11 month old cat playing too rough with kitten?

sarahp

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Stumpy is about 11 months old and is loving having a little sister to play with. Whenever Lily (about 10 weeks old) runs, and she only has that one fast speed, Stumpy chases. At first Stumpy would chase, then stop running when the kitten stopped running.

Now Stumpy tries to wrestle with Lily when they play. Usually it starts off with chasing, then once Stumpy starts wrestling, every time she catches Lily she wants to wrestle. It's hard to say how rough she's wrestling, but once she starts she won't let up, and she keeps chasing and wrestling, chasing and wrestling, chasing and wrestling... Lily keeps getting pestered by Stumpy until we separate them.

Stumpy just wants to play, but I'm worried she's too big for wrestling, and all it's going to do is scare the kitten and make her a fraidy cat.

Do we let them just sort it out on their own, or do we give Stumpy a time out as soon as she gets too rough?

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
 

jen

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It sounds like they are just playing like kittens and young cats do. I wouldn't worry unless there is blood being drawn and a LOT of hissing and growling.
 
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sarahp

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Poor Lily always seems to be under Stumpy wrestling to get out...

Although, Lily certainly doesn't seem scared of Stumpy - she still goes up and rubs herself up against Stumpy or bats out at her.
 

satai

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Originally Posted by sarahp

Poor Lily always seems to be under Stumpy wrestling to get out...

Although, Lily certainly doesn't seem scared of Stumpy - she still goes up and rubs herself up against Stumpy or bats out at her.
That sounds just fine!

If they seem cranky, give them both a short time out. If one is still pestering the other when they come out of their time out, seperate them again. Usually I put the cranky one in a quiet room so they can have some peace and quiet, and let the pestering one run their energy off, but your mileage on that one may vary.
 

babyharley

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Sounds perfectly normal to me!

I always worried about that too, when we got Davidson, he was only 8 weeks old, and Harley is a big 12lb, 1 year old cat. They chase eachother all day long, and Davidson is usually the one getting layed on, or chased, but what I've seen, is that Davidson is the one who starts the trouble! Harley will be laying there, and Davidson will sneak up behind him, attack his head, bop him on the face - and take off running!
Its so funny to see, but when Davidson gets his fair share of the tackling, I don't feel bad!


Of course, if it gets TOO rough, I'm right there to break it up. Harley is really good about it tho, he knows better!
 

yobabsyo

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I have this same issue, i just got an 8 week old kitten, Mae. My 2 year old cat, Mela is very motherly. She cleans everyone, me, my hubby, the dogs.... She cleans and plays with the kitten but lately she's started biting the kitten.

When i seperate them Mela just glares at me...
 

satai

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Originally Posted by yobabsyo

I have this same issue, i just got an 8 week old kitten, Mae. My 2 year old cat, Mela is very motherly. She cleans everyone, me, my hubby, the dogs.... She cleans and plays with the kitten but lately she's started biting the kitten.

When i seperate them Mela just glares at me...
Take them both to the vet.
 

yobabsyo

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We have two dogs, and the one dog Mela plays with roughly, could it be that she just doesn't know how to play with the kitten?
 
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sarahp

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I have to say, she seems better today. Or more to the point, the kitten is giving a bit more back, and tasing Stumpy a little more
When Stumpy walks by, Lily bats her back legs and tries to bite them.
That usually ends in a wrestling match.

As well as that, Lily often walks up to Stumpy and rubs up against her, or Lily will be lying down, and Stumpy will come up and lick her. So we've only had Lily for 5 days now and they're seeming pretty good.

I'll still certainly keep an eye on them both and make sure things don't get too rough, but every day is better.
 
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