How Concerned Should I Be If Kitten Shrieks While Wrestling With Adult?

[Cat_Herder]

Like I menentioned in another thread, Foxy is about 8 weeks old and came to us on Sunday. Our 2 year old cat, Kenna, was standoffish at first, but eventually stopped growling, and even allows Foxy to fake-nurse from her some of the time. Yesterday they slept together for several hours too.

But thanks to the increased familiarity, Kenna no longer fears Foxy. Now, during their high-energy periods of the day, they wrestle and bite each other a lot. Not in a hyper-aggressive way, but with Kenna being so much larger she quickly gains the upper hand, and often makes Foxy "cry uncle".

I usually clap at them when it happens, but I can't always be there. Should I be concerned?

 

[FeebysOwner]

The biggest indicator of whether or not this is a concern is how quickly Foxy is ready to re-engage with Kenna after a shrieking session. If you don't clap, what happens? Does/will Kenna let up? You might consider telling Kenna it is time for a break, and then simply separate them. No scolding or yelling, merely something like one would do with two kids who are wrestling and the elder one is overpowering the other.

As you said, Foxy is likely simply saying 'uncle' and if she recovers quickly and comes back for more, there is probably nothing to be concerned about. There is no fur flying or blood drawn, so Kenna is essentially beating her up because she can, or because she doesn't realize how much more powerful she is than Foxy. As their sizes become more comparable, I'd expect that to change.

You're the best judge. If you are overly concerned, keep them separated when you are not around for a while longer until Foxy grows some more.

 

[rubysmama]

Generally, an older cat will not intentionally harm a kitten. And at only 8 weeks, Foxy is still a very young kitten, so it could be that Kenna is teaching the young'un kitty etiquette when she seems a bit rough. Foxy shrieking and running off, is normal, but as FeebysOwner said, how long it takes her to return for more "fun" will be the guide for you as to whether she's enjoying the fun or is getting scared or stressed.

I also agree that you should keep them separated when there's no humans there to supervise, until Foxy is a bit bigger, or you're confident that Kenna won't be too rough with her.

Got any pics of them you can share?

 

[Cat_Herder]

More often than not, she doesn't leave Kenna's vicinity, and may even counterattack. It's kind of a mixed bag, as half the time when Foxy approaches it's actually to latch onto Kenna's teet.

 

[rubysmama]

Awww... so cute.

 

[lissalouie]

Another thing to keep in mind is that some cats are just naturally vocal during wrestling matches. This is likely not the case for your little babe, but it's something I like to remember in general. I currently have a five-year-old male cat who whines and cries whenever he is wrestling another cat (originally my late kitty Lou, now his new sister Maisie). Sometimes I'll hear him and run over to make sure everything is okay and he'll be the one instigating things--crying pathetically the whole time!

 

[Lulu&Finn]

I have two adult cats, a male, Finn and a female, Lulu. Finn was introduced to Lulu when she was a year and he was very young. He has always been a "shrieker" while play fighting with her. He is 4 lbs. bigger than her now and still does it.