How do mates function?

By default, your cats don't have mates. They may breed outside of the Clan and with cats inside. However, when you want your cat to breed to just one cat for the rest of their life, the mating option comes in. If you send a Clan a mate request between two cats and the other Clan accepts, your cats are bonded together. They may only breed with each other, and all other breeding requests will be automatically denied. Once your cat has a mate, any of their breeding forms will be removed from the list.
If you and another Clan decide to stop having mates, then your cat may breed elsewhere once again. Mates can also be possible inside of your Clan.