Well, it's up to the mangaka. There are mangas, where the uke is stubborn and wants to be seme, but in the end he gives in without being raped by his partner... And here they were not even in love... So in my opinion, this experience is definitely not needed, but yeah it's the mangaka's choice
Lets just forget the rape tag fir just one moment. And just praise the sex.
I mean without this experience, mc wouldn't know he was a neko at heart.
Well, it's up to the mangaka. There are mangas, where the uke is stubborn and wants to be seme, but in the end he gives in without being raped by his partner...
And here they were not even in love...
So in my opinion, this experience is definitely not needed, but yeah it's the mangaka's choice