Where is the source of the maternal instinct (is this even the correct term?) in animals? Is it a function of the animal’s brain? Hormones?
Of the many cats I’ve had over the years, only two have been female, and they’ve exhibited somewhat different behavior than the others. They’ve been much more into grooming - both themselves and their male mates - and both have often carried small, soft toys around, as if they were carrying their kittens. The strange thing is that all of my cats have been neutered. So is this simply confirmation bias on my part, especially with a sample of only two, or is this typical behavior for a female animal, regardless of neutering?
Obligatory cat photo. I’m 100% certain that Paris (male, left) was lying there first, and Vienna (right, female) lay down next to him, never vice-versa.
Brain of course, but even some species of animals which are crappy mothers can be induced with the right hormones. In many mammals, the media preoptic area is important (sex area in males too…). Important hormones are vasopressin, oxytocin, estradiol (an estrogen), and maybe prolactin (not 100% sure).
But I would hesitate to say that grooming behavior = maternal. For example, I have not noticed any sex-linked willingness to groom others in cats, YMMV.
My data points:
[ol]
[li]Male cat, doesn’t groom anyone but himself. Odd about social stuff in general, but very laid back.[/li][li]Male cat, grooms other male, sometimes female #4. Complete asshole to F#3.[/li][li]Female cat, grooms #1 mostly. So obsessive that I believe she has damaged his whiskers. He almost never licks back.[/li][li]Female cat, not big on grooming but will mostly with the two males rarely.[/li][/ol]
Edit: are his eyes always that vividly neon green or just the photo? Wow. Although they’re both pretty green, maybe a contrast with the fur?