Two male cats....

[Kincaid]

I have a 13 year old male cat, neutered. I recently adopted another male cat, between 2-3 from a shelter. They told me he was neutered. They play fight a lot but seem to get along ok. I noticed, however, the other day, that the younger cat seems to be sniffing the backside of my older cat quite a lot. And I'm not sure why he's doing that. They told me he was fixed, so would he still be doing that if he was fixed? They said part of the adoption fee covered the shots and the neutering surgery or whatever. And they said as soon as they take in a cat a the shelter, the first thing they do is get it fixed.

I haven't brought him to the vet yet since I adopted him, I haven't actually had a chance. But i plan to do so soon. Can anyone give me an idea of what they think? Should I do something? Can I do anything? I'm a little nervous?

[lindsayanng]

you would see "nuggets" back there if he wasnt. It would be VERY rare for a shelter to adopt out a cat that wasnt fixed.. he's probably just doing it because thats how they say hi to each other. Is your older cat an indoor outdoor cat?

I have all fixed females and everytime one of my indoor outdoor cats comes inside, they still her butt.. like stick their heads up in there.. its just a way of collecting info and greeting each other.. it is nothing sexual or dominent and has nothing or little to do with horomones.

[Kincaid]

They're both indoor cats. I won't let my cats outside because it's too dangerous.

I'm not sure what you mean by "nuggets" but there are 2 small lumpy things back there when I look...so I'm starting to wonder! I don't think my older cat has those. I'll have to check.

So, when they play fight, it seems like the younger cat is always trying to bite the older one in the butt. And he gets on top of him and starts biting his neck a lot. I'm sitting there watching this behavior seriously wondering what the heck is going on! I guess I'll have to get to the vet's this weekend. I'm just totally confused.

[special]

They're both indoor cats. I won't let my cats outside because it's too dangerous.

I'm not sure what you mean by "nuggets" but there are 2 small lumpy things back there when I look...so I'm starting to wonder! I don't think my older cat has those. I'll have to check.

So, when they play fight, it seems like the younger cat is always trying to bite the older one in the butt. And he gets on top of him and starts biting his neck a lot. I'm sitting there watching this behavior seriously wondering what the heck is going on! I guess I'll have to get to the vet's this weekend. I'm just totally confused.

Hi and welcome to petlovers! Hurray for you for giving an adult shelter cat a forever home!

How long ago was his surgery? It takes some time for the hormones to leave the body. Two little lumps does not sound like intact male testicles, an adult intact male is pretty obvious, plus their pee really stinks.

As for the butt sniffing behavior and play fighting and butt biting, that is just normal play. Lucky you that your older cat accepted the younger one so quicly!

You don't say how long you have had the shelter kitty, but a check up with your own vet is a good idea anyway, sometimes shelter cats come to their forever homes with Upper Respiratory Infections (URI) or ear mites or yeast infections in their ears.

Be sure to mention you adopted him from the shelter. Many vets will give a free first check up for a shelter adopted cat. ALL vets around here do this.

Please feel free to stick around and tell us more stories about your two boys!

[curegal421]

I heard that shelters are not allowed to give animals up for adaption without neutiring them or spaying them first. I have a 3 year old male that i found on the street and i took him in, he has a spot where the testicals would of gone but there are no testicals there I took him to the vet and the vet said he was neuterd but there is nothing there at all except a blacks spot, but my friend has a cat a male cat that was neuterd and he has little testicals still attached to him, so i guess it all depands on the cat... I have 2 cats and they sniff each others butts all the time its just a way to recognize each other and to say hello i guess, its not a big deal. :-)

[nanamouse]

Long ago a cat would come back from his nueter with almost nothing left, nowadays they seem to leave more of the sack. The boys I've taken to be fixed in the last 3 years all have something left back there, but it isn't near what they went to the vet with.

[lindsayanng]

I was just saying Nuggets instead of testicles. Basically a male cat will have very obvious testicles. You would clearly be able to see them..

Otherwise, you just have boys that are going to be boys.

it is also true that it takes some time for the horomones to calm down a lot, so if the cat was just nuetered, it will be a little time, but i dont think this is a horomonal thing.. just cats playing

[Kincaid]

I adopted him from the shelter sometime in late March or Early April. So it's been a few months.

I don't mind that they play fight, I was just worried cause it seemed like he was being a little weird.

The older cat I adopted from another shelter back when he was only 10 weeks old! He fit in the palm of my hand! Now he's like 20 lbs and everyone calls him fat. But he loves to cuddle, so he's just a big teddy bear.

The younger cat is probably 3 years old. I thought I wanted a kitten, but I'm glad I didn't get one. This one has enough energy to keep the older one occupied and they are actually getting along a lot better than I expected. A friend of mine told me that 2 male cats never work out, but I set out to prove her wrong. I have many pictures of the 2 of them cuddling and it's only been a few months, so I think they're going to be just fine. :)

I lost my 15 year old cat, a girl, back in March. She had lymphoma which spread to her lungs. It got to the point where her breathing troubles were making it too hard for her and she couldn't even get to the litterbox anymore. So I unfortunately had to put her down. It was devastating for me because I've had her since she was 1 year old and she was the sweetest most well behaved cat, ever! But I'm grateful for the time I got to spend with her. She was awesome.

Anyway, my older cat was starting to get too clingy with me and wouldn't leave my side after the other one died, so that's why I got this little guy. And he has brought a great energy into the house. I really like having 2 boys. It's kind of cool. And he makes me laugh all the time because he does the cutest things! :D

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm still going to take him into the vet but I haven't had a chance cause I've been traveling a lot for work. I've got an appointment for next week, so we should be all set.

[Llamalady]

Sometimes cats are fixed late, so they have a suitcase, but they don't have any luggage in there if you know what I'm saying. Only a vet can tell you for sure about that, but my cats periodically sniff each other's butts. An unfixed male is also going to have a very distinct odor, not the nice musky smell that an unfixed cat has.
I have two cats and they're both neutered boyos. The thing is about cats is they're not as fixated as dogs are about sniffing each others butts. But especially if you have two cats that aren't used to each other, they're going to want to check things out.
Another thing is that if he was fixed later, he may still have some boy thoughts that go through his head. Like sometimes Mandarin will mount Linus, and dig his teeth into the back of his neck. This is considered foreplay in the cat kingdom, but Mandarin does not do the motions, so everything is good.
Good luck with your boys!!! :D