my kitties play too rough

Hi everyone.

I'm a bit concerned about my kitties. They love to play a bit rough with each other. Yesterday after they were playing I noticed a chunk of fur missing on the upper lip of my female kitty Bootsie (1 yr). My other kitty is Monticello (6 mo) and I wouldn't call him aggressive at all. He's just playful and strong.

First, is there anything I should do for the injury? There's a small scab now and the area is otherwise just a bit red and hairless. And, will poor Bootsie's fur grow back?

Sometimes I'm a bad judge of determining when to take my kitties to the vet, for the past few weeks I was taking them in for various things about every other day (mites, conjunctivitis, lump in the fur, white spots on fur, etc. (the latter 2 were determined to be benign)). They charge about $30 every time though just to look at them. Should I bring her in for this?

I trim all their claws every other week to keep them from injuring each other but I think this may be due to a bite. I've also tried the feliway diffuser with no noticeable effect. Is there anything I can do to get them to play less rough?

One thing I'm currently trying is that I bought them some very realistic looking prey toys. When they play with the prey they ignore each other (and Bootsie even growls when Monty gets near her and her prey) but now they seem even more interested in playing rough!!

I wouldn't worry too much about the cut on her lip - Just keep an eye on it, and if it starts to look worse, then I would take her into the vet.

Yes, the hair will grow back after the scab falls off.

Last winter my 6mo old loved to wrestle with my 1yr old and it was all just good clean fun. A few yelps and such but nothing serious at all. They're just playing. They will learn what is enough and they will also learn how to not get bit there again.

Thanks everyone.

It just looks so violent when they chase, pounce and grab each other and roll around in a cat ball while biting each other, or when they get head to tail, grab each other with the front paws, and rake each other's faces with the back ones (this is especially scary for me because I see back claws go right over kitty eyes). Is this how your kitties play too?

Well mine would try to get at the scruff of each others' necks. The winner of each round would usually be the one who got around to getting to the back of the neck. As far as raking the back feet over the faces, I would suggest getting some kitty nail clippers and trim them. I find that it takes a long time for back claws to sharpen again. Well, longer than front ones. Try to minimalize the danger while not hampering the fun.

I'm getting pretty worried.

Lately Monty has been getting increasingly rough. This morning I noticed that Bootsie has two new injuries (I think both are from bites) in the form of a cut on her forhead and one near her ear. Both have scabbed over with dry blood.

Monty is starting to bite harder. Last night my boyfriend and I were giving them kitty treats and he bit both our hands. I know he was just trying to bite the treats but he bit really hard and it really hurt. With my boyfriend he actually drew blood.

He's never ever purposely aggressive and I have never heard him hiss or growl. He's just extremely strong. What should I do? I'm really worried about Bootsie, I don't want her getting all bit up. They have so many toys and he loves to scratch and bite and rake them but sometimes it just doesn't seem like they are enough.

Also, I'm going on vacation this weekend and they will be alone most of the time except when the pet sitter is there. I will be gone for 10 days visiting my family in NY and then will return here for two. After that I will be in China for 18 days! When I separate them they sit on either side of the door and meow. They really love each other and hate being separated.

I'm having the same problem with my cats....one is playing too rough.

They generally do play rough with each other, but when Max bites so hard Milo cries, I intervene and have to put Max on "time out".

When I do this, I put him in the bathroom (not too much in there to get him riled up) for about ten minutes. Usually by the time I let him out he is much more calm. If he is still being a terror, I put him back in for a few more minutes.

I don't know how to prevent it though

From the looks of Monty and Bootsie sleeping together, I'm guessing that it is just pecking order scuffles: Monty letting Bootsie know he's boss. As hard as it can be not to intervene, I would let them work it out unless Monty really seems to be harming Bootsie. My alpha cat, Reno, is a largely benign ruler. When Rocky (who is a year younger) first tried to sleep on the bed, Reno would start bathing him, and the bathing would become more and more rough until Rocky got the hint and left the bed. ALthough my instinct was to protect Rocky, my DH convinced me to let them alone. I think if I had intervened, it would have just egged Reno on to be even more aggressive. Now, all four of my cats will get on the bed together sometimes, although every once in a while Reno will get annoyed and either "bathe" them off, or pounce off in a huff! LoL.

As for the scratches on Bootsie . . . if they are about the same as you might get if the cat played rough with you (i.e., small, scabbed dimples), I wouldn't be too worried. Just clean it once with some hydrogen pyroxide and kitty triple antibiotic (kitty claws tend to have a lot of histamines and germs).

The best way to keep Monty from playing rough with you is to go limp whenever his claws come out, so "No" sternly, gently disentangle yourself from him and walk away from him, giving him a wide birth for a while. He'll soon learn that it is inappropriate behavior that deprives him of your affection.

Thanks so much for the advice! I tend to let them alone with their contests most of the time.. unless Bootsie was sleeping and Monty woke her up to get her to move so he could take the spot! How rude. If I see that happen I usually move him so she can go back. These are their top cat fights I suppose.

Most of the time though they're on the floor and chasing each other around. And, it alternates who starts the fight and who jumps on whom. I wonder, will he always play so rough as this, or will it wear off as they get older? Also, will his teeth always be so sharp, and his bite so strong?