Expert: Jessica - 7/2/2010

Question
I just recently adopted a male kitten, about 2 months old. I already have a 3 year old cat, male, who has lived at my house as the only cat his whole life with us. Earlier today I witnessed him pouncing on top of my 2 month old male kitten and laying on top of him biting his neck. I wasn't sure if my older cat was trying to show dominance or trying to hurt my 2 month old kitten. The kitten was meowing, so I did separate the two. I just would like to know why my older cat is doing this and if its normal or if he is trying to hurt the kitten? Thank you very much for your time.

Answer
Hi Payton,

It sounds like your older cat was probably just wrestling.  You were right to separate the two since the kitten showed signs that your older one was being too rough.  There is quite a size difference there, and you will have to do some supervising over them for a couple of months.

There are times when a neutered male will mount another cat, male or female, as though to mate with them in an effort to show dominance.  They do grasp the other cat by the scruff of the neck while doing this.  Often the cat asserting dominance will make some funny vocalizations just before he decides to bite the cat, and then he straddles the cat's back.  He will typically do some fidgeting around with his hind legs, never letting go of the other cat's scruff.  The behavior is usually pretty harmless between two cats of the same size, and you should generally let the cats work out their dominance issues when possible, but since you have such a size difference here, certainly break it up.  I don't think any harm is intended by the older one's behavior, though.

If your older cat isn't neutered, however, I would definitely have that done.  Testosterone can cause aggression that will certainly get worse toward the kitten as he gets older.

Congratulations on your new addition!

Jessica