Why do tomcats develop jowls around their face?
Tomcat jowls are a secondary sexual characteristic, along with penile barbs and glands at the dorsal part of the cat’s tail. If neutered before sexual maturity, the secondary sexual characteristics will not develope, as they are hormone induced. Most male animals that are kept for companionship, work, or food production (horses, dogs, cats, bulls, boars) are neutered (castrated) unless they are intended to be used as breeding stock. This is a common practice to prevent unacceptable sexual behavior, reduce aggressiveness, and prevent accidental or indiscriminate breeding. The intact male (tomcat) is likely to roam, fight with other males, and spray and is of course, strongly attracted to seek out and mate with intact females. Tomcat urine is particularly odorous. Overall the intact male cat can make a most unpleasant household companion. How does castration affect behavior? The only behaviors affected by castration are those under the influence of male hormones (sexually dimorphic behav
