Kitten Behaviour & Not Getting Along

hi im new here & desperate for advice.

2 weeks ago we were given a kitten, he was 6 weeks old I didn’t realise he was so young. He’s beautiful & we adore him but he’s so vicious - I know this is mainly play but me and my children are covered in bites and scratches. We play with him constantly, he has a cat tree, toys and constant stimulation but he doesn’t stop. So we figured maybe if he had another kitten to play with it’d help him..

They don’t get along, we kept them separate for a week, let them sniff in the carriers swapped blankets etc. I’m unsure if they’re playing or actually fighting. It does look quite vicious sometimes so I separate them. they’re in different rooms but this is getting difficult now because our new kitten wants out.


I’ve spent most of the day in tears because I’m being attacked constantly and ending up having to shut him away for a while for him to calm down.

Hi! Here are my thoughts;
Without his mama to help make him behave, you're going to have to step in as his mama.
Literally hiss, loudly and with conviction, when he's doing anything you don't want.
Fill an empty can half full with coins, and give that a loud strong shake when he starts doing something you don't want - with the idea of re-wiring his little brain and teaching him to stop, along with a hiss and/or a loud firm NO.

If you don't have one, use a wand style toy to keep your arms and hands out of harms way.
Also, do you have some kickaroo type toys?

If you can, get a video of the two kittens playing and post that here - there are lots of members very familiar with kitten behavior and they can give you more insight as to whether these two felines are really intending to murder each other, or hopefully just being over-exuberant little brats...

Hello and welcome to TCS. These days the recommendation is to keep kittens with their mom and siblings until 12 weeks, so that they have time to learn cat manners. Since your kitten was given to you at only 6 weeks, as Furballsmom mentioned, you now become his mama.

How old is the 2nd kitten? And how long have you had him/her? Some of their "fighting" is likely mock fighting, and eventually the 2nd kitten will probably teach the 1st kitten those cat manners.

Here's a TCS article on How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight. At the very end it mentions "mock fighting".

And here's an article on Teach Your Kitten How to Play Nice : The Humane Society of the United States

Thank you for your replies. I did try to post a video but it’s too big. I’ve actually let them together properly now and they’re the best of friends, think keeping them apart was actually making it worse.
Merlin (the new kitten) has actually been teaching Marley how to be a cat and he’s stopped attacking me now he has a friend

Im worried now though as Merlin looks a bit different “down there” ..

Are they neutered? Can you post pics just because we love cute kitten pics?

Ah the penny can. I put 5-10 pennies in a coke can and duct taped the top. Then I placed a penny cat in each room because my cat was a mini terrorist! To be fair if no blood, fur pulling or cat growling sounds..... I would let the kittens be. If teeth or claw attacks happen on the humans I would say no & hiss... then ignore the little booger for a half hour. If a kitten is hunting you, throw a toy. If the kitten attacks say ow very loudly then shake the can.

It takes time and patience but they will learn.

Hi, thanks for the reply. They’re not neutered just yet but will be as soon as possible. They’re getting along perfectly now and

Woops posted too soon.

Marley has calmed down a lot but he is still quite vicious to me at times will definitely try the can sounds like a good idea.

Here are pics sorry for so many but I’m in love haha

Marley gets rocked to sleep in my arms bless him he loves cuddles

Awwwwwww adorable

They are still small. So I would bet money it isn't about being neutered. They probably are just cute young kittens learning each other's limits and getting a little rough when playing. Also kittens have to learn how to pull back the teeth/claws when playing with the furless humans

I agree with the above, the kitten is likely just playing and testing its limits.

My kitten was a devious creature. I found her at about the same age, only 4 weeks old. So she also wasn't old enough to have received any instruction from her mom.

She loved my resident adult cat, but showed her affection in the worst ways... pounced on the older cat, literally tore fur out of her neck, bit her ears. Not out of aggression, but through play. It took several weeks of the older cat showing her what to do/what not to do in order for the kitty to calm down. The kitten is now a year old and much gentler.

Since you don't have an adult kitty to teach your kitten some manners, you can teach it what to do based on your mannerisms. If the kitten hurts you while playing, set it to the side and stop playing with it. (Don't pull your hand away quickly, as this may encourage the kitty. It'll think that its prey is getting away and try harder.) Setting the kitten to the side and leaving the room will show it that you don't like to play like that.

As for when the two kittens play, I didn't separate my cats unless there was blood (which there never was) or hair flying, or a lot of noise. At first I'd separate them at the slightest hint of noise, but then I found that when I did that, my older kitty wasn't given enough opportunity to teach my younger kitty that she was playing too aggressively. So I just monitored their playing, and if the noise/scuffle got too heated, I'd separate them at that point.

Not sure if anyone above has mentioned this, but to teach your kitten not to scratch your hands, you shouldn't let it play with your hands. Use wand toys, toss balls for it to chase, etc. (I don't mind the scratches, so I just let my kitten play with my hands. She's learned only to scratch me when playing, not other people. She's gentle with everyone else.)

Awww.... adorable pictures.