Multiple cat owners - need advice about kitten socialization

[mookie]

Hi there,

Well, we ended up adopting a kitten 2 weekends ago. So, he's been with us a little over a week now, and is getting along great with the whole family. (2 dogs, our 3 year old, etc.) The only concern I have is our other male cat. He is almost 3 years old, and is really great, temperment wise. But, since the new kitty is only 10 weeks old, their sizes are quite different. While there is no hissing, and they actually seem to genuinely like each other, it seems to me like they are playing too rough.

The older cat will let the kitty rub on him, and he will even lick the younger guy, but the kitten still has his claws and then they start rolling and "play wrestling." There is no growling or hissing at all, but a few times I've seen our older cat biting down on the kittens neck. A few times he's had the kitten on his back, and is laying on top of him, and has his whole mouth wrapped around his neck. Sometimes the kitten will cry out, and a few times, we've had to yell and tell him to stop. As soon as we do, he listens. They'll break apart, and then the kitten will run and tease him and it will start all over again. I think they are truly playing, but I'm just wondering if it's too rough.

Has anyone else ever had this? Should I be concerned? I just don't want play fighting to turn into an all-out cat war. Thanks!

 

[Kitka]

We have 3 cats, one was 2 years old (Buckley) when we got our baby kitten, Katie. When Katie was introduced to the 2 year old it wasn't pretty - the older cat was mean to her, and when they did interact, it was to fight, like you explained.

Within about 3 months, they were sleeping cuddled together. Buckley just had to show he was the king of the house LOL.

I think they'll be fine.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

They're probably just playing. It's probably also a bit of the older cat asserting dominance and letting kitty know who's in charge.

I don't have any experience with multi-species pet homes -- dogs and cats -- so I don't know if a pecking order usually gets established across those lines, but with our dogs it's obvious who's in charge among them. They'll play, sometimes a little rough, but more than likely your older cat is teaching the new kitten who's in charge between the two of them and also teaching him his limits.

 

[Jpgirl]

let them go at it. If the younger one gets too rough the older one will let him know and the younger one will get the idea. If the older one gets too rough the younger one will just avoid him. We have 5 cats (2 of them ours 3 dds) and at times there's fur flying everywhere. There are some of them who just don't get along with the others and they find their own territory and learn to get along even if it's not friendly. Have a great time with the new addition

 

[Virgo10]

That behavior is a dominance move by the older cat. It's just to let the newbie know who's in charge. Even though all our cats have been together for at least 3 years now, I still catch them doing that from time to time. It seems more prevalent among the males.

Obviously if you see that the kitten has been injured in any way you, may have to monitor the two of them together until the kitten gets bigger. My guess it you won't find any injuries though. It's more of a body language thing than any type of aggression.

 

[horseshowmom]

In my experience, that's very typical behavior. We've always done what you're doing - if it got too rough, we made them stop. It sounds like things are working out well. Congratulations on your new kitten!

 

[Rajah]

Also very typical in my experience, too.

 

[denisem]

Sounds typical as they generally get along and play well. Along with asserting dominance, the older cat is also teaching the kitten when he's crossing the line in playing too rough.

Our older female did the same thing with our wildman - when he'd get a little too bitey or scratchy, she'd immediately flip him on his back, take him by the throat (not biting down) as if to say "take it easy, you little twerp!".

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

I agree with the other posters. The older cat is showing the younger who is boss. Animals have a pecking order. If there are no injuries I wouldn't worry too much.

My younger two cats do the play fighting thing all the time. Neither are using their claws or harming the other. They just like to play and since the youngest is bigger he likes to pretend he is the boss.

My oldest cat actually is the top animal in the house. She even tells my 70lb dog this all the time. So yeah, my 15 yr old cat with bad hips dominates over my 3 yr old hyper dog. Then the youngest cat tries to play with her and she basically gives him the one figure salute. Ahhh, my house is a zoo!

 

[poohandwendy]

Boy oh boy, do I have experience with this, LOL.

My male cat had 8 kittens to do this with, lol.

As everyone else has said, very normal dominance behavior. I understand how scary it appears to be.

But, trust me...if your male cat wanted to hurt the kitten...your kitten would be gone by now. And if your cat was being too rough with the kitten, he wouldn't go back for more. He would be avoiding him.

I would not be concerned. I would continue to break it up when the kitten cries out, but other than that, don't worry about it. They are bonding, believe it or not.

I would be much more concerned if they were not socializing/playing like this with each other.

Btw, this thread is useless without pics...we need pics of your kitties!!!!

 

[CheshireVal]

That's pretty normal. When we brought Chloe home, it took our older cat Sebastian a long time before he started "playing" with her. It was scary at first, but Chloe kept going back for more so I figured no harm done.

Two years later, they still play fight and chase each other around the house almost all day long. Then, the next thing you know, they're cuddled up together sleeping.

 

[mookie]

Boy oh boy, do I have experience with this, LOL.

My male cat had 8 kittens to do this with, lol.

As everyone else has said, very normal dominance behavior. I understand how scary it appears to be.

But, trust me...if your male cat wanted to hurt the kitten...your kitten would be gone by now. And if your cat was being too rough with the kitten, he wouldn't go back for more. He would be avoiding him.

I would not be concerned. I would continue to break it up when the kitten cries out, but other than that, don't worry about it. They are bonding, believe it or not.

I would be much more concerned if they were not socializing/playing like this with each other.

Btw, this thread is useless without pics...we need pics of your kitties!!!!

This is what I was hoping - it just seems so rough, and I don't know if I should intervene or let them work out their pecking order. But you are right, I think if he wanted to hurt the little one, he would have done it by now.

And I promise I'll post pictures as soon as I can. I just have to figure out how to do it....but trust me, he's a cute one!!

 

[poohandwendy]

I know, it does seem really rough. But, that kind of play is a teaching tool too. He is teaching him how to defend himself and how to hunt prey.

Another thing to remember is that alot of that 'hold 'em down and lick em' game is the older cats way of 'marking' his scent on the kitten. To mark him as part of his pack, so to speak. Just be glad he is using spit rather than urine, LOL

I look forward to seeing pictures of your furbabies!

 

[pearlieq]

Sounds very normal.

I'm still apalled when I see our two littermates roughhousing. It doesn't look like fun.

We asked the vet about it and he said that cats are excellent, efficient predators. If they meant to do harm they would do it and quickly. If you're not seeing wounds or blood, they're fine.

 

[Laura]

It really does look worse than it is. If the kitten felt threatened by the older cat, it would just keep its distance. But the fact that it keeps coming back for more tells me that it's normal play-fighting.