Kitten going for the throat

[Enderunicorn]

Of our older (5yo) cat. We did introduction's slowly over weeks and weeks. Older cat hissed at kitten though went out of his way not to be physical. Kitten is now I think scared of older cat and will go straight for his chest/throat the second they're in a room together. Older cat literally just wants kitten to leave him alone, he's not aggressive but understandably hates being ambushed. Kitten has been neutered, separate resources, calming treats. How can we improve this situation? They're currently having to time share the house

Just to add at first kitten was trying to play but now I'm fairly sure it's fear driven aggression.

Is the kitten hissing, spitting or growling?

If you watch kittens play, they are learning hunting skills by stalking, ambushing, pouncing on and biting their fellow litter mates (and mum if she puts up with it) and a throat bite is a skill they need to learn for hunting.

Your kitten doesn't have litter mates to play with now, so your adult cat is getting the brunt of it all. Some adult cats will put up with loads of torment from kittens and won't tell them off.

I would play with you kitten so that he is very tired and then put the cats together again. A stick with a string and a fluffy toy would be ideal. Once the kitten is tired and then fed, he really should be much less energetic and also sleepy. Play regularly so that your adult cat doesn't get the full on kitten games.

They do normally grow out of this.

It's just play - and it's why people are always encouraged to get two kittens - so they fight with each other and leave your older cats/ankles alone

No to be fair none of those things but he does seem more anxious around my other cat now.

We do play with him so so much, laser pens, toys on sticks, ball runs. I try and exhaust him before I put them together but he goes straight for my poor older boy's ruff every time. He took a chunk of fur off last time.

It definitely doesn't sound like aggression then, have you tried the Feliway Friends plugin?

Argh. I think because I got my older boy with his sister we breezed through kitten phase. I'd get another kitten but I worry at this point I could end up with two kittens harassing him instead of one.

@GalileoHumpkins
It's the fact that he's gone from watching him and stalking to going straight for the throat literally the second he sees him now. I even had to plates of fresh cooked fish I was putting on the floor as a treat and kitten went for throat when I pick him up his heart is absolutely pounding too. Will try feliway friends, I tried a different brand plug in before and I've tried calm cat treats.

Kittens can be absolute dicks

We have a solo kitten at the moment - we weren't planning on it but he was rejected by his mum so we took him at six weeks. He pesters my older cats constantly - dive-bombs them, ambushes them, pounces on them - they're incredibly tolerant of him but he's taken bits of fur out and can easily draw blood.

It's not aggression though - it is one hundred percent play. It's just kittens play like absolute hooligans and have no concept of being calm, lol.

@andrainwillmaketheflowersgrow
Do you do anything to manage them? I don't feel like I can let them out unsupervised at the same time at the moment and honestly it's crap!

No - they're just left to get on with it.

When it gets too much, the older boys will bat the kitten away or pin him on the floor and he seems to understand that means "stop" and will pack it in until the next time.

They have plenty of places they can go to avoid him if they want, though - lots of high up places that he can't reach yet.

He sounds like a normal kitten to me.
The Mum normally teaches them to regulate their behaviour, with a quick cuff, so they understand how far to go .It can be very intense for a while.
They need to learn pecking order.
My husband's cat had kittens years ago, and when they got too rough their mum would pick each kitten up and almost spank them It was amazing to see and really worked.They grew into lovely calm friendly cats.Kept with Mum for about 4 months, although she was heartily sick of them by then.She was spayed shortly after 😻

@andrainwillmaketheflowersgrow
At first there were places kitten couldn't reach, he couldn't get over stairgates either so cat had some safe spots but now he can and does get everywhere and it's definitely made it worse that there is nowhere the cat can escape to.

That will make it harder but your kitten is just behaving like a kitten - he's not doing anything wrong or bad, he just wants to play.

You say you play with him but does he have toys he can play with his on his own too?

My cats used to do this to each other all the time - they're 4 now and still occasionally play fight until one of them goes too far. They're often quite damp round the neck and this is a favourite place for mouthing -but never any actual harm.
Try Feliway. Playing with your kitten is good and maybe add some more hidey places for your older cat. Cats eyesight is highly attuned to movement - so something like a box works well. My younger cats are still a bit arsey with my older cat, but she sleeps in a box, on a blanket that's the same colour as her and they only see her when she gets out.

Yes loads both downstairs and in his room, be plays with those a lot too, especially the springs and the ball maze.

My kitten does the same but is largely thwarted by the 13 year old cat who gives her a slap and a hiss in the face if she goes too far. But they can be very silly chasing each other round the house too.

Ultimately, there's not really much you can do about the behaviour - he's just a kitten being a kitten. He's just trying to play - he's not doing anything "wrong" which is probably why your older cat isn't really telling him off properly - unfortunately that may not be helping the situation.

I think the main reason our kitten is starting to calm down is because he does get told off. Not aggressively or nastily - but our older boys are quite happy to tell him to piss off when they've had enough. They pin him, or cuff him, or grab him by the scruff. While it's not the perfect solution, he does understand what it means and does pack it in when told.

Almost certainly the older cat will handle it by giving the kitten a good smack if it goes to far. You probably need to leave them to it until they sort out the pecking order. Older cat will usually come out on top.

Edit: Obviously separate them if you think it's out of hand.

It just feels so one sided, my older cat just wants to get away and kitten won't let him. He's so reluctant to retaliate against kitten that he ends up miserable.

@plumtreebroke
Older cat is v reluctant to retaliate, clearly just wants kitten to leave him alone. Kitten always seems to 'win' because older cat doesn't want to attack, he's such a gentle boy.

This afternoon I let them together and first thing that happens the second that the older cat steps downstairs kitten pins older cat to floor, older cat freaked out yowled and ran away. Maybe part of problem is my older boy doesn't have any interest in putting kitten in his place?

Yes, I suspect this is the problem. Kitten has nobody to teach him that it's unacceptable so he just keeps doing it.

How old was he when he was taken from his mum and siblings, do you know?

@andrainwillmaketheflowersgrow
He was 12 weeks old. I do suspect my older boy was not the dominant cat previously and that his sister was the boss.