Agression issues AGAIN.

eyemadreamer

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ok so, i have a 3 year old neutered male cat and recently adopted a 6 month non-neutered male kitten. they get along for the most part. they play a lot with eachother, they chase eachother and play hide n seek. but occasionally when the 3 year old male is tired and doesnt want to play anymore, the kitten picks on him and bothers him. tommy (the 3 year old) tries to walk away/get away to rest. but the kitten wont leave him alone, my husband thinks the kitten is being 'aggressive' with tommy. i thought the kitty is just a kitty and typically full of energy and just wants to play though tommy doesnt right now. i don't know. ive tried to play with them both with a feather to get rid of some of the energy off the kitten but once i stop, the kittens attention is back on tommy and hes picking on him again. i tried to put kitten in other room for a while to calm him down, it doesnt always work., what do you think? any suggestions? my husband also thinks its something to do with the kitten being non-neutered and its a type of authority thing. i really dont know. what do you think?
 

hissy

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Time to get your kitty neutered, then your other male will put him quickly into this rightful place.
 
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eyemadreamer

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Originally Posted by hissy

Time to get your kitty neutered, then your other male will put him quickly into this rightful place.
we have been planning on getting him neutered but the vet wanted to wait til he was all done with his meds and then get him neutered. but now with this situation, i'd be sure to hush up the process.
 
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eyemadreamer

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hi its me again, i recently made a post about play vs agression a few days ago. well now that we've figured out that the young kitten is trying to take away dominance from my 3 year old male, note that the young kitten is non-neutered and will be neutered very soon. however, while we're waiting for the neuter date, he is tourturing my 3 year old male-- he won't leave him alone, always hiding around corners and jumping and biting down on tommy and chasing him all around the house and im serious, its like the young kitten is losing sleep over this. it's getting worse. tommy & my other 3 yr old female Lucy always sleep with us on the bed but the young kitten (we got him 6 weeks ago) doesnt like to sleep on the bed... however, last night he kept jumping on the bed and bothering tommy. finally i decided to separate them for the night, i locked the young kitten in another room all night long. this morning i let him go, he ran out the room and went straight at tommy. UGH... What should i do? i try to yell NO or toss a pillow at him whenever he is being aggressive, but he ignores me. I dont feel comfortable leaving them out when im not home anymore, should i keep locking him up when he is not being supervised? or do you have any other ideas? PLEASE HELP!!
 

hissy

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He is just being a kitten. They will sort it out soon. The Alpha cat will reign supreme, just don't interfere unless they are locked in battle. Should that occur either use a wooden chair and set it gently between the battling cats, or toss a dark blanket on them both. It really is normal kitten behavior and the cats do sort it out all the time without interference from us (for the most part).
I merged your threads because they were essentially about the same problem.
 
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eyemadreamer

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Originally Posted by hissy

He is just being a kitten. They will sort it out soon. The Alpha cat will reign supreme, just don't interfere unless they are locked in battle. Should that occur either use a wooden chair and set it gently between the battling cats, or toss a dark blanket on them both. It really is normal kitten behavior and the cats do sort it out all the time without interference from us (for the most part).
I merged your threads because they were essentially about the same problem.
thanks for the merge. i am just worried that with the constant bothering him, i dont want to see tommy give up and let the young kitten win (having the dominance) you know? i know that he is being a kitten. but this behaviour was a sudden change since last week, for instance... this week he has barely touched his toys at all.. they are all still in his toy box and usually he takes em out and play with them. i am also worried about injuries. do you really think everything will be fine and i shouldnt interfere?
 
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eyemadreamer

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Also are you saying that this type of aggression behaviour won't change even if he gets neutered??
 

hissy

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I bring new cats in this home all the time, and really what you are describing sounds to me like this new kitten IS Alpha. That happens and a change of command will probably occur. If your older cat stops eating, or misses the litterpan or just becomes lethargic, then I would worry. But he should be growling, swatting, running and hiding for this testerone driven newcomer, which is all normal behavior.

You can ease the situation by making sure that the cats do not share anything, not water bowls, not food bowls, not litter pans, toys, beds or you. Give each special time with you for the older cat, pets and lap cuddles and grooming perhaps in another room with the door closed and the other kitten somewhere else.

For the kitten, interactive play followed by good meaty treats, and grooming if he will tolerate it. Again, the two of you closed off in one room for about 20 minutes of bonding.
 
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eyemadreamer

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Originally Posted by hissy

I bring new cats in this home all the time, and really what you are describing sounds to me like this new kitten IS Alpha. That happens and a change of command will probably occur. If your older cat stops eating, or misses the litterpan or just becomes lethargic, then I would worry. But he should be growling, swatting, running and hiding for this testerone driven newcomer, which is all normal behavior.

You can ease the situation by making sure that the cats do not share anything, not water bowls, not food bowls, not litter pans, toys, beds or you. Give each special time with you for the older cat, pets and lap cuddles and grooming perhaps in another room with the door closed and the other kitten somewhere else.

For the kitten, interactive play followed by good meaty treats, and grooming if he will tolerate it. Again, the two of you closed off in one room for about 20 minutes of bonding.
Thanks so much for the suggestions, i appreciate them. I have never heard of the term "alpha" can you explain this a bit more to me?? thanks.. i grew up my entire life with cats. I would say I've had over 20 cats in my life, but now that i'm recently married and now we have our own place, its just completely different. I guess.. haha. my husband has never had a cat in his household growing up, he grew up with dogs.. his mom breeded dogs and he thinks they are similiar. although he did state that cats have more personality than dogs do *yay!* and my husband loves tommy, hes his favorite. and when the little kitty bothers tommy-- my husband gets mad. i am worried, i feel like i am in the middle. because my husband physically hits the little kitten when he is bothering tommy, i try to tell my husband not to traumatize the kitten but i guess he doesnt really care because of his strong bondness with tommy. *shrugs*
 

hissy

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Lets say for example your one cat gets outside by accident. He will likely move off and away from your home because he will be on sensory overload and scared. If you don't find him quickly, he will soon join up with other cats. He will have to assert himself in the group, meaning clash with the head cat the Alpha. He will do that if he has alpha tendencies by approaching the cat, and posturing, growling, perhaps even rolling over on his stomach a clear act of war (all weapons at the ready claws and teeth). They will tangle, and the victor will take his place in charge of the colony. An Alpha cat will eat first, he will run off intruders, he will alert the other cats to danger, and if a tomcat, he will kill kittens in the colony if they pose a threat to the colony or if he wants to mate with the mother again. Grief will throw a cat into heat.
So in your house, you have a solo cat who is automatically Alpha, and now you bring another one in. They have to figure out among themselves the leader and this is what they are doing. In kitten play there are motives, learning to hunt, learning prey techniques, and learning how dominant the kitten is. Neutering will help a small bit, but if your kitten has strong alpha tendencies he will rule the roost soon, even after the neuter.
 

goldenkitty45

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Yes most of your problems are because the younger one is not neutered. In cat hiearachy, the whole males and females are the bosses over the spayed/neutered cats. Doesn't matter what age they are.

My female rex was the youngest in the house but she was boss over everyone else simply cause they were all neutered.

I suggest you get your 6 month old fixed now - what are you waiting for? Before he starts spraying or getting out and breeding females or fights with other whole males, get him done. Then a lot of your problems will disappear.
 
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