Are My Cats Playing Or Being Aggressive?

[hinglemccringleberry]

I have had one female cat (Autumn) for about 8 months who is about a year old now and recently adopted a male kitten (Goose) that is roughly 4-5 months old. At first, they didn't get along. There was a lot of hissing and growling from Autumn and Goose seemed unphased. But after a few days, they were chasing each other all around the apartment. Soon they were tackling each other and pouncing from around corners back and forth. I assumed they were playing since they did it all the time and seemed comfortable around each other when they weren't roughhousing. But recently (about 3 weeks later) I've been noticing things that make me wary. Autumn Sometimes puffs up her tail huge when playing. She hops around playfully and they chase each other reciprocatively but Autumn looks terribly startled. She also sometimes hisses at goose rarely then they play and sometimes when he comes too close after they finish playing. Also sometimes their ears go flat for a bit when they paw at each other.
I feel like I'm getting mixed signals. On the one hand, they seem to love whatever they're doing and sometimes coo and call out to each other when they are bored. But on the other hand, autumn can seem to get quite worked up and visually appear as if she is ready to fight while still playing the exact same way. The apartment is relatively small and I don't know how territory and dominance work in cats and I'm just not sure what's going on and if I should be concerned. When they aren't playing they certainly seem to like each other very much. they lick each other and sit together on the bed at night. But the bushy tail and hissing have me worried.

 

[littlecatt]

I would guess that this is play, though if you're still uncertain it would be helpful for you to attach a video as well! Sometimes cats' tails get puffed up when they're excited — I'll play with my cat alone and when he's really into chasing a toy, his tail will poof up. Autumn may also have been startled, such as if Goose stalked up on her and then pounced. Hissing is also very normal as long as it's not frequent and accompanied by other aggressive behaviors! My two cats are best buddies and the more dominant one will occasionally hiss at the younger to let her know that he's not in the mood to play.

Grooming and cuddling is a sure sign that your cats are best friends — it sounds like they just get very into their play, which is to be expected with a year old and a 5-month old! Cats who aren't friends make it very obvious. Lots of puffing up, hissing, sticking close to the walls, growling and spitting... and when they make contact, fur and blood will fly. Cats are great at sheathing their claws and not biting too hard when they play, they teach each other their own boundaries. It's just to humans, we don't play like that and it looks concerning!

I wouldn't be worried at all, Goose is about the age where he should be fine to be left alone with an older cat. Leaving younger kittens alone with older cats or giving them free run of the house can be a cause for concern, just because accidents do occur. If your cats are snuggling, allogrooming, not harming each other during play, sharing litter boxes, etc, then I think you can be a happy and proud cat parent that your kittens get along so well!

 

[war&wisdom]

I'm certainly not an expert, but I have two 5.5-month-old kittens (littermates) who are closely bonded -- and the girl, who is smaller, sometimes hisses at her brother during play when she needs to let him know he's being too rough. When they get very worked up, they sometimes flatten their ears too. But they aren't at all afraid of one another; they sleep together and on top of each other, groom each other, constantly seek one another out, eat side by side, etc. Based on your description and my own experience, your kitties seem to get along just fine.

 

[aliceneko]

I think this is normal. Toffee and Fudge do a lot of play fighting similar to what you have described between your cat and kitten. Fudge and Toffee his a lot at each other when playing and make snarling/growling sounds. They are very fond of one another and are still incredibly close with one another, so much of their fighting is playing - they also like to tease each other a lot when fighting, which is definitely more playful than genuine aggression (Fudge, for instance, will keep on tapping Toffee on the leg with his paw and then runs away when Toffee arches his back or pricks up his ears) in a "come and get me" mode!

 

[Notacrazycatlady]

I wouldn't worry too much about the tail. My nearly 11 month old, Angus, pants like a dog and his tail goes puffy when he's excited. The tail also puffs out when he's startled, but if he's really playing hard with me or the new 3 month old kitten, Leo, his tail puffs out (he looks like a raccoon from behind). Yet he will also curl up next to Leo and groom him or sleep on the cat tree or in bed with me right next to him. When Leo has come back from a vet visit, they've touched noses briefly. Yet they'll also tear around the apartment and wrestle, occasionally with some hissing. I think it was someone here who said that it's rare for cats to be enemies and still engage in play behaviors with each other.