Kitten growling and hissing...

[Attica1962]

Yesterday I bought some new toys for my kitten, among them three small fluffy balls. We gave him one of them and he liked it very much, I think he played all night long with it. Today, he was playing with it and my husband threw another one to him. And then he changed completely, he went from a playful kitten to a vicious predator in just one second: He took the old ball in his mouth and the new one between his paws, and started growling and hissing...just for the sake of it. I don't know if it was part of his play, or what, but my husband was scared of this reaction, he thought that maybe he was choking or was allergic or something. I was able to take the old ball from his mouth, he didn't growl or hiss at me or at my husband. But a minute afterwards he had the ball in his mouth and started growling and hissing again. Then he seemed to forget about the ball, and started playing with other balls, but from time to time he still takes the fluffy one and growls and hisses.

Why this sudden reaction? Is this normal in cats, or maybe it is because he never played with other cats?

 

[susanm9006]

Kittens occasionally will do this with toys they love, pretending that they are fierce, have caught their prey and are fending off imaginary predators that might take it from them. Perfectly normal and perfectly adorable.

 

[ArtNJ]

Smol but fierce!

 

[Attica1962]

Thank you very much!!! It's a relief, we had never seen our kitten growling. I only had heard him hissing once, he was in the windowsill (behing the net) and this woman with a very loud voice started saying things to him. I guess he didn't like her voice. But I didn't know they could do it when playing.

Thanks again!!!

 

[Attica1962]

Right now I'm sitting on the sofa and he's playing in the corridor. If I didn't knew it's just an 8 mo kitten playing with a ball, I'd swear there is a wolf and a snake fighting for their lives in the corridor!!!!

 

[susanm9006]

My 13 year old girl Willow, the meekest cat you will ever meet still has occasional bouts of silly fierceness at imaginary wall creatures. She grabs the wall, looks up, and then snarls and loudly hisses. Just hysterical.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Don't forget...ALL play in cats, every single bit of it, is practice for the hunt! Sometimes you need to be a silent hunter, and sometimes you need to be, to quote A ArtNJ , "smol but fierce!" I'd love to be able to peek inside your kitten's mind, and find out what "dangerous prey" that particular ball represents to him!