Hope i don't sound too ignorant, but how can you tell if 2 cats are playing together (as opposed to fighting?) I have a 2 yr. old female and a 4 month old male.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
playing behaviour?
- Thread starter thh20
- Start Date
In general, but there are always exceptions, my cats don't play by all these rules.
1.) Ears back
2.) Growling
3.) Hissing
4.) Bad/deep biting
5.) Lots of fur flying! lol
6.) A lot of loud meowing when they rumble on the floor.
Cats who fight will generally have a pretty unhappy demenor around eachother virtually all of the time. Cats do have dominance issues too, which need to be worked out, and shouldn't be mistaken as fighting. Are both of your cats spay/neut. And how long have they known eachother for?
1.) Ears back
2.) Growling
3.) Hissing
4.) Bad/deep biting
5.) Lots of fur flying! lol
6.) A lot of loud meowing when they rumble on the floor.
Cats who fight will generally have a pretty unhappy demenor around eachother virtually all of the time. Cats do have dominance issues too, which need to be worked out, and shouldn't be mistaken as fighting. Are both of your cats spay/neut. And how long have they known eachother for?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
The 2 yr. old female is spayed, and the kitten will be a.s.a.p. Elmo (kitten) has been with us for about 2 months now. The first couple of days, there was quite a bit of stalking on both parts, but surprisingly little growling/hissing. From what you say, it sounds like it's a question of them sorting out dominance... When they 'play', the ears go back, but not flat, there's no growling or hissing, the bite each other, but neither of them have drawn blood... The fur does fly, but Elmo has long hair and neither of them are (or ever will be) declawed...
Elmo will squeak sometimes if Kermitte gets rough with him, but we don't usually worry too much.
Phew! It sounds like everything is under control (though I'd like to see Kermitte stick up for herself a bit more... Elmo's getting to be a bully!... Even with the dog, who is 5 times his size!!)
Phew! It sounds like everything is under control (though I'd like to see Kermitte stick up for herself a bit more... Elmo's getting to be a bully!... Even with the dog, who is 5 times his size!!)
Elmo's still very much a kitten, he might grow out of it, and as he gets older your 2 year old cat might grow to like him more too if he calms down and they get more used to eachother, but who knows what way it will go for sure.
It's probably more of a territorial thing right now, then dominance, since they haven't already been living together for years. Just keep your eye on them. As long as they aren't duking it out daily and one is REALLY scared and always hiding from the other your probably ok.
And make sure the older one has a place to go to have a break from the rambunctious young one.
When my cats play they pin their ears back, when I pet Tage he does that, it's his extreme face of happiness! lol. When they play they let out little struggled quiet mews sometimes, and Tage will ninja kick them, but it's all in play.
Glad to hear your not going to declaw them!
Oh I also wanted to say, just make sure they have plunty of things to do in your home, instead of just picking on eachother, scratching posts, FUN cat tree's, toy's and treats, and have relaxation time with them as well.
Here's also a decent article on the cat site you can read on cat aggression. So you can know more of what to look for in the future. But just remember not all cats will obey these signs of aggression, like the above discribed.
http://www.thecatsite.com/behavior/aggression.html
It's probably more of a territorial thing right now, then dominance, since they haven't already been living together for years. Just keep your eye on them. As long as they aren't duking it out daily and one is REALLY scared and always hiding from the other your probably ok.
When my cats play they pin their ears back, when I pet Tage he does that, it's his extreme face of happiness! lol. When they play they let out little struggled quiet mews sometimes, and Tage will ninja kick them, but it's all in play.
Glad to hear your not going to declaw them!
Oh I also wanted to say, just make sure they have plunty of things to do in your home, instead of just picking on eachother, scratching posts, FUN cat tree's, toy's and treats, and have relaxation time with them as well.
Here's also a decent article on the cat site you can read on cat aggression. So you can know more of what to look for in the future. But just remember not all cats will obey these signs of aggression, like the above discribed.
http://www.thecatsite.com/behavior/aggression.html
