Hey all,
Me and my girlfriend have two cute siblings, one black and one orange, about 3 1/2 months old now. We bought a toy for our lure and the kittens are absolutely in love with it. its the fastest ive ever seen them chase after a toy. unfortunately, the black one seems to be protective of it, trying to make off with it in his mouth and refusing to let go the few times weve tried to play with it. hes even gone so far as to growl at me when i refuse to let it go, and when i tried to toss it for them he was guarding it and began to hiss at his brother.
They are kittens so a rough play is not rare for them, though i worry that the black one who is aggressive with the toy is starting to develop bad habits. its usually pretty one sided, with the black one being dominant in their frights and leading the orange one to cry out sometimes, but the orange one always seems to come back for more like it's still fun for him. I have done some research on aggressive play, but all of the articles ive read are written from the point of view of having two unfamiliar cats playing or having extremely obvious aggression as in a full blown fight. I'm having trouble distinguishing between whether or not its too aggressive to let them carry on. While the orange one is usually the one on defense, he never really tries to run away or hide. I've only caught him with his ears back once, and i did intervene that time.
Another thing I am curious about is biting during their playfights. From what i've read its generally regarded that biting is up there with hackle-raising and hissing in terms of warning signs of aggression, but im not really convinced of it being that extreme. they get along just fine when not playing, and while i have never witnessed them licking to show play during their tussles they do take brief breaks.
there is some reciprocity, though it is pretty low. the black one is usually the one on offense, as i said, but now as im writing this it started that way but the orange one took the lead. this is not terribly of out of the ordinary, but id say its probably 65/35 with the black one against. again, the orange one usually doesnt run away and they tend to chase each other around back and forth through our apartment.
they get along just fine otherwise, sleeping together and generally being a bonded pair of brothers. outside of play there is no territorial behavior over food, water, litterbox, or sleeping spots. they never have really hissed at each other before the introduction of this new toy.
I guess I have a number of questions, if anyone would like to address any one or group of them:
-is this normal kitten behavior?
-should i stop letting them use that toy?
-should i separate them when they do get into a playfight? ive read that its important for them to develop their skills as hunters...
-if so, what are some steps i can take to alleviate or prevent the situation while still letting them play with each other?
any feedback is helpful! keep well!
Me and my girlfriend have two cute siblings, one black and one orange, about 3 1/2 months old now. We bought a toy for our lure and the kittens are absolutely in love with it. its the fastest ive ever seen them chase after a toy. unfortunately, the black one seems to be protective of it, trying to make off with it in his mouth and refusing to let go the few times weve tried to play with it. hes even gone so far as to growl at me when i refuse to let it go, and when i tried to toss it for them he was guarding it and began to hiss at his brother.
They are kittens so a rough play is not rare for them, though i worry that the black one who is aggressive with the toy is starting to develop bad habits. its usually pretty one sided, with the black one being dominant in their frights and leading the orange one to cry out sometimes, but the orange one always seems to come back for more like it's still fun for him. I have done some research on aggressive play, but all of the articles ive read are written from the point of view of having two unfamiliar cats playing or having extremely obvious aggression as in a full blown fight. I'm having trouble distinguishing between whether or not its too aggressive to let them carry on. While the orange one is usually the one on defense, he never really tries to run away or hide. I've only caught him with his ears back once, and i did intervene that time.
Another thing I am curious about is biting during their playfights. From what i've read its generally regarded that biting is up there with hackle-raising and hissing in terms of warning signs of aggression, but im not really convinced of it being that extreme. they get along just fine when not playing, and while i have never witnessed them licking to show play during their tussles they do take brief breaks.
there is some reciprocity, though it is pretty low. the black one is usually the one on offense, as i said, but now as im writing this it started that way but the orange one took the lead. this is not terribly of out of the ordinary, but id say its probably 65/35 with the black one against. again, the orange one usually doesnt run away and they tend to chase each other around back and forth through our apartment.
they get along just fine otherwise, sleeping together and generally being a bonded pair of brothers. outside of play there is no territorial behavior over food, water, litterbox, or sleeping spots. they never have really hissed at each other before the introduction of this new toy.
I guess I have a number of questions, if anyone would like to address any one or group of them:
-is this normal kitten behavior?
-should i stop letting them use that toy?
-should i separate them when they do get into a playfight? ive read that its important for them to develop their skills as hunters...
-if so, what are some steps i can take to alleviate or prevent the situation while still letting them play with each other?
any feedback is helpful! keep well!