by Shadows mom (Portland OR)
Shadow (the one in black!) riding in my car with his bear
When I brought my nearly dead 5 week old abandoned kitten home the vet suggested I go to a second hand store and purchase him a stuffed animal. She said it would not only give him a furry replacement for his litter mates but that it would help to teach him that he can only gnaw on furry things! Well, he fell in love. So much so that he drug it around all over the house (it was twice his size since he was only 12oz!) Before long it was missing most of his fur and is flat as a pancake. Here’s the disturbing part. He would stand on top of it and make low guttural sounds all the while he’s kneading it. I finally had to hide it because his “playing with his baby” was waking me up at night. I came across it not long ago and decided to see if he remembered it. Well he certainly did. After about a 3 year absence he picked up right where he left off! My kids think he’s “humping” it, I prefer to believe he’s just really “loving” the poor thing. I’m not sure if cats hump like dogs do (pelvis movement) and if they do then that’s not what he is doing. He’s back to being an only child now, which I think he prefers but he is also an inside kitty. I’m wondering if I should give him back his “baby”. I’m okay with that but not if he’s having sex with it. He’s 8 years old now and was neutered young. I’ve never had problems with him spraying or going outside his litter box or acting sexual in any way.
Comments for My cat loves his bear
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Sam Persian Cat by: Anonymous My male 3 year old does this too! He’s a grey miniature Persian and has a doll that looks just like him. He carries her (“Dolly”) around the house in his mouth and will put her in the food dish ( i guess so she can eat), the litter box, and all around the house. He is very demanding that i watch when he “loves” his doll. It’s quite disturbing! If i am not watching he yells at me.
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My new kitten does and my (passed on) first cat did this by: TheCatsMeow Both males, both neutered. Yes, it is kitty masturbation. I don’t understand why anyone would even think of trying to interrupt or intrude to stop them. It’s natural, safe, doesn’t cause any harm, and in fact give them pleasure and relaxes them. They’re animals, they’re not people. If you have shame about sex, trust me, your cats are never going to ‘get’ that.
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my kitty loves my fuzzy throw by: Lothario’s mom My cat, a neutered male, does the same thing. Vet says it’s masturbation and to let the poor guy have his jollies. A strange twist on this behavior is that he grabs a piece of the throw with his mouth and then scrunches up the rest of it under his tummy, while doing the kneading thing. I didn’t really want to use the throw again after I saw what he was doing to it, so I just said, OK this is yours to enjoy. By the way, biting the throw while he is “loving” it is similar to a male grabbing a female by the scruff of her neck.
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this is sexual cat behavior by: Jaimie My 1 year old spayed female does this exact thing to my arm and hand. Well more specifically, she straddles my arm and bites and licks my wrist. It kind of creeps me out so, I just push her off of me when she does this.
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yay i know this one! by: i love my cat =] my cat eevee does this to me sometimes, and it is just love. the paw kneading is how kittens stimulate milk production in mummy cat and when a kitty does this to someone/something else it is a sign of trust and adoration. basically the cat sees that person thing as or as good as its mummy cat. so don’t worry about the paw kneading or the dragging around it just wants its bear to see everything he sees and to show it he loves it =]OH AND BTW!!!! kudos, love and massive amounts of respect to you for kitty rescue mission. cats are so intelligent and they feel and love like humans do, some people don’t treat them as such. you really are wonderful.jess xx
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Owlie by: Anonymous My 2 yo neutered boy does the same with his “owlie.” He’s had it since he was 6 weeks old and has been “loving” it since around 3 months. I don’t have the heart to take it away, vet says it’s safe sex 😛
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he’s just being a guy by: Mickey What he’s doing is, as your kid believes, humping the bear. Cats mate differently than dogs, because their sexual organs are so much smaller, pelvic thrusting would not be apparent. Because he is neutered, there will not be any mess from this (sorry for being graphic, but it’s nature). If you give him the bear during the day you can always take it away again at night. scolding him for this will not make any difference, he is just doing what natural instinct tells him to do. Hope this helps.
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just being a guy cat by: Mickey Oh those male animals and their natural instincts. Actually cats mate a bit differently than dogs do. Cat’s organs are much smaller than dogs, so the pelvic thrusting would most likely be hidden from human eyes, due to the thick fur covering the important areas. He would appear to be grabbing the bear in his teeth and standing over it, making the growling noise you mentioned.As your cat is neutered, there will not be a mess from this (sorry for the visual, but hey it’s nature), and it would be fine to give him back his bear. If it keeps you awake at night, I would say just take it away from him at night. He’s just doing what natural instinct tells him to do, but he doesn’t know why, and scolding him would not make any sense to him. Hope this helps!