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Posted by PHCurious on January 11, 2003 at 13:03:27:

In Reply to: Re: Question about male bengals and their sexual maturity posted by ashnzade on January 07, 2003 at 22:34:01:

::Can male bengals be sexually mature as early as 4 months? I just got a male bengal to be a companion to my female DSH. She is almost 7 months and ironically, scheduled to be altered at the end of this week. I was under the impression that my bengal boy would not be sexually mature yet, but today they have been displaying sexual activity. I don't know whether they are physically able to accomplish this since the male is significantly smaller then the female. I'm wondering if it is possible for her to become pregnant, and how early pregnancy can be detected in cats. I have them separated for now and intend to consult my vet first thing in the morning, but I was hoping someone could give me some insight!

I've heard of VERY rare instances in which male cats become sexually mature that young. I can't think of any reason why it would happen to Bengals more often than it would to any other domestic cats though. It seems that anything is possible, but it's more likely that your male kitten is playing and exhibiting dominance.

Nevertheless, this is one area in which you really don't want to take a chance. Unneutered, sexually mature male cats will almost always start spraying to mark their territory. So even if your female was spayed this week and pregnancy isn't an issue, I agree with Portia that you ought to look into having your male cat neutered ASAP as well, before behavior problems develop.

Good luck! Let us know what your vet says.

PHCurious
Cat Chat Host

Follow Ups:

• Re: Question about male bengals and their sexual maturity kittensmom 01/11/03 (1)
  • Re: Question about male bengals and their sexual maturity PHCurious 01/25/03 (0)