Question

A female cat in heat

Answer 1

Answer:

All of the above are possible proximate causes of the behavior

Explanation:

Cats have reproductive organs, these organs go through a normal cycle, called heat cycle, that let reproduction to occur. During this cycle, they have hormonal fluctuations that mean that their body is ready to breed.

During the heat cycle, cats have several behaviors and signs such as spraying urine, rolling on the floor and scratching at doors begging to go outside. When a female cat is in heat, she is likely to urine more frequently and even spray urine on objects, to let any nearby male cats know that she is ready to be mated with. The urine contains pheromones and hormones, signals of her reproductive status to other male cats.

In the wild, females cats pee on trees or objects to find a male cat to mate with. This is why one might infer that female cats did this in the past and the domestic cats inherited this behavior.