Introducing A Kitten Is It Fighting Or Playing

[Brookelee2222]

A few days ago, we got Freya, a few week old kitten (a rescue). Maybe around 6 or 7 weeks old. At home we already had a kitten Bennie, 7 months old. I'm trying to figure out if they are playing or fighting. It seems to be playing but, Bennie is almost three times her size. So When they "play" Bennie usually bats at Freya or wrestles and bites her, which looks like playing, but Freya hisses and meows real loud sometimes. I am a new cat mom, so im not too familiar with this. Does this sound like Bennie is being too rough? And if so what can I do about it ?

 

[di and bob]

I would get a 'kickeroo' on amazon and throw it towards Bennie when he begins to get aggressive. It helps to take a lot of their aggression out with the bunny kicking. 'Refresh' it once in a while in a plastic baggie filled with catnip. A kitten that young, could be hurt unintentionally by Bennie, I would definitely monitor their time together for a few weeks. Pick Bennie up and give him a 5 minute time out in a small room, do this with a loud and firm NO. He will quickly get the idea. No longer than 5 or 10 minutes or he will forget what is going on. He has to associate time outs with playing too rough. Females are the manners teachers, she will teach him his manners and limits as she gets older and can handle him better. I always have said the perfect cat family is two males to wrestle and play with each other and a female to keep them both in line. When kittens play there is always a lot of screaming and biting going on, that is how they learn limits.It always seems way too aggressive to me, but that is how it always is. Mama cat WILL step in and separate them if it gets too rough, so now you will have to be the mama, she usually does this by holding them down by the skin on the back of their necks until they calm down. Kittens learn their limits between 6 -12 weeks in a cat family, so both of yours have missed out. Watch for any blood drawn or deep bites that leave puncture, THAT is not playing. Little Freya will be able to more than handle herself when she gets bigger, all females do, my little female still bats her 4 years old son's ears when they get too close, screaming the whole time! And they still don't learn to leave her alone! Anyway, all sounds normal in your house, just watch closely to make sure it stays that way!

 

[ArtNJ]

I've never heard of a kitten being actually injured. A little squealing is pretty normal. If the kitten is actually being hurt, you'll see it start to avoid the older cat and to show signs of anxiety. This sounds more akin to an older human brother giving a younger brother a "purple nurple" an "indian sunburn" or other move that may hurt a bit and be uncomfortable, but that doesn't actually injure the younger and won't impact him wanting to play with big bro all the time.

I'm definitely not saying Di and Bob is wrong - an actual injury is theoretically possible, and in any event Di and Bob is probably more concerned about adjusting the play so everyone can enjoy it which is certainly reasonable. But as a practical matter, if the kitten keeps enthusiastically seeking to play with the older cat, my personal opinion is that: (1) you can leave it alone; and (2) you should be grateful, because it often goes a lot worse when the prior resident cat is a few years older -- this is the right track for them to hopefully end up buddies.

 

[di and bob]

I remember my little brothers doing that, it did NOT endear them to me! It made me seek revenge. I'm just a little worried that since the kitten is SO small, there may be unintentional injury. Leaping on her could hurt those tiny legs. But if she comes back for more, she'll learn to handle him! (just like I did! )