Expert: Jessica - 7/19/2011

Question
Hi Jessica,

I have a 2 year old male cat and a 16 week old male kitten. The 2 year old loves play fighting with the kitten, but seems to go too far sometimes and pretty much squashes him and keeps going even after the kitten's tail goes bushy and the kitten starts hissing. Is this a concern, or are they just getting to know each other? Should I be pulling them away from each other if it is only the kitten who is hissing? The older cat seems to be having the time of his life and has no idea he is hurting the kitten.

Thanks

Answer
Hi Caitlin,

Because of the size difference between the two, it is a concern. The older cat can easily hurt the little one without any such intentions. So you should carefully monitor any interactions for the next few months, or until your older cat has settled down, and always intervene when the bigger kitty seems to be getting too excitable. When you’re unable to supervise, keep the two in separate rooms.

While a hiss isn’t the end of the world, if the 2-year-old continues the behavior that is causing the younger one to feel so uncomfortable, it may start creating trust issues. If the little one develops a fear of the older one, that can be extremely difficult to reverse. The little one becomes defensive for "no reason" toward the big one, and the big one becomes defensive back. Then find yourself with two cats who have deep-seated aggression problems toward one another. So you want try to calm the older kitty before he reaches the point where he’s caused the youngster to hiss at him. See if you can do this by drawing their mutual attention toward an interactive toy or a healthy treat.

Good luck!

Jessica