Older cat licking kitten?

[kurdis]

My older cat, Scruffles is oddly obsessed with licking his younger brother, Atreyu. However, this isn't in the traditional grooming sense as from a distance it almost looks like they're fighting. He'll usually pin his younger brother down, concerned, I take a closer look only to see him licking him. Why is he doing this?

 

[catlover73]

How is Atreyu reacting to Scruffles pinning him and grooming him? This could be away Scruffles is teaching Atreyu boundaries. If the grooming is not causing any problems then I would leave them be.

When my oldest cat Starbuck was a baby her big brother used to pin her to the floor when she was being a brat. This was his method of teaching her that chomping on his head was not an acceptable way to play. Once she calmed down I would often see him grooming her:

 

[kurdis]

How is Atreyu reacting to Scruffles pinning him and grooming him? This could be away Scruffles is teaching Atreyu boundaries. If the grooming is not causing any problems then I would leave them be.

When my oldest cat Starbuck was a baby her big brother used to pin her to the floor when she was being a brat. This was his method of teaching her that chomping on his head was not an acceptable way to play. Once she calmed down I would often see him grooming her:

This actually makes so much sense. Atreyu generally harasses Scruffles a lot. Sometimes he'll just be minding his own business watching nature or sleeping only to have Atreyu jump on his head, biting and nibbling him.