Resident cat "attacking" kitten?

[patriciaerin]

I know it's not good to rush introductions so we kept or boys separated and followed all the advice on introduction here and from Jackson Galaxy. Since they can eat next to each other we figured it was time to let them have more supervised time together. The problem is, they CONSTANTLY are fighting/wrestling. I can't keep resident cat Bronco's attention on toys. He just always wants to wrestle the kitten down. Now, Vader (the kitten) is quite the antagonist so I suppose it's understandable that Bronco wants to put him in his place. It's just so hard to tell whether it's play fighting or not! There hasn't been any flying fur or bloodshed but it's still concerning. Am I just overreacting? I'm still so new to this!

The boys eating:

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• patriciaerin
• Dec 4, 2015

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• patriciaerin
• Dec 4, 2015

 

[lisareneeo]

I had the same concerns when we got our second cat. First one was a male around 9 months ( he was big) when we got an 8 week old girl. It took us at least two months of never letting them together unless it was supervised. Your older cat is probably just playing but it does seem scary. I would keep them in a room supervised andake sure she had place she could escape to. If it seemed like it was getting too rough I would remove the older one from the room. Took some patience but it all worked out. Good luck!

 

[patriciaerin]

I had the same concerns when we got our second cat. First one was a male around 9 months ( he was big) when we got an 8 week old girl. It took us at least two months of never letting them together unless it was supervised. Your older cat is probably just playing but it does seem scary. I would keep them in a room supervised andake sure she had place she could escape to. If it seemed like it was getting too rough I would remove the older one from the room. Took some patience but it all worked out. Good luck!

Bronco is 13 lbs and Vader is only a little under 3 lbs so that's my biggest concern. I'm really afraid Bronco may accidentally hurt Vader. Who knew introducing a new kitten into the mix would be so stressful!

 

[talkingpeanut]

If you feel that things are actually getting tense and it could get worse, separate them and reintroduce again. Your older cat may be having issues with the younger as his hormones change.

Are they both fixed?

 

[patriciaerin]

If you feel that things are actually getting tense and it could get worse, separate them and reintroduce again. Your older cat may be having issues with the younger as his hormones change.

Are they both fixed?

I was considering doing that. Bronco doesn't seem to be using his claws or anything so that's good. He always tries grooming baby Vader but then Vader will try climbing on Bronco and it annoys the heck out of him. Then of course the wrestling starts. I'm thinking of getting Feliway diffusers to see if it helps.

They are both neutered!

 

[patriciaerin]

Okay, here are a couple videos! Is this just normal play fighting? Is it okay for them to do this nearly all the time? I'm just concerned because Vader is so tiny (3 lbs). Bronco is 13 lbs and I don't want him to accidentally hurt Vader. Sometimes Vader yelps so loudly! It scares me! Maybe I'm overreacting? My mom seems to think that they are fine and that I need to let Vader out at all times now and not keep them separate anymore.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]



[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[talkingpeanut]

I wouldn't leave them together when there is no one to supervise. The size difference is major, and there looks to be some tension.

 

[patriciaerin]

I wouldn't leave them together when there is no one to supervise. The size difference is major, and there looks to be some tension.

That was my thought as well! My mom saw those videos and seems to think it's okay to leave them out together all day. I'm just so confused as to what to do. I just feel bad because Vader has been confined the the bathroom when we are not around. You can tell it's starting to affect him at this point as he's a kitten and had lots of pent up energy.

 

[NewYork1303]

The videos don't look too tense to me. But the size difference is certainly an issue. I worried about our kitten when she was little since our male cat loved playing with her very roughly. They never hurt each other, but it made me very nervous.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

It looks like play to me (I watched without sound) but I would keep them separate when you aren't home.  Better to err in the side of caution.  Little kittens can get into trouble in all sorts of ways.  He is really safter confined in that bathroom.  

 

[patriciaerin]

It looks like play to me (I watched without sound) but I would keep them separate when you aren't home.  Better to err in the side of caution.  Little kittens can get into trouble in all sorts of ways.  He is really safter confined in that bathroom.  

Thank you all for your opinions and words of advice! My boyfriend was home all day today and the boys did really well! Wrestling of course but only a couple instances where he had to intervene. :-)

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• patriciaerin
• Dec 18, 2015