Expert: Jessica - 6/1/2010

Question
Hello,

I have just recently gotten a new kitten and I have a one year old tabby cat named Remy. When I brought her home Remy was hissing and growling at her but now it is a week later and he loves to play with her. I have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that they will get use to each other which is why he is enjoying her company. Remy is very rough with the new kitten she is only 6 weeks old. We found her abandoned by her mother and took her in, she is now very healthy and is very playful. Remy is neutered and we are going to get the new kitten spayed as soon as she is old enough. My question is that Remy plays with her but he play very rough with her and chases her. He never hisses at her and he never extends his claws in aggression. He rubs on her and everything and she plays with him too in the same way by chasing him but then he gets really rough by wrestling with her and biting her, not aggressively from what I can tell. When he does this she cries and yells. I break it up immediately with a spray bottle but she acts as if she is fine when it's over. I'm afraid to let this go on because I don't want him to hurt her since she is so young. I'm still unsure if he is playing with her or if he is hurting her. Is this normal? If there is anything you can suggest I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Breanna.  It sounds like Remmy is probably just playing, but he doesn't know his own strength.  Because there IS such a size difference, he can do her harm even though he's just playing.  It's important to monitor their interaction with each other and to separate them when you aren't there to supervise until the kitten is bigger.  Break things up when Remmy gets a little rough, and keep the kitten closed in a separate room any time you aren't home until she's about 3-4 months old.  I'm sure Remmy has no intentions of hurting her, but an accidental injury can definitely occur and will be just as harmful.

Congratulations on your new addition!

Jessica