For some reason this randomly came to my mind the other day... Let's say that two cats are born from the same litter, one female and one male, and they are raised in the same house and not spayed and neutered. When they come of age, will they attempt to reproduce? Does nature have some way of preventing this or is it possible?
2006-12-17 17:05:04 · 7 answers · asked by malintzin 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
There is a natural tendency to disperse in the wild, or if other suitable cats are around. In other words they would prefer outsiders. That's the tendency in nature to avoid inbreeding and thus potentially weaker offspring. If they are the only two cats. they'll probably mate sooner or later.
2006-12-17 17:18:57 · answer #1 · answered by Vango 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Animals are incestuous by nature. Cats do this ALL THE TIME. It does cause problems if the interbreeding gets out of hand, like with German Shepards. You have to make sure their hips do not slope downward (it's not just aesthetic, it is a problem for them) and a good German Shepard isn't HARD to find, but you definitely have to do your homework, because people have bred them and interbred them too much! So yes, that is nature preventing it, because once it does get out of hand, naturally the German Shepard that has the bad hips would not win the fight for a mate. The dog with the GOOD hips that wasn't interbred would win, therefore producing healthier offspring and ending the line of bad-hipped dogs. But if you're concerned that your brother and sister kittens are going to get it on, yes they absolutely will, and at a younger age than you would suspect...
2006-12-18 01:13:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I do not know about cats, but most complex mammals have incest avoidance mechanisms. Usually based on smell, mostly. As with humans, not foolproof.
PS Go here for some info. www.animalbehavior.org/
Or, type " animal incest + avoidence ", into your address bar.
2006-12-18 01:14:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they would reproduce. In the wild, it is less likely to happen, but if populations are small, and family members are the only available mates, it will happen.
2006-12-18 03:02:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
animals of the same species will most definately try to reproduce they do not have a sense of right or wrong ,moral or imoral they act on urges to reproduce,eat,sleepor fight.
2006-12-18 01:13:25 · answer #5 · answered by david w 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they know not incest
they're all about propagation of the species
2006-12-18 01:07:59 · answer #6 · answered by sedatedeyes209 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it is possible.
2006-12-18 01:07:24 · answer #7 · answered by Jason 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋