Hi everyone!
So a few months ago I adopted a litter of 3 kittens, with their mother, and they all learned to play rough but within limits. Out of the 3 kittens (2 male, 1 female), one was a bit of a runt (male), and would usually get bullied by the other two larger siblings, but momma cat would come and put a stop to it. As the weeks went on, they learned to play rough but without hurting each other, and the runty cat reached the other two in size and strength.
Mom was sent back to her original home when the kittens were 12 weeks old, and they've played nicely with each other ever since. Except for the runt, the past few days he's been playing much more aggressively where his two other siblings will yelp loudly and he will not back down, until the victim manages to escape and run out of the room.
This is very sudden, and it's been going on for the past 3-4 days. They still groom each other, and are generally very close, but when it comes to play time, he just takes it too far.
I am taking them to be neutered/spayed this week, but I'm wondering, could this sudden behavior be related to hormones? Or what can I do to make him not hurt his siblings and return to playing as they used to? He's also started biting my ankles a bit hard out of nowhere. There's no other behavior changes that would indicate him being stressed out.
Thanks in advance.
So a few months ago I adopted a litter of 3 kittens, with their mother, and they all learned to play rough but within limits. Out of the 3 kittens (2 male, 1 female), one was a bit of a runt (male), and would usually get bullied by the other two larger siblings, but momma cat would come and put a stop to it. As the weeks went on, they learned to play rough but without hurting each other, and the runty cat reached the other two in size and strength.
Mom was sent back to her original home when the kittens were 12 weeks old, and they've played nicely with each other ever since. Except for the runt, the past few days he's been playing much more aggressively where his two other siblings will yelp loudly and he will not back down, until the victim manages to escape and run out of the room.
This is very sudden, and it's been going on for the past 3-4 days. They still groom each other, and are generally very close, but when it comes to play time, he just takes it too far.
I am taking them to be neutered/spayed this week, but I'm wondering, could this sudden behavior be related to hormones? Or what can I do to make him not hurt his siblings and return to playing as they used to? He's also started biting my ankles a bit hard out of nowhere. There's no other behavior changes that would indicate him being stressed out.
Thanks in advance.