15 week kitten and 6yr old cat…confused!

[di and bob]

Do you mean they actually rolled around and fought? Or hissing and growling. Male cats VERY rarely kill kittens. He may get a little hurt though since he is so small. He’ll back down eventually, just a little closer supervision. It wouldn’t hurt to give George some extra attention. Watch Larry, if he comes back he is alright, if he hides and avoids George he is really getting hurt.

 

[ERR53]

Yes they were fighting George was on top of him and there was a lot of hissing and growling at the same time. George wouldn’t have stopped if we didn’t intervene. :-(

 

[ERR53]

And then they go and do this, lying beside each other - George initiated it first and lay down! Only lasted a few mins. And George did a little hiss when Larry ran after him. (Oh they have a confusing relationship ).

 

[di and bob]

Hey, it’s starting, remember cat play always is rough too!

 

[ERR53]

Hey, it’s starting, remember cat play always is rough too!

Do you think this means George doesn’t actually hate his guts? Haha! I promise this will be my last message unless things get really out of hand. Thanks for listening and all the advice, I so appreciate it.

 

[Furballsmom]

I promise this will be my last message unless things get really out of hand.

You are more than welcome to keep posting, no matter what happens - we love good endings, and middles as well

I admittedly haven't looked back through your thread, so if this has already been posted I apologize for the duplication;
Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing? [Answered] - TheCatSite

 

[ERR53]

You are more than welcome to keep posting, no matter what happens - we love good endings, and middles as well

I admittedly haven't looked back through your thread, so if this has already been posted I apologize for the duplication;
Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing? [Answered] - TheCatSite

Thank you! I hadn’t read that yet, it sounds like maybe they have had a couple of fights but I guess this is to maybe be expected in the first few weeks.

I am hoping so-very much it will be a happy ending, time will tell. :-) I love them both so much and want them both to be happy, I couldn’t bare having to re home one of them etc - that just simply can’t be an option.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[ArtNJ]

My belief is if they are fighting for real you need to back up, and they are most likely unable to make progress on their own unless you do that. Rolling around in a ball growling and hissing most likely indicates fighting for real.

 

[ERR53]

My belief is if they are fighting for real you need to back up, and they are most likely unable to make progress on their own unless you do that. Rolling around in a ball growling and hissing most likely indicates fighting for real.

They have since been lying together so not too sure what to think of it all. They were in the same room again with no fighting. Very confused!

 

[ArtNJ]

They have since been lying together so not too sure what to think of it all. They were in the same room again with no fighting. Very confused!

You could take a video for us. It is very very rare for an adult to attack a kitten under 6 months with actual intent to injure so its possible your mistaken perhaps.

 

[ERR53]

You could take a video for us. It is very very rare for an adult to attack a kitten under 6 months with actual intent to injure so its possible your mistaken perhaps.

Okay I will try and get one and post it if it happens again. Possibly it was extremely rough playing, it was the hissing and growling that freaked me and George not really giving it a break.

 

[ArtNJ]

If its only the kitten hissing and growling, Im much less concerned. If the adult is being that vigorous while hissing and growling then perhaps this could be one of the very rare cases.

 

[ERR53]

If its only the kitten hissing and growling, Im much less concerned. If the adult is being that vigorous while hissing and growling then perhaps this could be one of the very rare cases.

The kitten hisses and then the cat growls because of this. This is during what I thought was them “fighting”.

 

[ArtNJ]

The kitten hisses and then the cat growls because of this. This is during what I thought was them “fighting”.

Not to downplay the concern, but that is interesting. I keep coming back to the fact that adults almost never attack kittens with intent to injure. And if you had intent to injure, well it wouldn't take much for an adult to truly devastate a 4 month old. So yeah, you clearly dont have actual intent to injure, and I suggest a video before backing up.

 

[ERR53]

Okay, after much watching and listening (sorry I didn’t manage to get a video yet) - I have realised that I think George is actually trying to play with Larry and I have noticed it’s actually Larry (kitten) who is hissing and growling at George! George doesn’t let up though when he is doing this and when I clap Larry runs and George then goes after him again. George’s back is never up/big tail prior or during this. So what do we think? Is it actually rough play and Larry isn’t enjoying it. I tried to let them carry this out but had to clap as I got too concerned for Larry.

 

[di and bob]

I always clap too when mine get into it. Larry is most likely getting the bad end of it and is trying to let George know it is hurting. They are setting limits. i would stop it too if Larry is complaining. I think everything is going well, George just has to learn to play nice.

 

[ArtNJ]

I don't worry about it. What you typically find is that the kitten runs away, but comes back in 2 minutes and acts like nothing happened. Then a a bit later, the kitten initiates play. That tells you the kitten thinks its fine.

So things improve with time, but as long as the kitten is acting like nothing happened a few minutes later, the kitten may already be getting a net benefit from having big bro willing to play.

 

[ERR53]

A further update…

They both seem to initiate play fighting with each other, but the minute George (resident cat) starts really play fighting with Larry the kitten (pinning him down, nibbling his neck etc there is never ever blood etc) Larry (kitten) makes a huge fuss and is meowing/hissing/growling at George. My main concern however is that George doesn’t let go of him when he is making these noises, is that normal? I then have to break it up and Larry acts like nothing has happened but I’m worried as to why George doesn’t back off Larry when he hears these noises.

 

[ArtNJ]

A further update…

They both seem to initiate play fighting with each other, but the minute George (resident cat) starts really play fighting with Larry the kitten (pinning him down, nibbling his neck etc there is never ever blood etc) Larry (kitten) makes a huge fuss and is meowing/hissing/growling at George. My main concern however is that George doesn’t let go of him when he is making these noises, is that normal? I then have to break it up and Larry acts like nothing has happened but I’m worried as to why George doesn’t back off Larry when he hears these noises.

Yeah. Play biting is a normal part of play. It simulates the "kill move" cats use in the wild. When play is equal, opportunities to do it are few and it doesn't last so long. When there is a big size difference, sometimes the kitten feels helpless and lays there and sometimes the young adult (big kid!) enjoys a long play bite. It can be a little uncomfortable. You know what a head noogie is? Like that. Its not, however, real, or the kitten would be dead. No permanent damage is done.

What happens when big human bro gives little bro a head noogie? He cries for mom. But in 5 minutes he wants to play with big bro. He gets a net benefit from big bro even though big bro is kind of a jerk with the head noogies.

Its the same with cats. The kitten will make noises, but then act like nothing happened in a few, even solicit play. Its a bit unfortunate that big cat bro plays like this but it is both common, and it is what it is. Kitten is getting a net benefit, and you can't use words to train big cat bro. Not that words really help that much with big human bro.

So while you can gently break it up, but you don't need to worry or feel like its your job.