fighting or playing?

[jacksmom]

Hi Pam,

Sometimes my 5yr old and 4 mo. old male kittys get along.  The older one sometimes lavishes young one with baths. 

Othertimes he hisses .  The baby is so pushy and aggressive (both are fixed) that he will get "pounded" and keep coming back for more.

I try not to interfer unless there is yelling (the older one eventually '"yells").  The baby seems to be OK .  I worry more about Jack -5yr old- because as Petey gets bigger he will be able to dish out the abuse more  and he always starts it.  He sometimes ends up in "time out" in a room by himself.  How do I know when to intervene? What should I do ?

jm

 

[johnson-bennett]

If you can, it would be good interfere when you see things might start heading in a negative direction. The more often they associate each other with playtime and fun, the better. If it gets to the point of one cat yelling then that's extremely stressful (to both cats). So if you see them interacting and it looks as if someone is getting a little too revved up or someone has that look of trouble in his eyes, redirect with someone positive. For example, if they're in the middle of playtime and thing are getting out of hand or one cat is constantly being the "victim" then roll a ping pong ball along the floor or toss out a fuzzy mouse -- anything that will cause them to focus on something other than each other. If one cat is minding his own business and the other cat starts approaching and his body posture suggests something negative, redirect his attention with a toy.

Whenever you can put a cat in prey-drive, you trigger the release of the good brain chemicals and stop the release of the stress hormone, cortisol.

Pam Johnson-Bennett, CCBC

www.catbehaviorassociates.com