How can a cat give birth without a male? - briefly
A cat cannot give birth without a male because fertilization requires sperm from a male to combine with the female's egg. Parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction, is not naturally observed in cats.
How can a cat give birth without a male? - in detail
A cat cannot give birth without the involvement of a male in the natural reproductive process. For a cat to become pregnant and subsequently give birth, fertilization of the female’s eggs by the male’s sperm is essential. This occurs during mating, where the male cat’s sperm fertilizes the female’s eggs within her reproductive tract. The fertilized eggs then develop into embryos, which implant in the uterus and grow into kittens over approximately 63 days. However, there are scientific methods that can bypass the need for direct mating, such as artificial insemination, where sperm from a male cat is collected and introduced into the female’s reproductive system by a veterinarian. This method still requires genetic material from a male cat. In rare cases, parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction where an egg develops without fertilization, has been observed in some species, but this phenomenon is extremely uncommon in mammals, including cats, and has not been reliably documented. Therefore, under normal circumstances, a male cat’s genetic contribution is necessary for a female cat to give birth.