Male cat in heat came home injured on legs

Question

My male cat has been returning the past few days with pretty harsh injuries on his front legs and front paw, we took him to the vet who told us it was a cat fight but she didn't speak very good English.

He's an outdoor cat and we have 7 others, males and females who haven't fought since they were little. He's never been in fights before but there are many strays where we live. I've never seen him leave the property, but in the past three days he's been disappearing for a long time and returning beaten up.

My dad suggested he could be in heat, and the females he's attempting to mate with are attacking him. I saw him jump on one of my female cats the other day and he got a good slap from her. None of my female cats allow him, which is probably why he's going elsewhere. He has deep bites on his front legs and paws, and his back claws are broken off, but no damage anywhere else.

I was very worried that a stray male could be attacking him, but it was very weird where his injuries were. He isn't castrated because my dad is persistant in "defending his fellow man" but my mom and I will take him secretly tomorrow. Would a female cat attack him like this?

Answer 1

The ONLY responsible thing to do is to get your cats SPAYED AND NEUTERED.

Intact male cats will fight and get hurt. You will save yourself a lot of money and problems by getting the cat(s) neutered.

As Harry V. correctly says in his answer, male cats do not go into heat. What happens is the male cat has a powerful reaction to the female cat that is in heat.

Male cats can be triggered at any time of year by a female cat in heat and will fight other males for the right to mate the female.

Male intact cats will spray/mark everywhere, and if there are many cats in the area this will be a problem in the area where you live.

Feral cats are a big problem around the world, and feral unvaccinated cats can spread many types of disease to the cat population.

You need to get the female cat(s) spayed. This will reduce the spraying/marking and reduce the risk for mammary and ovarian cancer and limit the number of unwanted kittens.

Female cats have the same arsenal of weapons as the male cats have but they will not fight and hurt the male cats unless they really have to, This means the female will chase away the male if he gets too close to her, and he might get hurt in the process.

Both the male and female cat might get hurt during mating. The female can get hurt by the male when he bites the neck and uses the claws to hold the female stationary during mating.

The male cat's penis has spikes so the mating will hurt the female. If the male is too slow getting away after mating, the female will hurt him.

Answer 2

Male cats do not go into heat — this is a term referring to estrus which only females go through.

There may be some seasonality to male cat sexual activity but in general a sexually mature male cat will not have a problem mating at any time of year.

Aggressive behaviour between intact males is normal, it is dominance and territorial aggression, only the strongest will get to mate.

Cats mating is not pleasant for the female. The male commonly bites the female's neck and holds her down. The male cat's penis is barbed which is a source of pain for her particularly when he withdraws. For these and other reasons it is very common for the female to attack the male after mating.

The only solutions to reduce his chances of being injured are to either keep him isolated indoors from other cats, or to get him neutered.

Cat bites can become nasty if not treated, so make sure they receive appropriate veterinary attention.