Yes, male cats do have a prostate gland. It’s small, rarely causes problems, and most cat owners never hear about it, but it’s a standard part of male feline anatomy. The gland sits about 2 to 3 centimeters behind the bladder, wrapping around the urethra, and plays a key role in reproduction.
Where the Feline Prostate Sits and What It Does
The cat’s prostate is made up of four lobes (two toward the front, two toward the back), each roughly 1 centimeter long. It surrounds the urethra on the top and sides. Along with a pair of bulbourethral glands, the prostate is one of only two types of accessory sex glands in male cats. Dogs, by comparison, have additional accessory glands.
The prostate’s main job is producing seminal fluid. In intact (unneutered) toms, prostatic fluid actually makes up the majority of the ejaculate. That fluid helps transport and nourish sperm during mating.
Why You Almost Never Hear About It
The reason cat prostate problems fly under the radar is straightforward: most pet cats are neutered. The prostate depends on testosterone to maintain its size and function. Once a cat is castrated, the gland shrinks dramatically. Studies show roughly a 70% reduction in prostate size within just 7 to 14 days after neutering. What’s left is a tiny, inactive remnant that’s unlikely to cause trouble.
This is a sharp contrast to dogs, where prostate enlargement, infections, and cancer are well-recognized concerns, especially in intact males. It’s also very different from humans, where the prostate tends to enlarge with age regardless of other factors. In cats, the combination of early neutering and the gland’s rapid hormone-dependent shrinkage means most veterinarians go an entire career seeing very few feline prostate cases.
Prostate Problems That Can Still Occur
Rare doesn’t mean impossible. A handful of prostate conditions have been documented in cats.
Infection (prostatitis): Bacterial infection of the prostate can occur, though it’s uncommon. Signs may include difficulty urinating, blood in the urine, or general signs of illness like lethargy and fever. Because these symptoms overlap with far more common conditions like urinary tract infections or bladder inflammation, prostatitis in cats is easy to miss without specific diagnostic imaging.
Prostate cancer: Prostatic adenocarcinoma has been reported in cats, and the cases on record share a concerning pattern. Affected cats have typically been neutered males between 6 and 12 years old. The cancer tends to be aggressive. In one well-documented case, a 12-year-old neutered domestic shorthair presented with weight loss, weakness, difficulty urinating, and blood in the urine. At the time of diagnosis, the cancer had already spread to the lungs, heart, and kidney. Other reported cases have followed a similar trajectory, with metastasis to major organs by the time the disease is identified.
The rarity of feline prostate cancer is worth emphasizing. Only a small number of cases appear in the veterinary literature. But the pattern of late detection and aggressive spread means the prognosis is poor when it does occur.
Signs to Be Aware Of
Because prostate disease is so uncommon in cats, it’s not something to lose sleep over. That said, the symptoms worth noting are the same ones that flag many urinary problems in cats: straining to urinate, producing only small amounts of urine, blood-tinged urine, or urinating outside the litter box. In more advanced cases, you might notice unexplained weight loss, difficulty breathing, or general decline.
These signs are far more likely to point to feline lower urinary tract disease, bladder stones, or a urinary blockage than to a prostate issue. But they all warrant a veterinary visit, especially in male cats, where urinary blockages can become life-threatening within 24 to 48 hours.
How Cats Compare to Dogs and Humans
The feline prostate is anatomically similar to the canine and human versions in its basic layout: it surrounds the urethra and produces part of the seminal fluid. But its behavior over a cat’s lifetime is very different. In humans, the prostate grows steadily with age, and benign enlargement affects the majority of men over 50. In dogs, intact males commonly develop benign enlargement, infections, and cysts. Cats simply don’t follow that pattern. Their prostates stay small after neutering and rarely develop the age-related growth that drives disease in other species.
For intact male cats used in breeding programs, the prostate remains active and functionally important. These cats carry a slightly higher theoretical risk of prostate issues, though even in intact toms, documented disease is scarce.