They met in person 2 days ago, their have never been any fighting between them, so I couldn't tell if they were just fighiting or playing today. The older cat is still sad about the new kitten though...
Today they looked like they were wrestling. The older cat was biting the kitten and he swats at the younger cat and grabs on to her. But they were no nails or scratching involved, the older cat looked like it was swating at the kitten, but he was biting the kitten. The kitten ears were weird it was folded or something,
Answers:
was there growling or hissing involved, you can usually tell the difference between a friendly romp and a death match by the sounds they make and whether or not it looks like they are seriously trying to hurt one another . Growling and hissing would mean this was not friendly . Watch the body language.
The old cat is having problems with the new kitten moving in, that is ok. he or she will become to like the kitten, even mother it it just takes time. Mine did the same thing, just watch them when they are to gather don't pay more attrition to one then the other.
Sounds to me just like playing mostly. If your older cat really didn't want the kitten to play, he would let her know. My cat is 13, and has had to deal with several kittens in her lifetime. She HATES sharing her home. She will growl and hiss and run from the kitten. When they got to a point where she would allow some playing, when she was done, she made it clear with a good swat to the head and running away. As long as fur isn't flying and there isn't screaming coming from either cat, I say you are okay, and they are "bonding" so to speak. And yes, the kittens tend to fold their ears all the way back, because this is there play fighting; practicing for when/if they have to do it for real. Just be careful if you stick your hand in there, cause you will just become a third cat, and while they don't mean to harm you, you don't have a nice fur coat to protect from the scratches and bites. GOOD LUCK!
If there was not a lot of hissing, spitting or biting and scratching they were likley just playing-my two cats do the same thing and their ears look funny and fold back but they are just playing with each other--just suppervise until you know for sure that they are okay with each other.
The older cat doesn't sound like he is really injuring the new kitty, but what he IS doing is establishing dominance. He is letting kitty know he was there first and is still the leader. They Will eventually warm to each other and be glad for the companionship, but they will always have these little tussles where the older kitty asserts his dominance and when baby gets older,she may try to become dominant. The bigger kitty could give in for a while but not for ever. There is also a big element of play in this. They are playing and the bigger kitty is training the little one at the same time. My 2 have a funny ritual. The first one is 8 and the other just turned 2. One or the other will start grooming the other for several minutes and then they will switch for several minutes. At the end of the mutual grooming sessions they will fight and tumble and bite, and roll around, who ever gets tired of it first quits and walks off. They do it everyday.usually about 15 minutes before they fall asleep together. It's cute. About the ear, sometimes they lay one or both of their ears back flat. I think it is to appear more threatening to other. But don't worry they understand what they are doing.
I'd say take your time introducing cats of different ages. Easier transition into friendship that way. They may already be friends, just working out their hierarchy now. ;)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment