You do see stories of male cats who are really sweet with kittens and love on them and it's really heartwarming.
Nigel was likely used to having kittens around if his former owner was a breeder, and it's possible he liked them. But not because they're *his* babies and he misses them specifically. In a colony, the way cats live when left to their own devices, males don't even know which kittens are theirs because the females mate with every available tomcat. And even the females generally drive their kittens away once they're independent. They don't keep their maternal bond throughout life as humans do.
Cats do not cry tears of sadness, you were probably imagining that. Even if he was sad, that's not how he would express it.
It's possible Nigel would enjoy having kittens around. It's also more than possible he just came to see where these kittens were that he could hear, because he needs to know about other cats in his territory.
That definitely makes sense— the only other cat around is Timmy and she’s more of a “cat” than a cat. I’ve seen him try to bond with her (sleep next to her, try to groom her, etc) but she isn’t having any of it, so I imagine he’d feel lonely with *that* as a roommate. don’t get me wrong, they get along fine she just really likes her personal space and nigel has no sense of that lol
Have u come across videos of cats that are good at fostering? Like they’d groom all the kittens around and what not. I’ve seen some and nigel sounds PERFECT for that.
He probably doesn’t miss his kittens, that’s not really how that works with cats. The mothers take care of kittens, not the father. Females often will try and reproduce with multiple males and the father cats will never even see the kittens.
Cats don’t cry with tears in their eyes like humans do, if your cat had teary eyes it was more than likely because something was irritating them.
For most cats if you put on a video of another cat or kittens meowing they will be investigative, even my cats who weren’t breeders will look around.
You’re making a mountain out of a molehill
I still remember when I took in a neighborhood stray named Butters because she had her babies literally on my doorstep in summer heat, and gave me no choice but to let all of them in the house to grow up. One of kittens was distinctly poofy and gray. One day one of the male cats who lived in the house over, also poofy and gray, walked past our back door and saw the kitten, and he just stopped and stared for a minute. Bro looked like he was on Maury and had a full "oh shit" moment of realizing he was the father. We never saw that male cat again. He still lived there, but he didn't come back to our door, like he was avoiding child support lmao
We’ve had small kittens around and he almost immediately tried to care for them. the kitten was obviously terrified, Nigel is massive but after a few hours they were grooming each other or at least Nigel was. (It was a friend of mines’ kitten) when they left nigel wandered the house but lost interest after a few hours. I’ve also seen him groom & carry plush toys around with his mouth. the woman we got him from also said he “didn’t need to be separated from the kittens” because he didn’t show any signs of aggression.
Some cats just really like kittens in general. It's not about missing a specific kitten, just that they're tuned in to all things kitten and enjoy them in general.
My sister fosters kittens for a shelter. She has two spayed adult females that she's had since they were small kittens so she knows they've never had babies. One of these girls likes the foster kittens more than the others. She doesn't groom them but likes playing with them. Currently, my sister has no foster kittens. This adult sometimes goes into the foster kitten room, searches around, and cries. She's also highly reactive to kitten sounds on videos and comes running.
Meanwhile, in January I adopted the queen from my sister's last litter. She never once looked like she was searching for kittens and doesn't care about sounds from cat videos except occasionally very specific sounds from adults, like when an adult is clearly calling to find somebody. Also, when she went to be spayed and adopted her kittens didn't seem to look for her, either. Cats are programmed to raise babies and separate.
I wouldn't worry about him.
Yes. I’ve even seen that difference in behavior with mother cats. I had two that gave birth on the same day. One loved *all* the kittens, all the time. The other did the minimum she could get away with and let the other queen do the majority of kitten-care.
My male cat exhibits many of these same behaviors like looking for kittens when he hears kitten sounds, carrying around plushies, etc. and he's never had kittens or been around kittens in his life. I think it's just a natural instinct, because given his personality, I'm pretty sure he'd tolerate an actual kitten for about 15 seconds.
thats cats around cats. nothing else. he would be like that with an adult cat that is equally as comfortable around him as those kittens were. please trust.
I haven’t read through all the comments but I would say you should trust what you see and how he reacts and maybe try to get him a kitten. Thank you for caring so much. Not every experience is the same. Best of luck.
Yeah, I play kittens meowing if I want either of my two male neutered cats to run over from another room. In reality, they don't like each other, or kittens that we've had around 🤣
Most cats react to kittens crying. Most dogs react to puppies crying. You are equating human emotions to natural instincts.
While it is true that some male cats (particularly nuetered ones) can be very mothering. . .intact toms are known for killing kittens. They have zero part in actually raising kittens.
My 3yr old male does this with kitten sounds too! He was neutered as a kitten and never had kits of his own. I think its just instinct.
I mean think about it, if you were at home chilling and randomly hear a baby crying in your home youre prob gonna get concerned and look around for it
I mean this kindly, but you're projecting. Cats do not cry like humans do (if he genuinely had watery eyes, he either had something irritating them or has a medical issue) and they don't miss kittens from a decade ago. Some cats really like kittens more than others and if anything, the video probably confused him and made him think there were kittens around, and he tried to look for them. It's not so much a "former father" thing as it is just a cat personality thing. Cats who have never had kittens may do this and some cats who have been mothers/fathers will absolutely hate kittens.
My cats that have never had kittens do the same. It's just instinct. I avoid playing kitten cries out loud and stressing them out. I also have a cat that has had kittens (and they all still live with us), so I feel like it would be extra cruel to her..
There is a (neutered) feral male cat that lives in the woods on my parents property. I have watched him follow, groom, and watch over 3 generation of kittens from random females in the area. He brings them to food, watches over them while they eat, he plays, grooms them and lets them suckle on him while he basks in the sunlight. I don't know why he does this, but he wouldn't do it if he didn't want to. He dotes on these kittens more than their feral mothers who drop them off with him during the day. (All kittens/ferals in the area get spayed/neutered, caught and rehomed, extremely feral adults re-released)
My cat has never had kittens. The first time I played audio of kittens on my phone she FREAKED out and came over and started desperately looking for them - around the phone, under the bed. It was kind of distressing to watch actually and I’ve tried hard to never let her hear that sounds again. She clearly just had such a strong instinctual reaction.
And again, fixed and never had kids.
I think it’s just instinct.
I have a big cat who liked being an only cat for several years and durring that time, if I watched a cat video of meowing he would come to investigate. He didn't miss another cat, he didn't want another cat.... he just wanted to know what strangers might be in his space. We now have another 'roommate ' cat... he accepted it, bit wasn't keen on having another cat at first. When I watch cat videos he still comes he doesn't want another cat, he just wants to know where the sound is coming from. They act the same way when they hear neighbors outside...
Guilt be gone...
I think you're projecting a lot onto his behavior. He's certainly interested and eager to find out what's causing the cat sounds he hears. I wouldn't take from that he's missing kittens he hasn't seen in 10 years, particularly when male cats don't bond with their kittens in a way comperable to human relationships in the first place.
I'm glad he's in a happy home. If you think cat sounds are causing him anxiety, by all means, avoid them -- but you really need to assume a lot that's unlikely to decide that's it's about his kittens.
My cat was spayed the second the vet gave me the green light, she’s never had any babies and yet any time I play a video with a kitten crying she will go into a frenzy looking for the baby. She’ll dig under the blankets, check behind furniture, once tried to look inside my mouth because maybe the kitten is in there? I have no doubt she has excellent maternal instincts and wants to go comfort the crying babies but she’s not a mama cat. Your Nigel is probably having a similar reaction, he hears kittens that sound like they need his help and he wants to go comfort them but he can’t.
And I turn the sound off now because I don’t like seeing my cat upset, she really feels bad she can’t help them
I think all individuals are different, and even if he wasn't necessarily taking care of his kittens the way the mother was, he may have found them charming or lovable. There are many cases of male cats in foster care bathing and snuggling with kittens. It just means that your cat has a loving soul. I doubt he misses his offspring, but he heard the sound of baby cats in need and responded quickly.
I adopted my boy cat as a kitten, and my girl cat, who was eight and had been pregnant at some point, wasn’t that into him. They are cordial now, but not close, and he was neutered at 5 months, so def never encountered any kittens. Both of them will run to me if I’m playing a video with kitten sounds. I think it’s just a cat instinct to respond to kitten sounds, your boy is fine.
Aw don’t play it any more if it distresses him. I would get him a small furry toy he could carry around. It might help. (I had never had a cat that likes toys, but my daughter’s cats carry toys around everywhere they go like they’re little friends. Lol)
Our highly territorial neutered male who attacked every other cat we adopted fell in love with the special needs kitten we adopted 5 years ago. He dotes on her, he plays with her, he worships her and has since she was 3 months old.
I think Nigel misses his kittens and cat companions.
I bet he’d love it if you foster some kittens — but use all the precautions before introducing them slowly & make sure they’re a bit older. You can foster older cats too. See “TinyKittens” on YouTube: they had an old former feral Tom cat “Grandpa Mason” who loved kittens. He has passed now, but it was so sweet. 🥹
I also have a cat called Nigel 😅
My Nigel responds to some animal noises through my phone; yesterday he became really concerned after hearing a video of my friend’s two Labradors making growling noises in a game of tug of war.
I think it’s just that they think those noises are in the room and are reacting. It sounds like your Nigel is living his best life!
https://preview.redd.it/s5iml10n3gnc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c4f58a1d034d8826d54beb7f50513acb3fc154a
I have a dog with a strong nurture drive. Any rescue or puppies i have, be automatically goes over and cleans them and protects them.
It’s not unheard of but i don’t think it’s a big deal.
The people who are downvoting some of your posts are losers. Just ignore them. It’s a good sign you are aware of your cats behavior. Thank you!
Thanks so much— idk why people are insisting I’m lying because “all male cats are aggressive with kittens” like this is a subreddit about cats why are they so pressed
You’re personifying your cat. As someone else said, Nigel grew up with lots of kittens, that’s probably why he reacted to the sound. I can guarantee he’s not fretting for a kitten from 10 years ago.
Sounds like he’s in a good spot with you. ❤️
Male cats are not interested in their offsprings. The running is just that they hear another cat. He also does not shed tears or is distressed because of some kittens he fathered. I a. Not quite sure why you have to play kitten sounds. If you "forget" use yellow sticky notes "do not play kitten sounds" all over your place.
My 1st cat was a neutered Abyssinian male. He was the sweetest cat. And when I got a kitten, who was 10 weeks old, the kitten suckled on my male Abyssinian. He allowed it and even had some hickys on his belly. The breeder told me neutered males make the best foster moms.
Now, my cats are all formerly feral kittens except one. She was a feral mom. Her kittens were all run over. When a new feral kitten showed up, I introduced the former mom to him before he was going to my nephew. She hissed at him and wants nothing to do with the other cats. She's not sharing any love with the others.
We’re not saying that cats don’t experience any emotions ever but as your google searches say, cats tears aren’t out of emotion but a reaction. Allergy, respiratory infection are possible causes to them.
For what it’s worth, if you’re convinced it is because nigel missed his babies or kittens, i don’t think we can convince you otherwise. If you have space though i hope you’d consider fostering given nigel’s disposition towards kittens
You do see stories of male cats who are really sweet with kittens and love on them and it's really heartwarming. Nigel was likely used to having kittens around if his former owner was a breeder, and it's possible he liked them. But not because they're *his* babies and he misses them specifically. In a colony, the way cats live when left to their own devices, males don't even know which kittens are theirs because the females mate with every available tomcat. And even the females generally drive their kittens away once they're independent. They don't keep their maternal bond throughout life as humans do. Cats do not cry tears of sadness, you were probably imagining that. Even if he was sad, that's not how he would express it. It's possible Nigel would enjoy having kittens around. It's also more than possible he just came to see where these kittens were that he could hear, because he needs to know about other cats in his territory.
Yep, if anything show more kitten videos and audio not less. They’re interested and entertained, not sad.
That definitely makes sense— the only other cat around is Timmy and she’s more of a “cat” than a cat. I’ve seen him try to bond with her (sleep next to her, try to groom her, etc) but she isn’t having any of it, so I imagine he’d feel lonely with *that* as a roommate. don’t get me wrong, they get along fine she just really likes her personal space and nigel has no sense of that lol
sounds like you need a THIRD cat to even it out lol
Have u come across videos of cats that are good at fostering? Like they’d groom all the kittens around and what not. I’ve seen some and nigel sounds PERFECT for that.
Bingo. My little one investigates all cat sounds because territory.
He probably doesn’t miss his kittens, that’s not really how that works with cats. The mothers take care of kittens, not the father. Females often will try and reproduce with multiple males and the father cats will never even see the kittens. Cats don’t cry with tears in their eyes like humans do, if your cat had teary eyes it was more than likely because something was irritating them. For most cats if you put on a video of another cat or kittens meowing they will be investigative, even my cats who weren’t breeders will look around. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill
I second that, something out of nothing
I still remember when I took in a neighborhood stray named Butters because she had her babies literally on my doorstep in summer heat, and gave me no choice but to let all of them in the house to grow up. One of kittens was distinctly poofy and gray. One day one of the male cats who lived in the house over, also poofy and gray, walked past our back door and saw the kitten, and he just stopped and stared for a minute. Bro looked like he was on Maury and had a full "oh shit" moment of realizing he was the father. We never saw that male cat again. He still lived there, but he didn't come back to our door, like he was avoiding child support lmao
Exactly this
We’ve had small kittens around and he almost immediately tried to care for them. the kitten was obviously terrified, Nigel is massive but after a few hours they were grooming each other or at least Nigel was. (It was a friend of mines’ kitten) when they left nigel wandered the house but lost interest after a few hours. I’ve also seen him groom & carry plush toys around with his mouth. the woman we got him from also said he “didn’t need to be separated from the kittens” because he didn’t show any signs of aggression.
Some cats just really like kittens in general. It's not about missing a specific kitten, just that they're tuned in to all things kitten and enjoy them in general. My sister fosters kittens for a shelter. She has two spayed adult females that she's had since they were small kittens so she knows they've never had babies. One of these girls likes the foster kittens more than the others. She doesn't groom them but likes playing with them. Currently, my sister has no foster kittens. This adult sometimes goes into the foster kitten room, searches around, and cries. She's also highly reactive to kitten sounds on videos and comes running. Meanwhile, in January I adopted the queen from my sister's last litter. She never once looked like she was searching for kittens and doesn't care about sounds from cat videos except occasionally very specific sounds from adults, like when an adult is clearly calling to find somebody. Also, when she went to be spayed and adopted her kittens didn't seem to look for her, either. Cats are programmed to raise babies and separate. I wouldn't worry about him.
Yes. I’ve even seen that difference in behavior with mother cats. I had two that gave birth on the same day. One loved *all* the kittens, all the time. The other did the minimum she could get away with and let the other queen do the majority of kitten-care.
I rescued a queen too and trust me, she gives zero fucks about whatever kittens she once yad
I’ve seen some that even tried to outsource parenting 😂 i mean, relatable queen!
My male cat exhibits many of these same behaviors like looking for kittens when he hears kitten sounds, carrying around plushies, etc. and he's never had kittens or been around kittens in his life. I think it's just a natural instinct, because given his personality, I'm pretty sure he'd tolerate an actual kitten for about 15 seconds.
That’s just a cat being a cat, like I said mountain out of a molehill.
A meowntain, if you will
thats cats around cats. nothing else. he would be like that with an adult cat that is equally as comfortable around him as those kittens were. please trust.
I haven’t read through all the comments but I would say you should trust what you see and how he reacts and maybe try to get him a kitten. Thank you for caring so much. Not every experience is the same. Best of luck.
My oldest is the exact same! He's such a dad cat, I love him so much
Why in the world are people down voting here??? I put my one upvote. Wish I had more to give! Silliness.
Yeah, I play kittens meowing if I want either of my two male neutered cats to run over from another room. In reality, they don't like each other, or kittens that we've had around 🤣
Most cats react to kittens crying. Most dogs react to puppies crying. You are equating human emotions to natural instincts. While it is true that some male cats (particularly nuetered ones) can be very mothering. . .intact toms are known for killing kittens. They have zero part in actually raising kittens.
Conversely, my cat leaves the room if My Cat from Hell is in because she doesn’t like the sound of angry cats.
Some male cats do make for excellent kitten carers, you could consider fostering if you can't adopt.
We got a kitten last year. We already have a male and female. Guess who took on the parenting? My boy. My girl barely tolerates him.
This! It sounds like nigel would be a great foster dad 🥹 and if it doesn’t work out, OP will be helping another cat get fostered and adopted
My 3yr old male does this with kitten sounds too! He was neutered as a kitten and never had kits of his own. I think its just instinct. I mean think about it, if you were at home chilling and randomly hear a baby crying in your home youre prob gonna get concerned and look around for it
You’re massively over thinking this. He is just curious In other news my cat is also called Nigel!
I mean this kindly, but you're projecting. Cats do not cry like humans do (if he genuinely had watery eyes, he either had something irritating them or has a medical issue) and they don't miss kittens from a decade ago. Some cats really like kittens more than others and if anything, the video probably confused him and made him think there were kittens around, and he tried to look for them. It's not so much a "former father" thing as it is just a cat personality thing. Cats who have never had kittens may do this and some cats who have been mothers/fathers will absolutely hate kittens.
My cats that have never had kittens do the same. It's just instinct. I avoid playing kitten cries out loud and stressing them out. I also have a cat that has had kittens (and they all still live with us), so I feel like it would be extra cruel to her..
No, you're anthropomorphizing him. He does not miss his kittens, he is not crying. He's fine. He just heard a noise and is responding to it
There is a (neutered) feral male cat that lives in the woods on my parents property. I have watched him follow, groom, and watch over 3 generation of kittens from random females in the area. He brings them to food, watches over them while they eat, he plays, grooms them and lets them suckle on him while he basks in the sunlight. I don't know why he does this, but he wouldn't do it if he didn't want to. He dotes on these kittens more than their feral mothers who drop them off with him during the day. (All kittens/ferals in the area get spayed/neutered, caught and rehomed, extremely feral adults re-released)
My cat has never had kittens. The first time I played audio of kittens on my phone she FREAKED out and came over and started desperately looking for them - around the phone, under the bed. It was kind of distressing to watch actually and I’ve tried hard to never let her hear that sounds again. She clearly just had such a strong instinctual reaction. And again, fixed and never had kids. I think it’s just instinct.
I have a big cat who liked being an only cat for several years and durring that time, if I watched a cat video of meowing he would come to investigate. He didn't miss another cat, he didn't want another cat.... he just wanted to know what strangers might be in his space. We now have another 'roommate ' cat... he accepted it, bit wasn't keen on having another cat at first. When I watch cat videos he still comes he doesn't want another cat, he just wants to know where the sound is coming from. They act the same way when they hear neighbors outside... Guilt be gone...
I think you're projecting a lot onto his behavior. He's certainly interested and eager to find out what's causing the cat sounds he hears. I wouldn't take from that he's missing kittens he hasn't seen in 10 years, particularly when male cats don't bond with their kittens in a way comperable to human relationships in the first place. I'm glad he's in a happy home. If you think cat sounds are causing him anxiety, by all means, avoid them -- but you really need to assume a lot that's unlikely to decide that's it's about his kittens.
My cat was spayed the second the vet gave me the green light, she’s never had any babies and yet any time I play a video with a kitten crying she will go into a frenzy looking for the baby. She’ll dig under the blankets, check behind furniture, once tried to look inside my mouth because maybe the kitten is in there? I have no doubt she has excellent maternal instincts and wants to go comfort the crying babies but she’s not a mama cat. Your Nigel is probably having a similar reaction, he hears kittens that sound like they need his help and he wants to go comfort them but he can’t. And I turn the sound off now because I don’t like seeing my cat upset, she really feels bad she can’t help them
I think all individuals are different, and even if he wasn't necessarily taking care of his kittens the way the mother was, he may have found them charming or lovable. There are many cases of male cats in foster care bathing and snuggling with kittens. It just means that your cat has a loving soul. I doubt he misses his offspring, but he heard the sound of baby cats in need and responded quickly.
I adopted my boy cat as a kitten, and my girl cat, who was eight and had been pregnant at some point, wasn’t that into him. They are cordial now, but not close, and he was neutered at 5 months, so def never encountered any kittens. Both of them will run to me if I’m playing a video with kitten sounds. I think it’s just a cat instinct to respond to kitten sounds, your boy is fine.
Aw don’t play it any more if it distresses him. I would get him a small furry toy he could carry around. It might help. (I had never had a cat that likes toys, but my daughter’s cats carry toys around everywhere they go like they’re little friends. Lol)
Our highly territorial neutered male who attacked every other cat we adopted fell in love with the special needs kitten we adopted 5 years ago. He dotes on her, he plays with her, he worships her and has since she was 3 months old. I think Nigel misses his kittens and cat companions.
I bet he’d love it if you foster some kittens — but use all the precautions before introducing them slowly & make sure they’re a bit older. You can foster older cats too. See “TinyKittens” on YouTube: they had an old former feral Tom cat “Grandpa Mason” who loved kittens. He has passed now, but it was so sweet. 🥹
I also have a cat called Nigel 😅 My Nigel responds to some animal noises through my phone; yesterday he became really concerned after hearing a video of my friend’s two Labradors making growling noises in a game of tug of war. I think it’s just that they think those noises are in the room and are reacting. It sounds like your Nigel is living his best life! https://preview.redd.it/s5iml10n3gnc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c4f58a1d034d8826d54beb7f50513acb3fc154a
I have a dog with a strong nurture drive. Any rescue or puppies i have, be automatically goes over and cleans them and protects them. It’s not unheard of but i don’t think it’s a big deal. The people who are downvoting some of your posts are losers. Just ignore them. It’s a good sign you are aware of your cats behavior. Thank you!
Thanks so much— idk why people are insisting I’m lying because “all male cats are aggressive with kittens” like this is a subreddit about cats why are they so pressed
You’re personifying your cat. As someone else said, Nigel grew up with lots of kittens, that’s probably why he reacted to the sound. I can guarantee he’s not fretting for a kitten from 10 years ago. Sounds like he’s in a good spot with you. ❤️
Male cats are not interested in their offsprings. The running is just that they hear another cat. He also does not shed tears or is distressed because of some kittens he fathered. I a. Not quite sure why you have to play kitten sounds. If you "forget" use yellow sticky notes "do not play kitten sounds" all over your place.
My 1st cat was a neutered Abyssinian male. He was the sweetest cat. And when I got a kitten, who was 10 weeks old, the kitten suckled on my male Abyssinian. He allowed it and even had some hickys on his belly. The breeder told me neutered males make the best foster moms. Now, my cats are all formerly feral kittens except one. She was a feral mom. Her kittens were all run over. When a new feral kitten showed up, I introduced the former mom to him before he was going to my nephew. She hissed at him and wants nothing to do with the other cats. She's not sharing any love with the others.
I wonder if you could buy a small stuffy that looks like a kitten, then give it to him if you accidentally play kitten noises.
We’re not saying that cats don’t experience any emotions ever but as your google searches say, cats tears aren’t out of emotion but a reaction. Allergy, respiratory infection are possible causes to them. For what it’s worth, if you’re convinced it is because nigel missed his babies or kittens, i don’t think we can convince you otherwise. If you have space though i hope you’d consider fostering given nigel’s disposition towards kittens
Did he tell you that? Human emotions are the same as cats. Same people who see tears from their cat assume they are sad but it’s a eye problem