Cat Love, Mating, and Raising Kittens

Cat mating looks brutal. The female screams. The male grabs her by the neck. They roll around. It seems like a mess. But there’s a lot more going on than drama.

First, the neck grab. When a male cat bites the female’s neck during mating, it looks like a cartoon caveman move. It’s not. The female is usually the one in charge. She swats, hisses, and attacks. The male bites her neck to protect himself. It triggers a reflex in the female. Kittens have a “freeze” response when their mother picks them up by the scruff. That reflex doesn’t completely disappear in adulthood. If you grab an adult cat by the scruff, it may freeze for a moment. The male uses that. As long as he holds on, the female may go limp—just like a kitten being carried by Mom. Without that trick, the male would get badly scratched.

Then there’s the screaming. After mating, the female often turns and attacks the male. She screams and swipes at him. Why? Because the male’s penis has tiny spines on it. They point backward. When he pulls out, they scrape the female’s vaginal wall. It hurts. That pain triggers ovulation. Cats don’t ovulate on their own like humans do. They need the stimulation of mating. So the pain is part of the reproductive system. It sounds awful, but it’s how cats work. The male doesn’t choose to hurt her. The spines are just there. And the more fertile the male, the bigger the spines.

Cat courtship is also a lot of noise. A female in heat calls, and males come from everywhere. They gather around her, yowling and fighting. She rolls on the ground, rubs herself, and swats at any male who gets too close. The males take turns trying to approach. She decides who gets close. A smart male only moves when she’s looking away. If she looks at him, he freezes. It’s like a game of red light, green light. Eventually, one male gets close enough to mount her. If she’s ready, she lifts her rear and moves her tail to the side. That’s the invitation.

After mating, the female may mate with several males. That means a single litter of kittens can have multiple fathers. This is called superfecundation. It’s more common in cities, where cats live close together and males can find a female in heat easily. There’s also superfetation, which is even stranger: a pregnant cat can sometimes go into heat again and get pregnant with a second litter. The two litters develop at different stages. If the first litter is born too early, the second litter may be born prematurely and die. If they stay in the uterus, they may be born weeks later. It’s rare, but it happens.

When a mother cat is ready to give birth, she looks for a quiet, dark, dry place. She may reject the fancy box you prepared and choose a shoe cupboard instead. Labor can take hours. Each kitten is born in its own sac. The mother tears the sac open, cleans the kitten’s nose and mouth so it can breathe, bites the umbilical cord, and eats the placenta. Then she licks the kitten dry and rests before the next one arrives. Most mother cats are excellent midwives. They don’t need human help.

Newborn kittens are blind and deaf, but they can smell and feel. They find a nipple and claim it. Each kitten has a favorite nipple, and each nipple has its own smell. If you wash the mother’s belly, the kittens get confused. They can’t find their spot. That’s how they avoid fighting over food.

Mother cats will sometimes nurse other kittens. If an orphan kitten cries near a nursing mother, she may adopt it. She’ll pick it up, carry it to her nest, lick it, and let it nurse. In crowded breeding situations, several mothers may share a nest and nurse all the kittens together. It’s not typical in the wild, but cats are flexible. They can be surprisingly cooperative when they have to be.

Kittens grow fast. At birth, they weigh about 100 grams. By the end of the first week, their eyes open and they’ve doubled their weight. At one month, they start playing with each other. At two months, they’re wrestling and hunting games. At three months, they’re eating solid food and the mother is ready to mate again. At six months, they’re independent. They can hunt and take care of themselves.

Do kittens need to learn how to kill? Not exactly. Even kittens raised without their mother can kill a mouse on their first try. But they get better if they watch Mom. Kittens that see their mother hunt become better hunters. Kittens that grow up with rodents as “family” often won’t kill them. So hunting is instinct, but experience shapes it.