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- Nov 9, 2021
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Things have been going rather well between our two cats now that it's been several weeks since our newest was adopted, aside for this one thing.
A few days ago, our resident cat (Annie, 8 months) has decided to start grooming our new cat (April, 10 months) whenever she gets close to her, but never seeks her out to groom her. Generally, April will let Annie groom her until she starts to bite which happens without fail every time, within the first few seconds of grooming. This grooming is only one-sided and Annie only ever grooms April's head/ears area.
I'm wondering if this is normal behaviour? Annie was adopted when she was 2 months old and therefore hasn't been socialised or raised with other cats, which I think made (and still makes) playing between the two of them complicated as Annie has no idea how to play with other cats anymore. The grooming-to-biting usually ends in a bit of a scuffle between them too as April will bite back (understandably so) and I have to break them up, but there's never any noises being made or other nastiness.
I've also read that cats have been known to groom other cats in areas where they're injured/infected etc. and I'm wondering if it could be that. I've noticed some dark spots on April's upper ears on the inside over the past few days and I have no idea what they are or if they're harmless. She doesn't necessarily overly-scratch, but she does scratch her ears a fair amount. We have a vet appointment booked for her for a general wellness check so it's something I'll bring up to the vet regardless, but thought I'd mention it here too.
A few days ago, our resident cat (Annie, 8 months) has decided to start grooming our new cat (April, 10 months) whenever she gets close to her, but never seeks her out to groom her. Generally, April will let Annie groom her until she starts to bite which happens without fail every time, within the first few seconds of grooming. This grooming is only one-sided and Annie only ever grooms April's head/ears area.
I'm wondering if this is normal behaviour? Annie was adopted when she was 2 months old and therefore hasn't been socialised or raised with other cats, which I think made (and still makes) playing between the two of them complicated as Annie has no idea how to play with other cats anymore. The grooming-to-biting usually ends in a bit of a scuffle between them too as April will bite back (understandably so) and I have to break them up, but there's never any noises being made or other nastiness.
I've also read that cats have been known to groom other cats in areas where they're injured/infected etc. and I'm wondering if it could be that. I've noticed some dark spots on April's upper ears on the inside over the past few days and I have no idea what they are or if they're harmless. She doesn't necessarily overly-scratch, but she does scratch her ears a fair amount. We have a vet appointment booked for her for a general wellness check so it's something I'll bring up to the vet regardless, but thought I'd mention it here too.