Not sure if playing or fighting

[katherinegrace]

So I just got a new kitten a couple days ago I already have a two yr old cat at first my two yr old hissed at new kitten but now it seems like she's playing with him but not sure. She hasn't hissed at him in two days. I think she only did it once when he caught her by surprise. Anyway she always swats at his head and tried to I think bite him once but I stopped it. While playing (I think that's what they do at least kitten thinks so) she had her paws wrapped around him while he was laying on his back. He didn't meow didn't seem like he was in trouble but I told her to get off anyway. I've tried reading articles about when cats are fighting and body language but none seems to really help. Sorry I'm such a worry wart when it comes to my cats ! :lol3:

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• katherinegrace
• Aug 23, 2014

 

[fhicat]

Sounds like play. Cats will "fight" when they play. The key is to watch their body language. Here is a rather "confusing" example video of two kittens playing:


From an inexperienced point of view, it looked like a fight. However, pay close attention to their body language. In this video, the meowing kitten is probably annoyed by the other kitten who wants to play. She is trying unsuccessfully to get her sister to leave her alone. 

Their tails are up most of the time, which is a non-aggressive posture. The meowing kitten lays on her side exposing her tummy for most of the time, again, something an actual fighting cat will not do. Their ears are forward and upright, while a fighting cat will have its ears lowered and backwards. In a fight, the ears are vulnerable to attack, so cats try to protect their ears by moving them as close to their head as possible.

At one point it seems like one of the kittens is doing the arched back, bristling-hair posture, which is unfortunately a defensive posture. This is of some concern, but taken as a whole, I'm confident that these two kittens are playing, although the meowing kitten is a reluctant participant.

Contrast that to this video:


Compare these body language to the above. Tails pointed downwards, highly agitated. The black/white cat has his ears lowered after he was done standing. Body lower to the ground than usual. Tail wrapped around the body. This is an actual fight.

It's always a good idea to supervise your kittens playing, but unless they start hissing and drawing blood, they most likely playfighting. 

 

[katherinegrace]

That helps a lot, thank you !