- Joined
- Feb 25, 2019
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Hey, all. Before I start, I want to introduce my kitties, if that's alright.
We've got a 13 year old female Khao Manee, Noelle.
And a 1 year old orange Tabby kitten, Toby (Tobias).
When we first adopted Toby (he was about 4-5 months old) he was a sweet kitten. No real behavioral problems. We introduced him correctly to Noelle, and things were fine between them, even though Noelle liked to keep her distance a bit, still. We gave both of them lots of love, attention, and play time.
But as Toby got older, he started showing signs of what I thought to be sexual aggression. Going up to Noelle and jumping on her, sometimes biting her neck. Which was no big deal--we planned to have him fixed at the start of the year. Which we did. There's no issues with marking territory or hissing. They can be in the same room together. Noelle doesn't mind--until Toby gets too close.
It didn't stop after getting him fixed, though. Recently, I'm starting to think it's predatory aggression. Or maybe, he just wants to play or show dominance. He does love to track things, sneak up on Noelle, and jump her. He avidly watches birds and other small mammals, and has even caught a few mice. I don't mind it, I know it's natural behavior... but I don't want it directed at Noelle. She doesn't much care for playing, being older. But even expending Toby's energy with playing doesn't really deter him from it. So, I'm not really sure what to do. I just know that they could get along well, if Toby would stop. From past experience, Noelle's readiness to be in the same room is promising. I'm just not sure what to do to redirect Toby's interest of stalking. Any ideas or help is appreciated, of course.
We've got a 13 year old female Khao Manee, Noelle.
And a 1 year old orange Tabby kitten, Toby (Tobias).
When we first adopted Toby (he was about 4-5 months old) he was a sweet kitten. No real behavioral problems. We introduced him correctly to Noelle, and things were fine between them, even though Noelle liked to keep her distance a bit, still. We gave both of them lots of love, attention, and play time.
But as Toby got older, he started showing signs of what I thought to be sexual aggression. Going up to Noelle and jumping on her, sometimes biting her neck. Which was no big deal--we planned to have him fixed at the start of the year. Which we did. There's no issues with marking territory or hissing. They can be in the same room together. Noelle doesn't mind--until Toby gets too close.
It didn't stop after getting him fixed, though. Recently, I'm starting to think it's predatory aggression. Or maybe, he just wants to play or show dominance. He does love to track things, sneak up on Noelle, and jump her. He avidly watches birds and other small mammals, and has even caught a few mice. I don't mind it, I know it's natural behavior... but I don't want it directed at Noelle. She doesn't much care for playing, being older. But even expending Toby's energy with playing doesn't really deter him from it. So, I'm not really sure what to do. I just know that they could get along well, if Toby would stop. From past experience, Noelle's readiness to be in the same room is promising. I'm just not sure what to do to redirect Toby's interest of stalking. Any ideas or help is appreciated, of course.