Do They Really Play Like This?

[chickpea616]

So now that my 2 cats (1 resident for 2+ years, 1 new one - got her 2 months ago) are spending all their time together, I notice a lot of playing (chasing, etc.). They also recently started rolling around on the floor and "play biting". I was kinda shocked at first, but watching them closely, there are absolutely no signs of distress, no hissing, no growling, they even go back for more!

Does anyone else's cats play like this?

 

[Animal Freak]

Oh, yes. Cat play can look quite vicious. However, they're typically pretty good about knowing how much they can get away with. With mine, one cat lays on his back while the other looks for the best strategy to attack. Showing the stomach is the first sign of it being play as that's a sign of trust. The next would be the lack of growling/hissing/etc. And the third would be going back for more. My cats look quite evil with ears laid back and tails lashing, but they spend more time staring at each other than actually doing anything. But they most definitely bite and kick each other. Ash will lunge on Frost, biting his chest and neck. Then Frost gets him in a headlock and starts bunny kicking him in the head. It doesn't look pleasant, but it's just like two kids wrestling.

 

[ArtNJ]

Means they are getting along great! And this is a normal method of play fighting, although there are other varieties as well. Back when I lived in an apartment as a student, I had those cheap stacking crates with stuff in them. One cat would get up on one pillar of crates, the other would get up on the other pillar, they would stare at each other, and play whack a mole with each other's heads without ever crossing to the other's pillar of crates.

The normal method you are seeing practices hunting and defensive behaviors used in the wild. I'm not too sure the whack-a-mole game mine used to play correlates with anything, but they enjoyed it, so all good.

 

[Yanaka]

I get really uncomfortable when they play-choke each other! It looks so brutal. But they're totally fine with it, so I just look away lol

 

[Valentina3]

I was worried too in the beginning, I slowly introduced a new female kitten to my adult (quite aggressive) male, and when I finally let them play together without any barriers, they literally spent hours just biting and chasing each other. They played very roughly for months, but now it's mostly licking and cuddling (they still play/bite but much less). So don't worry, maybe just keep an eye on them, separate them just if one ever cries for a deeper bite, it will be fine!