Problems In Mating Behavior

An intact male cat's penis showing prominent spines. A neutered male cat's penis showing no spines present.

The penis is covered by a protective sheath called the prepuce. During licking and grooming, or sometimes during stimulating play, the penis may protrude from the prepuce. The tip of the penis is called the glans, and it is covered with 120 to 150 penile spines that are directed backward, away from the end of the glans. These penile spines start to appear at about 12 weeks of age and are fully developed at puberty. They are absent in neutered male cats, disappearing by six weeks after castration.

Sperm production by the testicles starts by the age of five to nine months. While sperm may be present in the testicles, the actual age at which mating begins will vary with physical condition, body size, and season. On average, the onset of puberty is at eight to ten months of age and at a body weight of 2.5 kg; however, significant variation among breeds is seen.

In addition to sperm, the testicles also produce testosterone, which regulates secondary sex characteristics, such as development of jowls, and male sexual behavior, such as mating and spraying. Testosterone levels in the blood vary widely (from 0 to 5.9 ng/ml) in an episodic fashion. It can be normal to find an undetectable level, especially in a single blood sample. Castration causes an almost immediate drop in the blood levels of testosterone, but viable sperm may still be present for up to six weeks.

Problems with Mating Behavior

A tomcat may be unable to complete a breeding attempt if he is inexperienced, if he is nervous in his environment (it may take up to two months for a tom to settle into a new home), if he does not learn how to grasp the neck of the queen properly, or if he releases the queen too quickly. Toms with dental problems may not be able to grasp the queen's neck properly. Any painful condition, such as arthritis or other orthopedic problems, can impair breeding performance and reduce libido. As well, hair rings around the penis make penetration of the female difficult, so that the tom may display long bouts of unsuccessful pelvic thrusting. Malpositioning can occur if there is a significant size discrepancy between the two cats. With time and experience, most toms will learn to adjust their position to overcome size differences.

Successful stud cats must be physically, socially and sexually mature, so that it is usually best to wait until they are close to one year of age before breeding. A young tomcat may need to be bred to an experienced and patient queen to train his mating behavior. Young, inexperienced toms can be discouraged by an aggressive or dominant queen. Exercise restriction in a cage environment also may not allow the tom to feel comfortable enough to attempt to breed a female. In addition, stresses such as being shown can adversely affect a tom's libido.

Giving testosterone to toms with low libido will not help increase their libido. It appears that giving supplemental testosterone to tomcats actually lowers the level of testosterone within the testicles (despite increased blood levels), which will deprive sperm cells of adequate testosterone needed for development and cause sterility. Increased testosterone secretion in the tom can be stimulated in a meek or subordinate male, however, by an injection of GnRH (Cystorelin®, Factrel®, and others) about one hour before breeding.

Normal tomcats may also attempt to mount and breed queens not in heat, spays, other male cats (neutered or intact), kittens, or inanimate objects such as furry toys. Mating behavior usually disappears when a tom is neutered, but tomcats with much experience may continue to display mating behaviors for years after neutering.

Vasectomy

Some catteries routinely use vasectomized tomcats (teaser toms) to help bring queens out of estrus when a pregnancy is not desired. Vasectomy can be accomplished by surgically removing a section of the ductus deferens through an incision. Live sperm may be present for up to six weeks after the procedure is done. Vasectomy does not alter libido or mating ability in adult toms.

Semen Collection and Examination

Semen evaluation is not commonly performed in the cat outside of research and zoo settings. It is difficult to collect semen and the volumes obtained are small. There are two methods for collecting semen from tomcats: training to an artificial vagina and electroejaculation. Occasionally, a very docile tomcat can be trained to mount and ejaculate into an artificial vagina in the presence of a female in heat. It may take a few weeks of training and patience, but it has been reported that 20% of toms can be trained. Electroejaculation must be accomplished under general anesthesia and the equipment is not commonly available, which makes it impractical.

Most tomcats have less than 30% structurally abnormal sperm in an ejaculate. In lions, it is known that inbreeding, decreased testosterone levels and increased numbers of deformed sperm are interrelated. In the domestic cat, higher testosterone levels are associated with lower numbers of abnormal sperm.

A less invasive method of examining the sperm from a tomcat is to perform a vaginal flush on the queen immediately after a natural breeding to collect ejaculate. Interpretation of semen samples collected by this method, however, is difficult. When cats ejaculate, some sperm are discharged retrograde into the bladder. Another possible method to confirm a tomcat is producing sperm is to examine a urine sample from the tom just after he has bred a female. The simple presence or absence of sperm may be determined by these methods, although no information about the numbers or quality can be found this way.