Maybe you have seen a male cat humping another male cat, or perhaps you wonder if your female cat is drawn to females as she’s been ignoring males at all times.
Can a cat be gay? Are there gay cats?
First thing first, cats’ sexuality isn’t something that should concern their humans. However, if you’re a curious cat like me, the short answer is maybe.
There’s not enough evidence to decide one way or the other whether animals can be gay. It’s not possible to determine the exact sexual orientation in cats either.
They sleep together, groom each other, and exhibit sexual acts even if they’re of the same gender. Below, I will discuss the topic in detail, so let’s dive in.
Can Cats Be Homosexual?
The scientific definition of homosexuality is same-sex attraction. However, the term “gay” typically refers to men who’re interested in other men, whereas women who’re attracted to other women have the “lesbian” label.
Moreover, if you’re interested in both men and women, you’re labeled a bisexual. In my personal opinion, labels shouldn’t exist because humans shouldn’t be defined by their sexuality. Also, coming out shouldn’t exist as it’s unnecessary.
Straight people aren’t required to “come out” as straight, aren’t they?
Nonetheless, in our world, being straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual doesn’t just refer to sex alone, but emotional and physical attraction as well.
However, in the animal kingdom, emotional, romantic, and physical attractions don’t exist, and homosexual behaviors have been observed in different species, including felines. These behaviors include sexual acts, parenting relationships, etc. (*)
The issue with interpreting these behaviors as proof that animal species can be gay, lesbian, or bisexual, is that they don’t have the same motivation behind their actions as people.
In other words, there’s not enough proof to determine one way or the other whether cats or any other animal species for that matter, can be gay.
What Do Studies Say About Same-Sex Behavior in Cats?
Studies have confirmed homosexual behavior in many different animal species.
According to the Canadian book “Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity”, over 450 different species of animals around the world have exhibited homosexual behaviors.
Moreover, Yale Scientific says that more than 10% of species over the world display homosexual behavior. (*)
In 2014, even the BBC reported two male Humboldt penguins that co-parented and raised abandoned eggs together at a zoo in England.
In summary, homosexual behavior is common in some animal species, however, does this 100% prove that animals, including cats, can be gay?
Let’s investigate a little further and make a conclusion.
How Does Human Sexuality Compare to Cat Sexuality?
Humans have a complex concept of sexuality. Our sexuality encompasses different factors like sexual desires and attractions, sexual acts, and of course, romantic feelings.
Cats aren’t that complicated. They don’t take things too seriously.
However, human sexuality can’t be compared to feline sexuality because we’re not animals, and we’ll never 100% understand why felines and any other animals act in the way they act. So, we as humans can only speculate if they’re gay or not.
Note that cats aren’t affected by the internal conflicts of people because they simply don’t have any internal conflicts, hence they do what they want sexually. They don’t stress about their sexuality or who they have sex with – they just have sex.
Let’s explore even further.
Sexual Behavior and the Motivation Behind it in Animals
When observing cats or any other animals for that matter, considering their behavior and the motivation behind it can help us explain why they act the way they do.
Sexual Behavior
This type of behavior includes but isn’t limited to vaginal and/or anal penetration, mounting, genital stimulation, grooming, and snuggling.
Motivation
Motivation represents both thoughts and reasons behind behaviors, including sexual acts. Since we don’t know the thoughts and reasons behind the sexual acts in animals as they can’t speak, we can’t know anything for sure.
Can Exclusivity and Longevity in Animals Help Us Find Answers?
Some scientists have also considered exclusivity and longevity when exploring the possibility of animals being gay.
For instance, when they included exclusivity in their research, they considered if any animals participated in sexual relations only with members of the same sex.
Longevity, on the other hand, helped them determine if different animal species had long-term partnerships with the same gender.
And they’ve concluded that some animals such as pigeons, bald eagles, and wolves mate for life, while cats don’t.
In other words, most felines don’t engage in sexual acts for a long time with the same partner.
For instance, unsprayed cats will enter the heat multiple times a year and can try to be rubbed, mounted, or licked by other cats, regardless of sex. And because of this, longevity in cats is hard to measure.
Do Cats Have Gay Sex?
Short and simple, yes, cats have “gay sex”.
Unlike people, felines don’t have a broad selection of sexual emotions that can be recognized. However, they obviously have sex, including “gay sex”.
It’s safe to assume that cats can be “into” cats of the same gender. However, note that “being homosexual” or “having gay sex with another gay cat” isn’t part of their mentality.
They behave in a natural and instinctive way. In other words, they do what appears appealing, right, or necessary at the time.
Further Observation of Same Sex Sexual Preference in Felines
Female cats that haven’t been sprayed enter heat every 3-4 weeks. And when this happens, they readily accept a male’s sexual attention, but when they’re not in heat, most females display aggressiveness toward males
Both males and females usually have a decrease in sex drive after they’re neutered (female cats more so than male cats).
Still, depending on the age at the time of the neutering, they can keep some mating urges for quite some time, but as they age, the urges reduce.
Some males can experience increased sex drive and act out sexual aggression to other cats they come across, even if they’re neutered.
At times, male cats can consider neutered male cats as non-males. When males get neutered, the pheromones that come through testosterone decrease greatly and vanish over time. So, a neutered male cat can smell like a female cat.
Lastly, if felines coexist with only their feline housemates and aren’t in the presence of other cats, the sexual behaviors they display can be directed towards their mates.
If it’s only one male cat or female cat in the household, they can direct sexual advances toward people, other pets such as dogs, or stuffed animals.
Why Do Male Cats Mate With Other Male Cats?
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution says that living beings have sex with the sole purpose of reproduction.
To some extent, it’s a correct statement. However, in human nature, sex is more than just a purely primal instinct because of people’s complex emotions.
In the animal kingdom, many species including felines don’t see it that way and they engage in homosexual acts due to many different possible reasons.
Although the exact reason behind homosexual animal behavior in animals isn’t that easy to determine, some scientists gave their best and came up with the following plausible reasons.
Social Bonding
Smart animals like cats can engage in same-sex mating to strengthen social bonds. The reasons behind this sexual way of behaving can include the availability of food, mating purposes, or defense tactics.
Feral kittens typically establish loose hierarchies with individuals usually coming and going as they please, whereas domestic cats have had to learn how to coexist in the same home with each other.
So, there’s a possibility that homosexual behavior could be a way of reinforcing their friendships and keeping the peace.
Practice
Sounds weird but it’s possible that same-sex mating in cats is just practice.
Kittens have been known to hump anything in sight, especially if they’ve been raised alone. Therefore, there’s a chance that same-sex acts could be a way of getting ready for the “actual act”.
I don’t like how that sounds, either. So, let’s together it in blame the scientists since they’re the ones making these claims, not me.
Neutering
Studies have shown that neutering can reduce male-typical behaviors in about 90% of cases. Pheromones in females decrease after they’ve been sprayed as well, but since sex is a primal instinct, the urges don’t go away instantly.
While neutering can significantly reduce unwanted behaviors and too many babies, the lack of a strong pheromone in females can actually cause confusion, which can result in sexual aggression between both neutered males and females.
Sexual Frustration
A study in 1999 in Japan has concluded that same-sex acts in males can be a result of sexual frustration as well.
The study was conducted on a feral cat colony and realized that same-sex acts only took place during the estrus season.
The same-sex acts between males happened right after a female ignored males and left the area, so it’s safe to assume that they were a product of sexual frustration. (*)
Therefore, if your domestic cat detects a female in the heat outside your home, they can take their sexual frustration out on other cats, people, or objects in the home.
Dominance
Felines often display dominant behavior, especially males.
In both domestic and feral felines, males have been known to express dominance by forcing another cat to take the mating position of a female cat.
However, this is more plausible in stressful environments and doesn’t necessarily have to do anything with their sexual preference. (*)
Alternatively, domestic cats can try to dominate a new cat in their home. To prevent this from happening, you as a responsible owner must introduce new pets slowly to reduce stress and potential aggression.
So, Is Your Cat Gay?
Honestly, I don’t know and neither do scientists.
There’s no scientific evidence supporting that your feline is exclusively gay. And you may never know if they’re straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual as they can’t tell you.
However, as long as you love cats, it shouldn’t matter if they’re sexually attracted to cats of the same sex.
All we know as of this moment is that they don’t care about sexual orientation and do as they please at the moment.
*image by Valerii_Honcharuk/depositphotos