Kitten Pinning Down And Biting Older Cat?! Help!

[missourigrl]

My oldest cat, Jack, is 11. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. In April a stray cat brought her 4 week old kittens to my back yard. I kept the only male. I kept them separate and introduced slowly. The kitten is now going on 5 months old (and is not yet neutered) and he is non-stop energy despite all the toys and play times.
He has been running after and jumping on Jack and pinning him down and biting the back of his neck. Jack will meow and hiss and run away. Most of the time the kitten gets the hint after that but in time will do it again...and again and again. This happens multiple times daily. I do not know what the kitten is trying to do? Is he trying to dominate Jack? Do I let them be or do I intervene? To be quite honest it's starting to get quite annoying and it's frustrating me. Please help!

 

[susanm9006]

I think your kitten is just doing what kittens do - look for someone to play with and generally pester any other cat in the house. When he goes to jump on Jack you can try distracting him but I don't know that it will stop it from happening again. Sometimes older cats give kittens great leeway to be obnoxious, but as the kitten get closer to adulthood the senior cat will fight back and let the kitten know they might get hurt if they continue. When Jack gets to that point your kitten will get the message.

 

[missourigrl]

I sure hope so. Jack has always been 2nd in command. I had to put my oldest, Asher, to sleep a month ago. He was 14. He and Jack had been together all of Jack's life and Asher was definitely the alpha male. They got along just fine but were never best friends. I almost feel like poor Jack doesn't know how to be assertive. He always just gives up and runs away. And he would do that with Asher as well.