Forgive me if this is a ridiculous question☺️

So I'm still learning cat behavior. And I'm wondering if this is normal healthy behavior, or if it's just leading up to what could be a problem later on.

So my 2yr old male cat has been grooming my 9wk old kittens the way their mother does. Bitting their necks lightly till they hold still and then proceeds to groom them. Normally the kittens just lay there till he is done and then they are off on their way. But my one kitten, hazelnut, doesn't like it at all. And he is more agressive(I think) with her. He will lay completely on top of her(keep in mind she weighs around 1 1/2lbs and he is 12lbs.) so she can't get away and bit him as much. She will growl and fight him till I rescue her. I do so by scruffing him and moving him to another room. Usually I put him up in the top of his cat tree.

Is this normal? Is he being overly agressive?

He has never hurt any of the kittens and is free to roam the house with them at night and when we are gone. I guess I'm just wondering if this is something that could escalate?

Hazelnut is my feisty girl. Unless she is complete tired she will growl at anyone that tries to hold her. She doesn't hiss, and doesn't bit out of frustration. Just gives a good warning that she wants down.

Any insight for me?

The last thing I want is for warning signs to be there but for me to be missing them due to lack of behavior knowledge. I have tried searching online, but couldn't find anything similar.

I've not heard of this before, but a few things come to mind:

Is your male cat neutered?

If not, it could be the beginning of mating behaviour...particularly if she's the only female.

It could also be that she's going to be a naturally dominant cat and he's beginning to set the groundwork for establishing dominance between them. Does she generally act more dominant to her siblings?

As long as he's not hurting her, I would just keep an eye on him, but if he's not neutered I would consider separating them.

He is neutered. She isn't, yet.

I guess I'm not sure if she is dominate over her siblings or not. Her and one of her brothers are the most out going. Always running, stalking, jumping each other, and like I said growls often. She growls when she has a toy she is playing with and a litter mate comes by to play. She sometimes growls when they are fed wet food and one of the other kittens gets too close. And when she is held too long when she is in play mode. I guess that does sound a bit dominate?

My male(midnight) isn't a dominate cat tho. The kittens mother is the top cat in the house. She let my male know that right away and he seems to be ok with that. He has bonded more with the kittens then with her. It's just the one female(hazelnut) that is too spunky for his liking. And she does whine and squeak sometimes, but I'm not sure if it's him nipping too hard, or her just getting so angry that he won't let her up. They confuse me so bad. :dk:

Ah yes , I have experience of this

You have got yourself a male nanny/baby sitter :lol3:

One of my male neuters does this - although mine try's to take over and mother the whole litter as soon as they are born. I swear if he could produce milk he would :lol3:

Not sure why the odd neuter boy have these mothering instincts. It's sweet in some ways but scary in others. Especially, when they don't realise their own size and weight and sit on kittens or play a bit too rough.

I would intervene and rescue her if it's getting out of hand at the moment. But I wouldn't worry about it escalating, in a few weeks/months she will be big enough to get away and put him in his place.

Good luck with your kitties

My 8 year old male did that to the feral kittens I raised. They are all neutered/spayed.  Our female kitten just steered clear of him. He was never aggressive, but when he was done he would bop them on the head with his big paw (he is polydactyl). The "kittens" are now 18 months old and they still cuddle with him. If one of them is in trouble or not feeling well he is all over them to check on them. The female will only curl up with him at night in bed, but she is the leader and when the boys want something they send her to do the dirty work. I was scared at first because he was so big and they will so small.  Now the boys out weigh him by 3 1/2 pounds. He is all fluff.

Thank you both! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

@gemsgem I'm hoping that is the case with him. I've been so happy to see a good bond forming between Midnight and my top pick of the litter Cashew. They snuggle up together in the cat tree and midnight will groom him more often then the other kittens.

@kittymama1122 That is so cute[emoji]9786[/emoji]️ I kinda wish at least one of my cats was polydactyl. I love those big paws[emoji]128525[/emoji] It's so sweet that he cares so much about his companions!

I hope they all get spayed and neutered also

Of course[emoji]9786[/emoji]️ I'm not in the business of breeding cats be any means.