Animals besides humans that is. This question just struck me and I simply must know.
I’ve seen a neighbor’s cat engaging in mutual grooming within a fairly short time after mating, (with it’s mate) but that’s not so common I’d guess because when the male cat pulls out it isn’t pleasant for the female and all she wants is to either beat him up, or get away.
Do animals cuddles after sex. Maybe if you asked nicely 
That sounds like a great question to [EMAIL=cecil@chicagoreader.com]ask Cecil.
I did an archives search several different ways of both the Cecil column archive and the SDMB archive, with no relevant results found before I got tired of reading all kinds of totally unrelated stuff. I have opinions, and some observations, but I don’t think I know enough about animal behavior, even though I used to be a dog breeder. This is natural behavior you’re asking about, not learned behavior. I will point out that one of the famous cave paintings in France (Lascaux, I think) is of a male reindeer demonstrating what sure looks like affection toward a female.
I therefore suggest that this is one for the Master. K?
Thanks for the encouragement tygerbryght, I did, and I got this e-mail today.
*Cecil gets around a hundred questions each week, and he only answers one in his weekly column. That’s all he’s paid for, and that’s all he does. We regret that we just don’t have the staff or resources to answer the other questions, or even to respond to most of them. However, your question has passed the first screening (mainly, me) and will be in the short list of eight or ten that Cecil looks at.
Cecil could decide to answer himself, in his column. Or he could pass it to the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, to be answered on our website as a “Staff Report.” How long this process might take is anyone’s guess. They say patience is a virtue. And, it’s only fair to note that passing the first screening is no guarantee of the question being tackled.
Thanks for writing,
CK Dexter Haven
Straight Dope Staff
*
Let us pray for the best!
Continuing the cross-fertilisation between GQ and its modest and charitable cousin IMHO, any instances of cuddling that crosses the bounds of friendship and invades the territory of eros should be reported here.