stop male cat from mounting

While it’s expected that unaltered tomcats will exhibit mounting behavior, many owners are shocked to see this behavior in their neutered male cats. It’s not uncommon for neutered males to mount or hump other cats or even inanimate objects, but there’s usually a reason for the behavior. Mounting behavior can result in stress for both you and your cat, so if your fixed male is regularly mounting other cats, it’s time to find out why – is it behavioral, or medical and how can you get your cat to stop?

Why Do Neutered Males Mount?

Neutered male cats mount for several reasons, some of which are behavioral, while others are due to health problems.

Behavioral Causes

Cats are sensitive to changes in their environment. While they don’t always show it, many cats that we deem to be “independent” are actually in a state of stress. Any change that alters your cat’s life or normal routine can cause anxiety, whether this is you moving to a new house, bringing another pet home, having a baby, or even losing a family member or pet. Prolonged periods of stress can make your cat sick or exhibit abnormal behaviors, like mounting.

Cats love to explore and find spots to retreat alone. If your cat feels like they can’t stake out any territory of their own or that they are competing with other cats for food, litter box space, or toys, they can become frustrated. Mounting is one way that they exhibit their frustration.

Mounting can be a sign of one cat trying to assert dominance over another. If you’ve recently added another cat to your household, the original cat may mount them as a sign of dominance.

Cats are considered socially mature between 2 and 4 years of age. Even kittens that got along as youngsters can start to exhibit social dominance cues as they get older. This is how they figure out who is “in charge.”

Bored cats will look for ways to release pent-up frustration and energy. Whether it’s because they don’t have enough stimulation in their environment or because they are trying to garner attention from their owner, it’s another reason that they may start mounting.

Medical Causes

If your male cat was only neutered within the last month or so and is still humping, you probably don’t have much to worry about. It takes male cats about 12 weeks for the hormones in their body to dissipate, so it’s completely normal for them to continue exhibiting mounting behavior right after surgery.

Male cats that are neutered after 1 year of age can continue to mount throughout their lives because it is a learned behavior. This means that even long after your cat’s hormones have subsided, they might still mount because they feel like it.

While it’s not the most common symptom of a urinary tract infection, it’s not unheard of for male cats to start humping when they have one. If your cat is mounting, as well as peeing outside of the litter box or peeing more frequently than normal, it might be time for a vet visit.

How to Stop Your Male Cat From Mounting

Now that you know what causes neutered male cats to mount, let’s take a look at how to stop the behavior. Not every method is going to work for every cat, and not every method is appropriate for every situation.

Punishing your cat will never help the situation. It increases their stress level and might end up causing more mounting behavior rather than less. Always train your cat with positive reinforcement and reward them, either with a treat or attention, when they are behaving appropriately.

Spending quality time with your pet and ensuring that they get plenty of exercise will help burn off excess energy and satisfy their natural hunting instincts. Sometimes, cats need encouragement to play, so try using different toys to see which ones they like best.

After regular play sessions, you may find that your cat is tired and happy instead of bored and frustrated. This makes them more likely to have a nap rather than look for something to mount.

Indoor cats can benefit from having a large space to call their own.

There are a few options for doing this in your house:

• Add more vertical areas, giving your cat territory that goes upward.
• Add an outdoor cat enclosure. Don’t give your cat free-range outdoors, but an enclosed pen on a deck or in the yard will allow them the pleasure of being outside while remaining safe.

Make sure your cat’s litter box is kept clean and in a private area of your house. If you have multiple cats, make sure there are enough litter boxes; one for each cat plus one is a good rule to follow.

Keeping your cat’s routine as consistent as possible will help them know what to expect and reduce their stress level. Make sure your cat has a safe place to retreat to when they want quiet, and ensure that they get plenty of attention. This is extra important if you’ve added a baby or another pet to the home. While it can be challenging, taking the time to ensure that your cat knows that they are still important to you can go a long way toward mitigating their stress.

If your cat’s anxiety is severe, talk to your veterinarian. In some cases, medication may be warranted.

You can’t entertain your cat all the time, nor can you avoid leaving the house for periods of time. Making sure your cat has enough to do during these times is a crucial part of caring for your pet. Toys, scratching posts, and cat trees can help enrich your cat’s daily life by providing stimulation.

Placing a cat tree, chair, or bookcase next to the window so your kitty can look outside or even placing a bird feeder in your yard can provide a great distraction when they are bored. Even mobiles or colored strings that blow in the wind can work; anything that catches your cat’s attention will do.

Final Thoughts

Mounting behavior in male cats can be a sign that something’s not quite right. If you suspect that a medical issue might be the cause, speak to your veterinarian to either diagnose or rule it out. Once your cat has a clean bill of health, you can start implementing these tips to stop your cat’s mounting behavior. Before you know it, your cat’s mounting will be a thing of the past.

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Featured Image Credit: Attapol Yiemsiriwut, Shutterstock

It can be a little embarrassing when your cat starts humping a visitor’s leg or takes a particular liking to a certain toy. While humping is a normal behavior in cats, if your male neutered cat has suddenly started humping things when he never did so before, it might be time to think about why.

Excessive humping can sometimes be caused by medical conditions, so it’s important to try and figure out the cause of the behavior and how to stop it. This article is going to help you do exactly that!

We would recommend that while you’re trying to work out why your neutered cat is humping, you speak to your veterinarian and describe your cat’s behavior. They may want to schedule a consultation to rule out any medical issues.

First of all, let’s take a look through common reasons that a neutered cat might be humping. Then, we’ll go over a few steps you can take to reduce or stop the behavior.

Why Is Your Cat Humping?

If your male cat has been neutered in the last month or so, and is still humping, it’s not something to worry about too much. It takes up to 12 weeks for the hormones in his body to dissipate, meaning it’s completely normal to see humping behavior the first few weeks after the neutering operation.

If your cat was neutered at any age over one year, humping can become a learned behavior. That means even after the hormones have gone from your cat’s body post-neutering, he might still feel like humping things.

Cats are sensitive souls, and they’re much more prone to suffer from anxiety or stress than we might think. Any event that changes your cat’s environment, such as moving to a new house, having new visitors, or bringing a baby into your house, can all trigger stress. Prolonged bouts of stress can make your cat sick, so if you think your cat is stressed, it’s important to speak to your veterinarian right away.

Cats love to roam and find spaces where they can explore or be alone. If your house is small and your cat is constantly competing with other cats for food, beds, and toys, then they may be frustrated or stressed. Humping can be a physical sign of those frustrations.

Sometimes, humping is an attempt by one cat to show their status over another. If you’ve recently brought a new cat home, your older cat may try to hump them as a sign of dominance. This can also be a sign of stress.

Cats reach social maturity at somewhere between 2 and 4 years of age. So, your kittens might have got along when they were young, but you might notice them starting to hump each other as they get a little older. This is their way of figuring out which of them is more dominant now.

Your cat might be feeling bored and looking for a way to release pent-up tension. If they’re feeling frustrated, don’t have enough toys to play with, or simply want some attention from their owners, they might start humping.

Humping is an unusual symptom of a urinary tract infection, but it’s not unheard of. If your cat is humping but also doing things like urinating outside their box, straining to pee, or peeing more frequently than normal with little pee in the box, then you should schedule an immediate consultation with your veterinarian.

How to Stop Your Neutered Cat Humping

So, now that we know why you might find your neutered cat humping objects, other cats, or even people, let’s take a look at how to work on stopping that behavior. The good news is that there are plenty of steps you can take to stop your cat humping things!

Not every option is going to work for every cat, and some won’t necessarily be appropriate for your cat’s specific situation. But deciding which one sounds like the best choice to try first is a great start!

This should go without saying, but punishing your cat, either physically or verbally, is not going to help the situation at all. It can increase stress levels in your cat, which can make the situation worse. Here’s what to do instead!

Spending quality time playing with your cat can help them get plenty of exercise and indulge in their need to hunt. Even if your cat doesn’t seem like a big player, they might just need encouragement! Try using a range of different toys, experimenting to see which ones your cat likes best. Some cats love kicker toys, which give them the thrill of pouncing on and “killing” their prey, while others love fishing rod-style toys, which you can dangle for them to jump on. You can even get interactive, battery-operated toys that your cat can play with when you’re busy!

You might find that after a decent play session, your cat will be satisfied and tired rather than frustrated and bored. That means he’s much more likely to have something to eat and then head off for a nap, rather than looking for something to hump!

Cats love to roam, with one study finding that pet cats have an average “home range” of 4.9 acres! If your cat lives indoors, then they might benefit from having a larger territory. Of course, we’re not suggesting you need to find your cat a huge outdoor area to roam through, but there are plenty of options for increasing your cat’s territory throughout your home.

You can try adding more vertical areas, including shelves, ladders, and cat trees. These give your cat a safe space to sit up high and feel like he’s the king of his castle.

Adding an outdoor cat enclosure is a great idea. You can buy these ready-made or create your own. They allow your cat the pleasure of being outside, but you can make sure they’re safe at all times. Some cats runs can attach to your house, and others are freestanding. Many indoor cats love spending time in their enclosures!

As well as making sure your cat’s litter box is always clean and full of a brand of litter that he is happy to use, you’ll want to make sure there are enough boxes to go round. It’s a good idea to have one more box than cats. So if you have two cats, make sure you provide three boxes, and so on.

Keeping to a routine can help reduce stress as much as possible, as can introducing new pets slowly, making sure your cat has somewhere safe to retreat to at all times and making sure they always get plenty of attention from their humans.

You can also use products such as feline pheromones or supplements to help reduce your cat’s anxiety. If you’ve done the other steps above, it might be time to speak to your veterinarian to see if your cat might benefit from prescribed medication.

Making sure your cat has enough things to do is part of your responsibility as a good pet parent. This can include things such as new toys, scratching posts, and cat trees.

Making sure your cat can see out of a window is a good way to provide enrichment. Placing a bookcase or chair next to the window, combined with a comfy cat bed, is a wonderful way to keep your cat occupied. Many cats spend hours looking out of the window watching the world go by. Try adding an outside bird feeder, colorful strings that catch the breeze, and anything else that might catch your cat’s eye.

You can use feeding puzzles or toys that encourage your cat to hunt for his food. This will keep him occupied for far longer than simply eating from his bowl.

Some particularly intelligent cats love short training sessions with their owners. Cat clicker training is a great method for teaching your cat a whole range of new tricks, from waving to sitting or fetching their toys. This will make sure your cat is getting plenty of mental stimulation as well as physical.

Spending time grooming your cat is also a great way to bond with them while also being an enrichment activity that both you and your cat will love.

Positive reinforcement training is an excellent way to help your cat break the cycle of humping. Firstly, you’ll need something your cat loves, like their favorite toy or treat. When you see your cat looking like they’re about to start humping, lift them away, and distract them with their treat or toy. Rewarding your cat for the behavior you want, rather than punishing for the behavior you don’t, is a far more effective method.

you might also like:Do Cats Get Embarrassed in the Same Way Humans Do?

To Wrap Things Up

Humping is often a sign that something isn’t quite right in your cat’s life, so spending the time figuring out why they may be humping and what you can do to stop it is a valuable exercise.

If you have any doubts at all, we recommend speaking to your veterinarian and making sure your male cat has a full bill of health. After that, you can go ahead and start implementing a few of our tips for stopping your cat humping.

After you’ve completed all those steps, your cat might have completely forgotten about his old habits!

• Looking for a new name for your male cat? Get some inspiration from here!

Featured Image: christels from Pixabay