What is a feral tomcat?Ī feral tomcat is an un-neutered male cat that is unsocialized. Some tomcats will travel as much as 1-2 miles to find a female in heat. In fact, un-neutered male cats make claims to large territories, often about 150 acres. Tomcats have no problem traveling when they need to. From then on, healthy tomcats spend a large part of their day on the lookout for female cats to mate with.įemale cats emit pheromones when they’re in heat, and tomcats use these as signals, following them like a map to find the female cat. Tomcats typically reach sexual maturity between 6 and 7 months of age. If you were to keep a tomcat as a pet, it’s likely that most of the vertical surfaces in your home would be sprayed on, leaving behind a strong, unpleasant urine smell.īecause tomcats are so territorial, they can also be aggressive, particularly toward other male cats that they feel are a threat. Cats are naturally territorial animals, and tomcats even more so. If they sense a female in heat anywhere nearby, they will wander off, sometimes even over great distances. Tomcats love to roam, especially during mating season. While you can give a tomcat shelter and resources and you can even pet them and play with them, they don’t make good pets in the traditional sense. If the cat is pregnant or nursing a litter of queens, she is known as a queen. What is the feminine equivalent of a tomcat?Īn entire (un-spayed) female cat who is not pregnant or nursing kittens is known as a Molly. In his book Cat World A Feline Encyclopedia, Desmond Morris claims that the word is a contraction of Gilbert. The term gib or gibble cat preceded Tomcat, particularly in northern England. What is a desexed (neutered) male cat called? While tomcats can be any breed, shape, and color, they do all share similar physical characteristics, like a large, muscular build and a broad neck. A tomcat refers to an un-neutered, sexually mature male cat, regardless of what breed he is. Are tomcats a certain cat breed?Ī tomcat is not one specific cat breed-in fact, every cat breed can have tomcats. Middening is the deposit of uncovered feces in prominent positions to mark territory and send a message to other male cats in the area. When deposited, feline is odorless, however, it develops its characteristic smell due due to breakdown products contained in the urine. Felinine is a chemical compound in cat urine made from sulfur-containing amino acids. Their urine has a more pungent odor to that of females or neuters due to increased levels of felinine. The incidence of spraying on vertical surfaces is higher in tomcats. Territorial fighting puts the tomcat at risk of bite-wound abscess and transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus. Squabbles over territory and females may be restricted to verbalization, with howling and yowling, if this doesn’t chase off the intruder, it will progress to a full-blown fight. As such, tomcats tend to roam and engage in fights with other males in the area. Tomcats have two things on their mind, protecting their territory and finding females to mate with. The testicles are clearly visible in the adult tomcat.īattle scars are common in Tomcats who are allowed to roam, who will often have torn ears and facial scarring. Tomcats are larger and more muscular than neuters and female cats, with a broad neck, and prominent stud (tomcat) jowls on the face. Before the publication of The Life and Adventures of a Cat, males were known as rams, boars or gibs. The main character was Tom the Cat, a promiscuous male cat. The name tomcat is derived from an eighteenth-century work of fiction titled The Life and Adventures of a Cat authored by Willoughby Mynors. A tomcat is a sexually mature entire (un-neutered) male cat.
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