Younger Savannah is bullying older Bengal

[ogkitty]

My 1 year old Savannah plays too hard with my 5 year old Bengal. The savannah is much larger and his 'play' is too rough for the bengal. Generally the get along very well; they sleep together and groom each other. My bengal will even play with the savannah for a little while, he'll fight back and they'll roll around, then the savannah will get to be too much for him and he'll run away (the savannah follows) growl, hiss, ears back. I've always heard that if there's no damage just let them work it out, but the bengal has been getting these little bite wounds under his chin that open up every fight. What should I do? 

 

[mservant]

Does your little Bengal have spaces he can go to that the Savannah can't reach him?  Cats need safe space, especially if they are potentially threatened or frightened.  Somewhere that, preferably, he can watch and see if your other cat is around or approaching him.

If their play fights are serious enough that one of the cats is being hurt I think you should be cautious.  Not only could your Bengal become very nervous and the relationship change with the Bengal frightened to play and all interaction becoming aggresive because he will exhibit fear, but the bites may not heal properly, and  are puncture wounds from what you describe and can become seriously infected.  Even though it may not be intended one of your cats could be seriously hurt.

Has your vet seen the wounds that keep opening up, and if so was this only when they happened initially or on subsequent occasions when they opened up?  It is important your vet knows about this and checks on the wounds.  They may also have some suggestions in terms of the behaviour.

Is it possible to give the cats shared space when they are supervised and seperate at other times of the day and night?  This may be safer fir the time being, especially if your Bengal has no safe spaces to get to.  Also, do they play with you as well or mostly with each other?  It may be worth increasing human interaction with them, and while trying to give equal time try to burn off as much of their bottomless energy as you can, especially your Savannah.  

If there are any members with hybrid cats or experience of them they may be able to give you better advice than I can.

If you are present and feel you need to seperate your cats it is important to look after your own safety.  In case you haven't read this I am including the link here for how to break up a fight between cats:

   http://www.thecatsite.com/a/breaking-up-cat-fights