Can cats be Gay?

Posted by Dec 17, 2016 |

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Author Amira

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I’m Amira, founder and editor at Cattention.

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Sometimes, cats play and sleep together, and groom each other with a marvelous tenderness which shows that they seem to sincerely enjoy each others company even though they are from the same gender.

Some owners with multiple cats in their household even come across a situation when they find their cat mounting another cat of the same sex. This leads to a peak in their curiosity, and they ask themselves: Can cats be gay?

The answer to an interesting question: Can cats be Gay?

While you might be expecting a straightforward answer to the question: Can cats be gay, it is more complicated than you think and very difficult to answer. Maybe.

Till date, no sufficient research has been conducted to prove that cats can or cannot be gay. However, they can display behaviors that we interpret as being gay or homosexual.

Important note

Before we dive into the various reasons why people think cats can be or cannot be gay, let’s make things very clear.

You and I define things and understand things within the scope of our vocabulary, and we may be quick to label something that fits with our beliefs.

This article aims to present the information in an unbiased manner and is not meant to offend people.

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Although homosexual behavior seems to be common in the animal world (observed among 1500 species and especially found amongst social species like birds and some mammals), survival and reproduction are the basic instincts of an animal.

Thus, a homosexual orientation – if one can speak of such thing in animals – seems to be very rare, and uncommon to exist for very long.

When observing animals, including cats, there are two key things that need to be taken into consideration. One is behavioral, and other is motivation.

Behavioral: The physical acts, such as mounting, and genital stimulation.

Motivation: The thought or reason behind the behavior.

The following reasons are cited by people about the idea of cats being or not being gay. All the possible explanations to define homosexuality in cats are given from a purely behavioral perspective that is genital contact, stimulation, courtship and affection between cats of the same gender. However, the motivation and the implication behind this behavior is still unknown.

Reason 1:

Some male cats may mount other neutered male cats due to the low or lack of testosterone. The cat may simply mistake the neutered cat to be female and attempt to reproduce with the cat.

Reason 2:

Another theory revolves around a social aspect and states that many animals need to establish their dominance on their species for protecting their territory or for mating, and cats are no exception to this behavior.

When two male or two female cats engage sexually, it is a demonstration of power, and not sex, which usually occur when one cat is introduced to another in the household or when they are stressed and want to prove something to one another. In order to establish a hierarchy, the stronger cat may mount the other cat.

Reason 3:

Sometimes older cats may mount young male kittens, and this is because male kittens smell different from adult cats. This usually occurs when you introduce a new male kitten into your household, and you already have an unneutered adult male cat.

Reason 4:

Another view held by others is that homosexuality in animals goes against Darwin’s theory of natural selection which states that creatures will adjust to their environment and reproduce accordingly. So being homosexual will result in animals preventing themselves from passing on their genes to their offspring.

Reason 5:

Some researchers also argue that same sex partners that come together to raise their young should be considered homosexual even if they do not engage in sex in the same way as a male and female parent would do when they come together to raise their young ones which is considered heterosexual. For example, lionesses who raise their cubs together.

Reason 6:

A popular book, titled Biological Exuberance by author Bruce Bagemihl, is an interesting read. In the book, he explains that scientists of biology have only looked at sexual interactions between animals of the same sex from a purely reproductive perspective. And according to the author cats have homosexual tendencies.

Reason 7:

Some scientists even thought that the human-made chemicals found in the environment might cause females to pair together, but there is no sufficient evidence to support this theory.


Bottom line on Can cats be gay

While there are different theories and reasons about the idea of cats being or not being gay, till date, there is no scientific evidence of the different sexual orientation of cats.

However, this may change in the future, and this article will be updated accordingly.

So, do gay cats exist? Possible, but not sure. And in addition to this statement, another interesting fact is that many animals that are said to be homosexual do not exclusively mate or attempt to mate with the same gender but they also mate with the opposite sex. Thus, it would be more appropriate to describe their sexual orientation as bisexual.