Do cats playfight, or are they only ever beating the shit out of each other?

[Hassled]

Youngest psycho cat just will not leave one of the other cats alone, and they have some fairly major scraps. I did think of other cat as being the victim, but she has plenty of opportunities to escape and there are times she seems to be looking for more - are they playing?

If so - cats are weird.

[Pizzaexpress2]

Yep, cats are weird.
One of Maine deliberately taunts the dog then takes great pleasure in turning on him and hissing and spitting wildly at him, then 2 minutes later stands in front of him again to be chewed.

[Pizzaexpress2]

Mine not Maine. Nothing posh or designer brand here.

[Hassled]

:o

[GrumpySod]

Mine (brothers) playfight quite a lot. The little one likes to lie around looking weak to attract big brother in for a tussle. There's a ritual to it, always starts with licking and mutual grooming and then moves on to full legs and claws in the face & belly.

My boys (human) are a bit the same.

[Fluffycloudland77]

If they lower their ears it's serious play but you know when it's real fighting as the fur will fly and the vet will need paying.

Quiet play is ok.

[GrumpySod]

I'd say it's howling (yowling) that tells you when they aren't just messing about. We introduced 3rd cat to household last month & have had many comparisons of fun growling & a few "stop that!" hisses during play, vs. "I want to kill that cat" fury and yowling.

[cozietoesie]

I think you'd know if it was real fighting, Hassled. It's short and quite, quite nasty - looks like one of those rolling balls of arms, legs and 'Kerpow' you see in cartoons.

[Convert]

My cats playfight and it tend to look quite nasty but they never hurt each other. I think if they were really fighting, as PP said, you'd be at the vets.

[BendyBobsBrusselsSprouts]

Mine are 2 and 3 yrs (boys) and have started having some quite nasty set tos lately.

They mainly do get on quite well but sometimes they really go for each other or rather the older one has a go at the younger one and there are clumps of fur flying about and a yowl or two.

They never seem hurt though and neither ever leaves home over it so I just assume it's the same as when dt's biff each other but would defend one another to the ends of the earth. I do shout at anyone fighting - cats or kids - to pack it in though.

[Hassled]

Well we do have some serious yowling and fur flying, but you're right - having once had to take Old Boy Cat to the vets after a bite from Bastard Cat Down The Road, it's probably not on the same scale to a real cat fight. I just can't fathom which bit of it can possibly be fun for them, though. The're currently asleep on the same chair, so they can't actually hate each other.

[TheSilveryTinsellyPussycat]

My DM's cat did this with a neighbour's cat, they were about the same age and were friends. I have it on film, you can see a bit of fur flying! I think it is kitten play fighting extending into adulthood. Flattened ears, sideways lashing tail, 'so you think you can take me on, big boy' look then one of them would Leap at the other.

[PrincessFionne]

Just love hearing about the cat antics here! When I see angry alien cats behaviour outside it is very different to what my 2 do indoors, or outside. for a start there are no hackles rising or tails bushing and signs of feelings very threatened, but lots of sidling up to, or the determined face licking which the other gets extremely pissed off with after it goes on too long They are so funny, but occasionally there are hisses. At the moment I think their ages mean their 'games' are changing a bit, and they use the 'games' mode to actually do some serious dynamics (hierachy) stuff too. the kitten used to try to play with the very adult boy, who didn't want to know atall, then the adult boy decided he felt quite playful so they've had lots of fun pouncing and properly playing, chasing each other round, etc. Now that the kitten is a big girl she's not been chased anymore, but is squaring up to the big boy and they are doing a knock-for-knock style 'game', where paws remain hovvering mid strike! and a slow motion move-for-move type dance ensues, whilst the female continually mews (shes very verbal generally). Love watching their antics, but she seems to be getting the upper hand more in the games now, although he still takes precedence over the food at the moment (and currently has a large hole in the top of his head from a real outdoor fight on NY eve, which filled up and distorted his features! - it gave him a huge furrowed brow and he looked very cross/angry, but he might have done anyway with that size injury!) All gone down now tho thankfully. So cat friends I do think do it differently. (I did have one that used to throw the other against radiators!!! such a noise, and the other would get v. upset and go off crying :( and then look quite down for a while :( )

Sorry, long post, I shall slope out again now

[FreckledLeopard]

Our brother and sister kittens (9 months) playfight. Boy cat is bigger and so I go in to try and get him off his sister, who then turns around and jumps straight back on to him to continue the fight. I have learned to let them get on with it.

We have proper screeching and yowling, though, between boy cat and our older cat that we've had for years. He chases her, she screeches the house down (seriously, the noise is overwhelming) and then hides under a bed and growls at him. No idea what to do about that.