Most male cats understand it’s essential to be gentle with their owners.
Throughout their lives, males begin to mellow at around 6 to 7 years of age. This is their natural behavioral cycle.
They will become less active with age, and they may eventually become calm even around people. So, at what age do male cats calm down?
Male cats usually become mature when they’re 4-6 months old. However, some male cats don’t calm down until they’re 18 months old.
Nevertheless, most male cats calm down as they get older. Once they’re mature, male cats become friendly, playful, and affectionate.
They interact with their owners more and get along well with other animals. They also become great hunters and kill fewer birds around the house.
Finally, male cats settle down at around 4 years old. At around 4 years old, most male cats stop spraying around the house and become well behaved.
At What Age Do Male Cats Calm Down?
Although all cats go through the same fundamental stages of life, each cat’s development is different and unique to them.
Because each kitten is an individual with their own unique personality, the ages at which these milestones occur can vary dramatically from kitten to kitten.
These milestones are also influenced by genetics and the environment in which the kittens were raised – both by their parents and other pets in the household.
Genetic variables are crucial, but so are environmental factors like diet and the care with which the kittens were raised by their human caregivers!
Smaller cats may achieve full maturity in as little as 2 years, while larger breeds can take up to 4 years to reach their full size and weight.
Some big cats, such as the Maine Coon and Siberian, can weigh over 30 pounds as adults.
Although a cat may physically mature at one year or older, its emotional maturity may not be reached until several years have passed.
Behavioral maturity in a cat generally occurs between the ages of six months and one year old – although behavioral maturation of each individual cat will vary based on genetics and environmental influences.
Although components of their personality may emerge from birth, kittens learn proper behaviors from their mother and littermates during their first year of life.
When a natural proclivity for hyperactivity is combined wth a lack of positive experiences or environmental enrichment, excessive activity may lead to destructive behavior in cats.
In these situations, we must discover the underlying causes of the inappropriate behavior and remove them so that the cat can learn more appropriate ways of satisfying its need for stimulation and exploration.
Factors That Impact Male Cat’s Calmness
Breed
Cats with high activity levels, such as the Siamese or Burmese, often remain lively into adulthood.
Other breeds may become calmer as they get older.
Some smaller breeds, such as the Munchkins, tend to stay lively and active their entire lives.
Some bigger breeds, like the Maine Coons, tend to become more calm as they age.
Certain pure breds are more prone to aggression than others due to factors such as breeding practices or selective breeding for appearance over temperament.
Examine your cat to discover whether his breed tends toward more playfulness or more calmness.
Some will have specified traits in their pedigree that will indicate which behavior type your kitty will lean toward.
However, the ordinary male cat will exhibit the more playful side and the feminine cats will be calmer by nature.
Environmental Stimulants
A cat’s living environment can have a great effect on its behavior.
It might be that you are causing an undesirable reaction in your cat by setting up an environment that does not suit its needs.
It is possible that your cat feels uncomfortable in its environment or that it does not receive enough attention or stimulation from it. Your actions might be creating stress for your cat and causing it distress. This could lead to it acting out aggressively as a result.
It may also include the feeding schedule, as cats usually prefer to feed at regular intervals throughout the day rather than one or two large meals, although exceptions do exist.
Whatever the stimulant, some will induce aggression in a cat while others will not.
Cats housed in stimulant-heavy surroundings may struggle to relax enough to settle and groom themselves properly, causing them to feel itchy and irritated as a result.
You may start to reduce the stimulants in your home to reduce stress on your feline friend.
It may not work immediately, but it will make a difference over time if implemented consistently.
Neutering
A neutered male cat will not mark his territory with urine as often as an unneutered one will.
This is how biology works, after all: the hormones that drive him to mark his territory with urine are the same hormones that make him aggressive towards other cats during breeding season.
Although some male cats are inherently more affectionate than others, you will still have to keep an eye on your cat to make sure it doesn’t get too rough with his female friends during mating season.
This is something that cat owners will do in order to keep their cat healthy, happy and well-adjusted.
If your male cat is about to undergo neutering surgery, it is a good idea to get him used to the presence of the vet beforehand by slowly introducing him to veterinary professionals such as your vet.
You can talk to your vet about how to help your kitty adjust to the experience of being examined – your vet will be able to give you advice on this. And make sure that he is desexed!
Neutering will prevent him from spraying around your home too. This includes how aggressive they are towards other animals, other people and people’s property.
Do Cats Calm Down in Old Age?
When a cat reaches old -age he is likely to be less active, but this is not always the case.
We’ve previously indicated that they’ll lose some of their hunting instincts as they age, but did you know that this also applies to their playing habits.
Cats are considered elderly beyond the age of seven years and they may need some extra care and attention from you to keep them healthy and comfortable.
Active cats are known to maintain good health and live longer, so it’s important to keep them as active and stimulated as possible in their old age.
For these reasons, as the cat ages you may find it more difficult to stop him from jumping on counters, scratching your furniture or simply climbing over everything in sight!
He may start to become anxious and start to climb around like a little monkey! It’s natural for the older animal to become restless as he starts to lose some of the skills that he has acquired over his lifetime.
Unfortunately, as he starts to become less agile he will climb higher to reach places that he can no longer reach.
They will need to sleep more because they are less active.
If a cat reaches old enough, it will slow his metabolism down and he will start to lose weight.
A healthy younger cat will sleep for 12-14 hours a day and the older cat will sleep for 18-20 hours.
Also Read: Do Female Cats Prefer Male Humans?
Conclusion
After the age of seven years, it becomes much more difficult to keep an older pet happy than a younger one.
This is because older pets lose their desire to play as much as they did when they were younger.
They will still want some interaction with you and some petting from you but they won’t want to run around chasing toys as much anymore.
It is important to help them find new things to do so that they can keep their mind occupied and maintain a healthy lifestyle for as long as possible.
They get more comfortable in their surroundings as they get older so they will not be inclined to wander off and explore as much.
They might start to experience vision problems as they get older so they may not see as well at night anymore either.
So, it is important to keep an eye on them and make sure that they don’t climb on anything that could hurt them while they are asleep or exploring at night.
Older animals can also suffer from arthritis, diabetes and other age-related conditions so you will need to monitor their health closely to make sure that they are feeling well and that they aren’t experiencing any pain due to these conditions.
