If you watch the news at all these days, you know there is a lot of discussion about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) issues. While these important discussions generally involve people and their sexuality, it shouldn\u2019t be surprising that some cat owners wonder if cats can be gay.<\/p>\n
This may seem like a silly question, but the answer is actually pretty interesting.<\/p>\n
In this article we will cover the following:<\/p>\n
The concept of sexuality in humans is complex, to say the least. Depending on whom you ask, human sexuality encompasses sexual behavior, romantic feelings, and sexual desires or attractions.<\/p>\n
While cats may not have the full range of sexual emotions found in people, cats obviously do engage in sexual behavior. Cats can also be \u201cattracted\u201d to other cats or people, showing a desire to be close to them.<\/p>\n
People identify themselves as gay when they are attracted to members of the same sex. Others might consider someone to be gay if they believe they are engaging in same-sex relationships.<\/p>\n
There has also been research on same-sex interactions among animals. In his book,\u00a0Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity<\/a>,<\/em> Canadian biologist Bruce Bagemihl, has identified same sex behavior in more than 450 different kinds of animals worldwide.<\/p>\n Turning back to cats, if they can be gay, what does this mean? Is being gay in cats defined by physical behaviors, relationships between animals, or both?<\/p>\n We\u2019ll look first at whether cats engage in same-sex behaviors and, then, whether cats are capable of love.<\/p>\n The first question to answer might be, \u201cWill two male cats ever try to mate with one another?\u201d As the following video shows, the answer to this appears to be, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/v7kwV1UC21o<\/p>\n But, to conclude that cats can be gay on this basis alone, overlooks other important aspects of cat biology.<\/p>\n First, much like with dogs, male cats will sometimes mount another male cat as a show of dominance. In such a case, the behavior is not, technically, a sexual act, much like\u00a0play fighting<\/a>\u00a0in cats is not the same as actual fighting.<\/p>\n Second, male cats can develop to be hyper-sexualized<\/a>, meting out sexual aggression to other cats they encounter. This can persist even when the male is neutered.<\/p>\n Third, male cats can view a neutered male cat as a non-male, and hence a female. When a male cat is neutered, the male pheromones produced through the presence of the male hormone testosterone are greatly reduced or absent; the neutered male cat, in effect, smells like a female.<\/p>\n Finally, if cat housemates live out their lives in isolation from other cats, any sexual behaviors they exhibit will, of necessity, be directed towards other cats in the household, regardless of their sex. Alternatively, the recipient of the cat\u2019s amorous advances could be other pets, people living in the same house, or even stuffed animals.<\/p>\n Physical sexuality is just one component of sexual identity. Perhaps more important is the question of whether cats can love.<\/p>\n Almost any cat owner will tell you that cats are capable of love, even if your cat is a breed like the Russian Blue that seems to like only one person in the whole world.<\/p>\n However, since love is considered to be an emotion, there is really no way to scientifically measure the presence or absence of love, whether in people or cats. That might be changing, though, as scientists are now able to identify spikes in the levels of certain hormones during times when most people would agree they are experiencing love.<\/p>\n For example, a number of studies have shown when humans and dogs interact through petting, oxytocin surges into both the dog and the person\u2019s bloodstreams. Oxytocin is often referred to as the love hormone because it is also released during the first interactions of a human mother and her baby, creating bonding feelings and physically helping mom to release milk for baby\u2019s first meal.<\/p>\n A\u00a0recent experiment<\/a>\u00a0has shown that cats, too, experience a release of oxytocin when petted by their owner. While the level of oxytocin did not, on the average, spike as high in cats as dogs, it still proved that cats do respond to human contact.<\/p>\n Cats apparently do love us, even if not quite so much as dogs. This is one of the reasons cats make such good pets<\/a>.<\/p>\n The answer to this question is fairly easy. Cats can certainly love people of the same sex.<\/p>\n Likewise, as the video below shows, even outside of overtly sexual behaviors, cats of the same sex can develop a deep, loving bond.<\/p>\nDo Cats Mate with Other Cats of the Same Sex?<\/h2>\n
Can Cats Love?<\/h2>\n
Can Cats Love Others of the Same Sex?<\/h2>\n