Wrestling

[TheCatOfAthenry]

Reasonably experienced cat owner here, but been a while since I introduced a kitten to an older kitten.

Cookie is our resident older kitten, about 9 months.

Biscuit has just joined our home in recent weeks - about 9 weeks but a little small because his mum was struggling a little. I still give him the odd drop of kitten formula.

Cookie has been generally welcoming and lovely. Licks him, makes a point of sharing. Odd hiss, but generally really nice. We did scent swapping from a distance and introduced smoothly. He adores her.

Just a little concerned she'll be too rough when they cat wrestle. Lots of chewing but no actual bites. No claws. He's not a bit afraid of her (actively seeks her out).

We use Feliway and my feeling is it's playful. Any tips on when to intervene and how to recognise when things are headed in the wrong direction?

Thanks for any help. Obligatory photos included!

Noise is the biggest clue. If they're quiet, they're playing. If they start hissing/moaning/growling they're fighting. Cat play can get pretty rough though, so I'd really be more concerned about the bigger boy accidentally hurting the baby - he is, after all, at a boisterous age. They're both lovely and that kitten is adorable!

Thanks @iloveeverykindofcat! Pretty quiet with the odd mew out of the little lad.

I have the same concern re accidental hurt, but so far he seems to actively go back for more!

They'll also be sorting out whose top mog. He's a bit young but she's probably trying to tell him who's boss and put manners on him. When we acquired the latest resident last year at 14 weeks there was a bit of scuffling with the dominant male until she learned her place.

Your cat is not his mum but she's telling him that she's the one in charge. He's only little now but one day he'll be a hulking Tom cat and she wants him to know his place now.

Thanks @TheLongRider. I'm extra pleased with that because Cookie was bullied in the rescue by bigger cats so I'm glad she's more confident. (#ianthropomorphisemycat)

Also I wouldn't worry too much about the odd fight now and again.

My two, brother and sister, adore each other but occasionally have a full on fight with hissing spitting, the lot.

Then suddenly they are best friends again.

Thanks for the responses!

Any idea what I should do on Monday when I need to work?

Baby cat gets upset if alone, but I'm a little worried about leaving them unsupervised together.

Thinking something like a child's playpen and an anchored sheet to cover so he feels like he has company, but she can't accidentally hurt him in her enthusiasm?

I'd be surprised if she hurt him, you'd know if she got that mean look in her eye that meant she'd go for him. Make sure he's got a box to hide in. They'll probably ignore each other for most of the day while you're out.

It's a long time since I had a kitten, but when I did, I left her with my gorgeous Dcat gentle boy, who she was devoted to and she was as happy as Larry with him.

If you're happier leaving him in a pen, do that or as TheLongRider says, leave a box for him, so he can disappear into it when he wants to.

Long ago in the mists of time, we had an older cat, J, whose lovely peaceful life was interrupted by a trio of kittens. They just wanted to be friends and the most adventurous one walked up to him and tried to puck him under the chin. He received a bunch of claws to the nose and some new vocabulary to boot for his trouble.

The kittens mostly left J alone after that and played amongst themselves. Every now and then their paths would cross. One time a kitten was chasing his tail in a cardboard box when J walked past. J spotted the kitten, growled and stuck a paw into the box and swiped rapidly but ineffectually at the kitten who cowered but emerged unscathed and just as cheeky! This manoeuvre earned the title of "stirring the pot!"

The moral of the story is that a box is a good thing.

If they are fluffing up, posturing, yowling and manoeuvring around each other, it's a fight. Otherwise, don't worry

Nah, they cuddle each other when not fighting. I'll just leave out a box for him and she has the cat tree.

No fluffing up or posturing, just catty hi-jinks.

Thanks for the advice, lovely mumsnetters.

*wrestling - they're not fighting, I meant.

They sound fine then