how to tell when playing gets too rough.

chiclett_33

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
264
Purraise
1
Location
Chico
soo..yea. young cat (4 months) and young dog (5 months). and of course they romp around ya de da. but sometimes phoenix (dog) yelps, im guessing maybe because river (cat) bit or scratched too hard? and then phoenix plays and will mouth (not really like BITE, but you know..just using their mouth) River, and i've caught him a few times kinda dragging him ( and i dont mean like DRAMATICALLY DRAGGING him across the room, but just moving) but rivers on his back, phoenix is over him, and he'll kinda shake (again, not like hard core shaking) or move river, and river like clamps on from behind and digs his claws underneath on phoenixs belly adn there will be scratches sometimes. and of course i dont want to wait for a dead cat or a dog with a scratched eye ball to figure out, hey thats enough! i yell for them to stop, and they'll stop. but sooner or later, they are at it again. and while it doesnt seem 'aggressive' at all. no growling or snarling or weird cat growls. its just..annoying sometimes, lol. i hope when they reach older age they just lay together and are nice. and phoenix doesnt yelp every single time they play. but sometimes. and of course phoenix doesnt seem to be drastically biting at river, i just dont want him to get out of hand and freaking puncture his neck and i dont want EITHER of them to hurt eachother. maybe just a kid playing thing? i dont know.
 

catsknowme

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
11,458
Purraise
6,679
Location
Eastern California,USA
Phoenix looks like he's a heeler, and they are usu. pretty good with their own cats, but I agree, it's bad to take a chance. I think that you're right to discourage too much rough housing. My sis came up with a unique solution when her cocker-mix & Persian wanted to play, but it was getting to rough: she attached a thick piece of rope in a box & got the cat to ride in the box, then taught the dog to pull the box around the apartment. When the cat saw the box going, she'd hop in for a ride. The dog would pull that box all over the apartment, and finally lay down, exhausted, with the cat still in the box, waiting for more. It was so entertaining to family & friends! I look forward to what other solutions the others will offer to you! Good post!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

chiclett_33

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
264
Purraise
1
Location
Chico
how cuuuuuuute! yea phoenix is a pembroke corgi, so he might have some of that bosy herdingness in him, lol. its way cute sometimes because river does this weird cat prance: where his whold body faces phoenix, like his body is sideways (it reminds me of a crab) and he walks toward phoenix with his back arched, it seriously makes me laugh, it freaked me out at first because river walked all crazy tho, or he'll jump up crazy, run around with phoenixs toys in his mouth.right now they are passed out. and its funny becuz pheonix sleeps crazy like on his back and legs sprawled out, and sometime i catch river sleeping all crazy like that also, lol. last night i had pheonix sleep on my bed and i think river was jealous because he was making ALL THIs noise at like 6 am, and normall he sleeps with me, so tonight phoenix is back in his bathroom area! haha. yea i hope other people can give any type of advice. thanks! i'll look into the box rope thing!
 

catsknowme

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
11,458
Purraise
6,679
Location
Eastern California,USA
I call it crab-walking, too! Just last month, JC (he's a large, fearless 1 year old) did exactly that with a gray fox & the fox did it back! They sniffed noses, ignoring my shouts, and began a game of chase, but when JC caught the fox's tail, the fox ran for cover. I was scared to death, but the fox didn't hurt the cats (sigh of relief!). JC sounds so much like River! JC imitates whatever position I'm laying in bed for a few minutes, then jumps off; he follows the hens in the yard, watches them taking their dust baths & then digs a hole (at first, I thought he was digging a toilet) then rolls in the hole, taking a dust bath too! JC is also prone to playing too rough - the other day at my mom's I had to threaten to put him in his crate because he was terrorizing my dad's cat & my daughter's cat - they were screeching, growling, hissing & he didn't care. My mom kept laughing because my threat worked - JC ran to the bedroom that we use when there, and stayed there for about 15 min. before coming into the livingroom, all sweetness & head-butts, tail flowing gently, to make up to everyone.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

chiclett_33

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
264
Purraise
1
Location
Chico
aWE! i love the crab walk!!! its funny yet kinda scary, lol. cuz it just look unnatural to me. but i enjoy it. yea when i sleep with river one time i woke up and he was all nestled inbetween my body and arm on his back,
lol. and i have two pillows on my bed and he designates the other pillow. and when i move my hand or foot under the sheets he pounes about and gets hyper, sometimes too hyper, lol. but sometimes he puts his bottom very close to my face and im like geeeez river! come on now! lol. riv and phoen are passed out right now. but man if i EVER got a pic of the crab walk..if i ever felt sad i'll i'd have to do it look at the pic and laugh my butt off! haha
 

catsknowme

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
11,458
Purraise
6,679
Location
Eastern California,USA
Originally Posted by chiclett_33

aWE! i love the crab walk!!! its funny yet kinda scary, lol. cuz it just look unnatural to me. but i enjoy it. yea when i sleep with river one time i woke up and he was all nestled inbetween my body and arm on his back,
lol. and i have two pillows on my bed and he designates the other pillow. and when i move my hand or foot under the sheets he pounes about and gets hyper, sometimes too hyper, lol. but sometimes he puts his bottom very close to my face and im like geeeez river! come on now! lol. riv and phoen are passed out right now. but man if i EVER got a pic of the crab walk..if i ever felt sad i'll i'd have to do it look at the pic and laugh my butt off! haha
That is so hilarious!! River is a real pistol, isn't he!! And I sure am hoping & praying that you get pics, soon - I can scarcely wait to see them!
I remember reading years ago that cats practice psychology - that they will observe their prey & behave accordingly. I know that JC used to like to play "invisi-cat" with the hens, wherein he'd walk among them, hoping to not be noticed. If the hens noticed him, he'd simply sit down & look blankly till they resumed eating, then he'd walk among them (kinda like running the gauntlet) to the other side of the yard, turn around & do it again. I seem to recall that lions practice that same behavior when among wildebeests, or zebras; they pass among them, making it obvious that they're not hunting, and the prey animals don't panic.
Hey, wouldn't it be great to have a thread of nothing but cats crab-walking! They look so fearsome, it is startling to see,at first!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

chiclett_33

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
264
Purraise
1
Location
Chico
river and phoenix are cuddling together as we speak!!! im going to try to get my dig camera and take a pic...*sneaking away*
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

chiclett_33

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Messages
264
Purraise
1
Location
Chico
heck yea! my new signature is the pic i just now took!! lol of them snuggling! in phoenix small little bed!



and yes a crab walking forum would be sweeet! i dont know if i'll ever capture a pick but im sures gonna try! lol
 
Top