Do Cats Mate For Life. Cats generally aren’t loyal when it comes to love, but that’s because they just want to reproduce as much as possible.
In the wild, both male and female cats can mate with multiple partners in order to increase their chances of producing more kittens which will ultimately help them live longer lives.
They might not look as pretty while they do it, but this practice clearly doesn’t hurt them since they’re still surviving even after their prime.
Do Cats Mate For Life
Cats do not have lifelong partners. Within the same mating season or heat cycle, a female cat might cycle between breeding numerous times. As they are all sired by male cats who were there at the same time, this can result in kittens with various fathers. You could probably have a lot of questions about how cats’ mating cycles work, so I’ll give you some answers so you know what to expect from your feline companion.
Big Cats
Domestic cats and their feral cousins aren’t monogamous, but what about other members of the feline family such as lions, tigers, and cheetahs? Polygamy is a common occurrence among felines, including big cats.
This means that most domestic cats are polygamous themselves. However, there is one exception Female lions are usually limited to mating with the males that make up their pride rather than any male in a three-mile radius.
So not only is your little housecat not monogamous, neither are its large cousins. unless you live in Africa.
Biological Imperative
Many animal mating behaviors, including those of your cat, are driven by a biological imperative. The term refers to the need for animals to perpetuate their species.
For male cats, having multiple mates ensures that their genes are passed on to several offspring while females can engage with multiple partners in exchange for getting access to the best genes for their offspring.
By doing so they increase the range of options available compared to putting all of their eggs in one basket.
Variety Of Genes
It’s true that the more partners a cat has, the more genetic variation are created within its species. This leads to a healthier existence giving each cat the opportunity to better handle diseases or other types of stress on its own.
With greater diversity, a population becomes flexible and may adapt in natural ways thanks to the presence of several different types of genes rather than one or two only.
It’s through this process that nature ensures animals can continue to evolve into their environment and lead a healthy life.
Mating Habits
Dealing with feral cat populations has become a growing problem in many parts of the world. One of the causes is the rapid reproduction of stray and feral cats.
Female cats are opportunistic ovulators and have a strong desire to always be having kittens, and will come into heat when there are nearby tomcats, while tomcats are quite happy to mate when they can find an opportunity.
Female cats also reach sexual maturity at about five months old, so as you can see this leads to dramatically high rates of reproduction bringing us back to our original problem before too long.
Do cat couples stay together?
Cats have been known to socialize, though the degree of sociability has been debated. Their feral cousins, however, do not show as much reliability in their respective societies as cats who are domesticated and bred for companionship.
These cats can form very strong bonds with one another, becoming what is generally known as a bonded pair of cats. It’s uncertain how they think about their relations to other cats or humans but it is clear that for their own happiness and health, these two creatures must be adopted together.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the most annoying thing about cats is that they are scatterbrained. They do not hold grudges, nor will they remember their place of origin and flock back there if they feel like it. And another case in point is how they don’t necessarily dislike water, but they certainly have no talent for swimming or any special attachment to wet things either.