Fighting Or Playing?

[valorrego]

Hi all,

My roommate and I currently have two kittens. The younger kitten (Rick) is about 8-9 weeks old. I found him in the streets, took him in and have had him for four weeks now. The other kitten (Nova) is about 3 months old. Over the 4 weeks we slowly introduced them to each other, it was only until last week that we let them interact and play around. The younger kitten does most of the chasing, however when the older kitten chases and wrestles him Rick begins to hiss and scream. I always supervise and can say that Nova is not being rough nor hurting Rick. Can someone explain this behavior and what I should do?

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[Ceracera]

I think they're playing. The older kitten stops when the younger one screams. In a real fight, they won't stop and the one being hurt usually fights back or runs away; and the body language would be different too.

 

[danteshuman]

I think they are playing & your little guy hates to loose. It might be best to break up fights before they start for a couple of months, until he matches the older kitten more in size. They need lots of play time, with toys. One thing kittens teach each other is not to bite to hard when playing. When your kitten is getting on his back, he is telling the other cat he wants to play.

 

[StefanZ]

The laying on back is normally a strong defensive position. But he is too little and weak as yet to hold his own his perimeter. That is why he screams some. Its normal play behavior. But good you are supervising!

 

[susanm9006]

Absolutely playing with complaining by the little guy when the older cat gets the best of him. While it sounds bad, it really is still play and the older isn't really hurting him. If he was the kitten would be racing away not laying on his back waiting for more. It's fine to intervene if you are getting annoyed by the noise but they will be okay if you don't.