Aggressive 2 Months Old Kitten?

[GabrielaS]

Hello guys!

Lately I have been searching all over the internet more info about the situation I have with my cats, but I finally decided to post this and maybe get some advice from people who have more experience.

I have a one year old male cat (Ollie), and three weeks ago I adopted Tazzy, a two months old male. At first, I kept them in separate rooms, and introduced them to each other slowly, "by the rules". Now I still keep them separate, but when I'm home I let them spend some time together, to see how they're getting along.

Ollie seems pretty ok with the presence of Tazzy, he even licks him when they meet. The problem is that even when he is being gentle, the little one always attacks him, bites and scratches. Sometimes he arches his back and makes chattering sounds looking at him.

It looks to me like they're playing because they chase each other, with no hissing or growling involved, but I'm worried that Tazzy's behavior is making Ollie become somewhat aggressive towards him. At some point it seems like he's hunting Tazzy, jumps on him and bites, making the little one squeak . After this, Tazzy hides and looks a bit scared, but soon he attacks back so I'm not sure what to think. At some point they both seem to be hurting each other, so I put them in different rooms when things go crazy.

Is it possible for such a young kitten to be aggressive or is he just playing without any limits?
I'm worried that the older cat will hurt him, he's really small and seems very sensitive.
What should I do about this?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Tazzy is just playing the way that kittens (and cats) do. For cats, ALL play is about honing hunting skills, so it can look very rough to us. Ollie, from what you are describing, is just teaching him to mind his manners, just as his mama did before you brought him home. There will be some squeeks involved, perhaps even a squall or two. This doesn't mean someone is getting "hurt," more that someone is NOT happy with being disciplined. Unless Ollie makes Tazzy really bleed (an occasional tiny accidental nick doesn't count), the two of them are doing fine.

 

[susanm9006]

I agree with Mamanyt1953 . The little one is not being aggressive, just being a kitten, and your older one is just playing with him. But if you think he is getting too rough, you can distract them both with a toy.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on the adoption of your new kitten.

Sounds like things are going ok with the introductions.

I agree with Mamanyt1953 and susanm9006 that what you are seeing is normal cat playing, with a bit of cat etiquette training from Ollie to Tazzy. But maybe don't leave them alone unattended until you're sure Ollie won't get too rough with his little brother.

The following article mentions the body language to watch for to determine whether cats are "mock fighting" or having a real fight.
How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight

BTW, is Ollie neutered?

And can you post a pic of them?
How To Add A Picture To Your Forum Post

 

[GabrielaS]

Thank you all for the replies and the welcoming!

When I see that things get a bit rough (Tazzy starts "crying") I usually clap or make a sound to separate them and if they continue to play like that I put them in separate rooms.

I tried to distract them with toys, and it's very easy with Tazzy being so playful, but when Ollie gets in that mood, he doesn't take his eyes from Tazzy no matter what.

Ollie is neutered and I never saw him acting aggressive, not even at the vet. He is actually a scaredy-cat. He runs and hides each time someone comes into the house, or when he hears loud noises.

Here are my two lovely boys

 

[ArtNJ]

+1 to all. You can find 50 posts exactly like this in a couple of hours of searching, but you won't find any where the kitten was hurt. Distracting is certainly harmless, but I'm not a huge fan of the clapping because I worry it will discourage playing which is important for them.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Yep, A ArtNJ has it. LOL, I've said on here more than once, "Sometimes a cat's gotta say what a cat's gotta say," and Ollie has realized that it is now his duty to continue teaching Tazzy how to cat. Don't worry about Taz if he squawks a bit, he's just ticked off at being put in his place.

 

[GabrielaS]

It just scares me when I see that Ollie is all over Tazzy. It probably wouldn't have scared me if Tazzy was a little bigger, but he just seems so fragile and sometimes Ollie jumps on him, bites and kicks with his back feet. So my first reaction is trying to break them up.

Should I just let them do their thing hoping that maybe at some point they will calm down?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Absolutely, yes. If you continue to intervene (and I know how much you want to, and understand how frigtening it looks), it will actually take them longer to reach a point of total understanding. You will know by watching Ollie if you need to step in. Tazzy is going to raise cain because he's being thwarted. Like a three year old throwing a tantrum when Dad says "NO!"