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My friend has two pet cats. I saw them mating. After mating, when the male jumped off her back, the female cat screeched. This is not to be mistaken with cats fighting, he didn't bite her or anything.

Why does this happen?

lila
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  • The male often does bite the female on the scruff of the neck to hold her, but that isn't what hurts. – Oldcat Nov 01 '13 at 23:49

1 Answers1

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From what I understand (and a bit of time with Google), cat penises are barbed for a better grip. This makes mating painful for the female - and explains why cats mating often looks and sounds a lot like cats fighting.

The other "fun" aspect of cat mating as I recall is that the female ovulates when mated, which can mean that a roaming queen's kittens could be sired by as many toms as she has kittens (Cat genetics are fun...)

Kate Paulk
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    The pain of the extraction of the barbed penis actually stimulates the female cat to ovulate. – Oldcat Nov 01 '13 at 23:48