Older Cat's Behavior Towards Kitten - Should I Worry?

[govtlawyer]

My 7 year old mixed breed, Sparky, is a wonderful warm fun cat - but can be quite ornery.  He can be loving one moment and get annoyed and turns on a dime.  I've come to understand his quirks and let him take the lead.

Five weeks ago I introduced Lucy, a Maine Coon kitten who is now 4 months old.  The first week or two was pretty uncomfortable for me.  Sparky was not happy to have a new sibling (older brother Mickey passed away 6 months ago) and he struck out at Lucy frequently.  In time, he has come to accept her. In fact, they can sleep on the couch a foot apart and sometimes come eye to eye without him striking out.  They play, with him chasing Lucy and occasionally she turns the tables. She is not afraid to go after his tail as he is on the cat tree just above her.  She knows he will be annoyed and she plays.  I am gratified to see this interaction. 

The problem is that he often strikes out at her or attacks her for seemingly no reason. I expect him to lash out at her when she goes after his tail.   He goes from respecting her and allowing her to share the space and calmly watching as she runs around the house chasing toys.  She runs all over the place, even brushing by him, and he is very calm.  Yet, he can walk by her or vice versa and he suddenly lashes out.  He jumps on her, screeches and tries to bite her.  She is now big enough and strong enough to resist him and get away.  Yet, she comes right back, so she does not seem frightened by him.  Sometimes I play with both at the same time with feathers on sticks.  They both jump at them and twirl around and around as I fly the feathers.  During this game Lucy can even go barreling into him and he ignores her and stays with the game.  So, clearly he has accepted her on some level.

It seems to me that he is not threatened by her, overall.  Seems to me that he has accepted her, mostly.  Yet, it is difficult to see him attack her out of the blue, after calmly allowing her to exist in this space.  It is almost like when I pet him and it reaches the point where he has had enough, but I know his limits.  I stop before he lashes out.  Sometimes I think he has a screw loose.  He goes from warm and gentle and loving to crying and pacing and whining, without me noticing any change in his environment.  No trigger that I can see.

I assume all of this is just normal cat behavior, at least I hope it is.  I have had cats for 40 years and they all have their quirks.  Yet, I am worried that this is something that they will not grow out of.  As she gets bigger and stronger their spats may escalate in intensity.  Or, it may dissipate in time.  I am worried he is going to hurt her.  She doesn't seem too worried about it.  She isn't worried that I will roll over and crush her during the night as she sleeps next to me - I worry about that.  

Does this seem like something I should worry about?  It may be that he is always going to strike out at her at odd moments simply because he is just quirky that way.  

 

[Ms. Freya]

As long as no one's getting hurt, it actually sounds relatively normal to me.

Since he's older, it may be that she's starling him on some level (maybe his hearing or eyesight isn't quite what it used to be and he doesn't realize where she is) it could also be his way of establishing a pecking order, or even trying to play with her. (Male cats can play quite a bit rougher than females sometimes). She'll likely learn to read him as well, so as long as you keep an eye on them and no one crosses a line, they'll likely be just fine.

 

[govtlawyer]

You're probably right.  Lucy will occasionally test him.  She is not afraid of him; although, she obviously doesn't like being swatted by him.  Sometimes he'll jump her when she isn't even looking at him.

It is almost like two human siblings.  The older one punches the younger for no apparent reason and the younger one says "hey, what did you do that for.?"  The older one's answer is "because I felt like it."

She's getting bigger - Maine coon - gonna be bigger than him when grown up, I think.  So, it probably won't last too long.  I've had 8 different cats over 40 years and it was rare that one dominated the other.  I think it hurts me more than Lucy when he jumps her or swats at her and screeches.  She is still just a 4 month old kitty, so I feel very protective of her.  I'm also protective of Sparky.  I'm a good parent - LOL

The interesting thing is that up till now Sparky has been my very favorite of all times.  He is quite beautiful and at times as warm and gentle and loving as anyone would want in a cat.  He's just a bit screwy.  He walks around crying for seemingly no reason.  Yet, that he is very vocal is one of the things I love about him.  So, it is frustrating to see him appear to be frustrated.  When they chase each other, as a game, it is as good as it gets.  I say to myself - go ahead Lucy grab his tail - you're gonna get it.  

I appreciate your response.