I have an 11mo neutered male, and last week, I rescued a 10 week-old semi-feral male kitten. They've recently been introduced, and things seemed to be going well. Lots of sniffing, staring, approaching-then-backing-away, batting/swatting, etc. They've been following each other all over the house, mostly just watching.
Today, though, my older cat started biting the little one. Usually on the back near the tail, and sometimes just on the back. They proceed to have wrestling-like behavior, with Lt. Pants sometimes taking the kitten to the ground, etc. It looks semi-aggressive, but the kitten doesn't seem to be too awfully bothered most of the time. He will sometimes run off to hide, occasionally hiss (that's the only hissing going on), and generally just fight back. He doesn't seem scared of Pants; he continues to approach him, etc. The sniffing, staring, etc. is also still going on.
Is this a normal part of establishing dominance? Or is it something I should try to put a stop to? I don't know if they need to be separated, or...? I don't allow them alone together without supervision yet. Any help would be appreciated!
Today, though, my older cat started biting the little one. Usually on the back near the tail, and sometimes just on the back. They proceed to have wrestling-like behavior, with Lt. Pants sometimes taking the kitten to the ground, etc. It looks semi-aggressive, but the kitten doesn't seem to be too awfully bothered most of the time. He will sometimes run off to hide, occasionally hiss (that's the only hissing going on), and generally just fight back. He doesn't seem scared of Pants; he continues to approach him, etc. The sniffing, staring, etc. is also still going on.
Is this a normal part of establishing dominance? Or is it something I should try to put a stop to? I don't know if they need to be separated, or...? I don't allow them alone together without supervision yet. Any help would be appreciated!
