3 year old gets to aggressive when playing with 1 year old

[HoneyPeppa]

We got the 1 year old last year as a 3 month old partly to keep 3yr company and give her someone to play with.
We did the correct procedures for slowly introducing them and it went great! They get along great. Except when playing. In the beginning 3yr would relentlessly hunt and attack the new kitten. It seemed like her trying to play but with years of pent up energy and no regards for the kittens safety or wellbeing. The kitten would be giving all signs of distress, such as screaming her little head off like she was being murdered, and 3yr would never listen or back off even slightly. She would purposely corner her and trap her so she had no chance of getting away.

Kitten was only 2 lbs so we were scared 3yr would accidentally hurt her this way. We resigned to monitoring them at all times to be able to split them up when things get too rough. We separate them when we leave. I thought this would only be until the kitten got big enough for the fight to be fair, but now that shes 1yr old this problem hasn't changed. Shes roughly 8lbs now and 3yr is 12lbs.

3 yr still gets way too aggressive. If we don't intervene she just will have the 1yr cornered/pinned down screaming with no way to get away. She goes for the neck a lot of the time and I think it would be easy for her to accidentally bite the smaller ones neck too hard. Sometimes they pull out tufts of fur. The little one always bounces back pretty fast after getting the bigger one off her and I know they are technically playing and not fighting. But I just wish the older one would listen to the little ones signs to back off and be a little more gentle so we can stop worrying about the little ones safety. They both really need to play with each other for their mental and physical healths.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Love on the little one a lot so it can maintain/grow its confidence. Also play with them a lot, separately and together - see if you can not only begin a pattern of playtime and playing where the older one doesn't see the little one as prey but rather a playtime partner so to speak, and also to wear down the older cat's energy, with play, try taking it for walks, and more play

 

[ArtNJ]

When you say she "bounces back pretty quick" to me, that means she is getting a benefit out of the relationship. Big bro is a bit of a bully, but she still likes having him around. Many human siblings have the same kind of relationship, and this is super common in cat relationships. If she doesn't have actual wounds and isnt holding a grudge, you can let them be together nights and such. Should help their overall relationship as well, since if you limit the time, its more of a treat for the big one, and the little one less frequently sees chill big cat. You can, of course, give the little one a break when she seems particularly miserable but your supervision isn't always needed.

Bottom line, let the little one decide whether this is a problem or not. She will show you by her behavior when the rough play is done.