Mating Procedure

Courtship is usually perfunctory. The female allows the male to sniff her, which he does repeatedly drawing scent into his vomeronasal organ; any attempts to do more may be viciously rebuffed.

British ethologist Roger Tabor has observed low-ranking males assiduously courting queens in early season; Queens often accept the low-ranking male, father than the dominant male, as the first mate. Mating itself is brief and tense.

When she is ready, the queen assumes a crouching position with her hindquarters raised (called lordosis) and permits the male to proceed with mating. As the male mounts, he grasps the scruff of the female's neck between his jaws.

This stimulates the dependent "scruff response" seen in kittens, and subdues the queen. The tom ejaculates almost at once.

As he withdraws, his penis abrades the queen's vagina. She cries out, and may even turn on the tom, hissing, spitting, and trying to bite. Experienced toms, who are familiar with this behavior, will relax and groom themselves nearby until the female is receptive once more.

Swedish researcher Olaf Liberg has observed that cats will mate between 10 and 20 times each day, and that mating sessions can continue for as long as four to six days.
 
The first male often becomes exhausted, and may be replaced by other toms waiting in the line. These multiple matings stimulate the cascade of hormones that induces egg release.

For many cats, mating is the only time that they make physical contact with others; after mating, the male rarely has any parental role.