Greetings to all!
My family adopted their first cat (for us, I've had several in the past) last year. His name is Striker, now 1 y.o. and neutered. This past weekend, we adopted our second, an 8 week old little female we've named Sassy.
The first 30 hours or so went pretty well. Striker seemed scared of Sassy at first, then we noticed Sassy was trying to nurse from him and he started to bathe her. They played back and forth with each other, batting, swiping, chasing, etc. However, at about 1:00 a.m. (EDT), Striker suddenly became very aggressive. He started to pursue Sassy everywhere she went, as if he were hunting her. When he caught her he would open his mouth around her neck or her back. Of course, Sassy cried and yowled, and my wife and I stepped in to comfort both parties several times.
Since Striker didn't seem ready to mend his behavior, we separated them for the night, each with food, water and litter, Striker remaining in the house "at large" since that's been his domain, and Sassy to our family room in the basement.
Is this appropriate behavior? Should we be concerned for Sassy's well-being? We didn't see any actual injuries and wondered if Sassy was "Crying wolf", but Striker seemed angry and relentless.
Thanks, in advance, for any and all help/opinions.
My family adopted their first cat (for us, I've had several in the past) last year. His name is Striker, now 1 y.o. and neutered. This past weekend, we adopted our second, an 8 week old little female we've named Sassy.
The first 30 hours or so went pretty well. Striker seemed scared of Sassy at first, then we noticed Sassy was trying to nurse from him and he started to bathe her. They played back and forth with each other, batting, swiping, chasing, etc. However, at about 1:00 a.m. (EDT), Striker suddenly became very aggressive. He started to pursue Sassy everywhere she went, as if he were hunting her. When he caught her he would open his mouth around her neck or her back. Of course, Sassy cried and yowled, and my wife and I stepped in to comfort both parties several times.
Since Striker didn't seem ready to mend his behavior, we separated them for the night, each with food, water and litter, Striker remaining in the house "at large" since that's been his domain, and Sassy to our family room in the basement.
Is this appropriate behavior? Should we be concerned for Sassy's well-being? We didn't see any actual injuries and wondered if Sassy was "Crying wolf", but Striker seemed angry and relentless.
Thanks, in advance, for any and all help/opinions.