Cannot Figure Out Why My Kitten is Freaking Out

[ursulaandbuffy]

Hey guys

I posted on here a few weeks ago about my kittens Ursula and Buffy who have a few months in age difference (Ursula is the older one).  I took some advice and they have been doing really well lately.  They spend most of the day together... I hear a hiss maybe once a day at most.  But today and yesterday Ursula has been being WEIRD.  Sometimes she grooms Buffy and they sleep on the same tree a lot... but three times now she has freaked out and kind of growled/meowed at Buffy when Buffy wasn't even near her.  The first time, Ursula was laying in the hallway and Buffy went to walk around her (perhaps a foot away) and Ursula lashed out.  The second time, they were perhaps two feet apart and I went to go pick Buffy up and Ursula swung at us with claws (either me or Buffy I guess i'm not sure which).  And today, they were playing, and I had decided it was getting a little rough (Ursula was panting), so I separated them and picked up Ursula, who seemed okay with it, though was watching Buffy closely.  When Buffy jumped onto a table, Ursula howled and bit me, which she knows better than to do.

Is this normal?  Is Ursula just being moody?  Or could something be wrong?  In the second two situations she seemed a little tense before the incident, but I have gotten pretty good at reading her and was still totally surprised when she got so upset.  The first time was COMPLETELY weird.  Could this be some kind of anxiety?  Is she not as used to the newcomer (Buffy) as I thought?  They eat together and sleep in the same room a lot of the time and groom each other and even share a litter box sometimes, so I thought we were okay...

 

[shadowsrescue]

To me it sounds like they are still working out the hierarchy.  One of them will be alpha cat and sometimes this takes a bit of time to establish.  Just because one cat was there first doesn't mean that cat will end of alpha.  It is something the cats have to work through.  Once that is established, the cats will get along better as they know what is expected. 

It took my two males a solid year for the hissing to stop.  Once it was established who was alpha kitty, the hissing and other bad behaviors almost completely stopped.  Just give them time.  It does sound like things are going well for them.  If the play gets to rough just redirect with a toy or treat.  If needed you could separate them for awhile.