I saw this question somewhere and it really puzzled me... can one litter of kittens have seperate fathers? or is it only one male who fathers them all??
2006-10-11 07:22:08 · 31 answers · asked by Carly Michele 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
alright, well i think the general sensus is a Yes. I also went on a few websites and found information that further convinced me of the fact that it CAN happen...
heres a website fo anyone who'd like to see its true:
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/whydo2.html
its that website, and if you scroll a little more than half way down the page, you come to the question:"Why do kittens born in the same litter look so different?"
and that answer pretty much is it. Thanks to all who helped!!
2006-10-11 07:39:37 · update #1
Cats only release eggs when the male mates with her (called induced ovulation), so that male fertalizes those eggs. Another male can cause her to release more eggs and fertalize those.
The term "Tomcatting Around" for men who can't keep their pants zipped, comes from cats and their willingness to mate with anything that will hold still long enough. And the females are the same way, multiple partners, multiple encounters, multiple "baby daddies".
2006-10-11 07:27:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
Of course. The people saying it doesn't happen really need to research cats a little more.
An unaltered female cat who is allowed to roam around when in heat will most likely have a litter of kittens fathered by different toms. Sometimes more than two. Cats are spontaneous ovulators. After the male has ejaculated, he pulls out, and small barbs on the end of his penis rake the vaginal walls inside the female cat which stimulates her to release an egg. Pregnancy rarely results after the first mating which is why females wander around mating whenever and wherever they can. They will continue to do so until their bodies register fertilization which can take long enough for her to have mated several times with several different toms. If the fertilization is from the first or second mating, it's possible for her to have been fertilized by quite a few subsequent males afterwards, resulting in several kittens....sometimes there are litters where EACH kitten has a different father.
Despite what people think, kittens are not "twins" just because they are from the same litter. It IS possible for a cat to have twin kittens, however. If a cat mates with a tom and releases two eggs at once that are both fertilized by that male's sperm....OR if the egg that was fertilized by one male's sperm splits.
And the girl who said her cat was "raped".....give me a break. Cats fight when they mate. This is because the act of mating is not exactly a pleasurable experience for many mammals. In fact, humans and dolphins are the only mammals that have sex for pleasure. For cats and dogs, mating can be a painful experience. If the female had not wanted to mate, it wouldn't have happened.
2006-10-11 08:53:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
If a cat has 5 kittens, it is very possible there are 5 fathers. You'd have to ask a vet but I know it's possible. Cats generally only have 3 to 5 kittens but could be each kitten has a different father. Lions do not do this for sure. Don't know if any other animals do this.
2016-03-28 05:09:57 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they can. Unlike animals that live in a group such as dogs or humans, female cat only produces an egg when she has had sex, in order to avoid waisting it while she does not mate. So if she had sex with 3 different male cats, then she produced1 egg after each time she had sex, which means 3 eggs in total, and if all the eggs are fertilised, then all the kitten's fathers are different. It also explains why dogs have period but cats don't.
2006-10-11 07:35:47 · answer #4 · answered by ono 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Breeders keep their queens locked up for a reason ... so that the chosen male will sire all kittens. A free-ranging female cat is capable of having her eggs fertilised by numerous toms, hence being dubbed the nymphomaniac of the animal world.
Even though the litter will be born at the same time wiithin hours, their parentage might be quite different.
2006-10-11 07:33:20 · answer #5 · answered by kiteeze 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes I read it in a magazine only a couple of weeks ago, sorry I don't have it any longer. It went into great detail about how a cat's penis has like spikes on it and copulation is incredibly unconfortable for the female, then it explained how a female can get bonked by several different males and then have kittens that don't have the same father. Weird huh?
2006-10-13 09:18:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes! Its amazing! My cat came from a tortoise shell litter and is roughly, by my reconing about 75% persian, just like her brother, fluffy, grey and a beautiful temperament. I did some research and found out that more than one male can fertilize the same egg. Crazy days! All of Archibella's other brothers and sisters are completely different. I have even met both dads!
2006-10-11 08:02:22 · answer #7 · answered by miowmeowmeow 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not only can the litter have different fathers; it is most probable. The queen, she-cat, has the toms queueing up for her! At each mating, she produces a single egg. No wastage in the cat world!
Pedigree litters may all be from the same tom, as the queen is usually put in a run with him.
2006-10-11 07:32:19 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, cats will mate with multiple males when the females are in heat. That is one reason that kittens in a litter will often look so different (different colors and markings).
2006-10-11 07:25:04 · answer #9 · answered by Cindy B 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes
When a female cat is in heat all the local tom cats will show her a good time.
Cats ovulate with multiple eggs so these eggs can be fertilised by different fathers.
2006-10-11 07:26:49 · answer #10 · answered by andy_bermuda_2003 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋