How to stop my 4 month old resident kitten from playing too rough with my new, 2 month old kitten.

[shaysoo]

Hello! My family recently adopted a handsome little tuxie named Louis last month. He is now almost 16-weeks-old. Every kitten in his litter had already been adopted up and I felt bad about adopting him alone so we wanted to get him a friend to play with. Just this Monday we brought home an 8-week-old siamese sweetheart named Luna. She immediately hissed and growled at our dog and Louis. I understand that she is very young and has been brought to a very unfamiliar and probably very scary new place so I'm not concerned about that. I keep her in my room, separate from the other pets, and supervise them when they're together. Our dog is gentle with cats so Luna has gotten more comfortable around her and the hissing has stopped. However, Louis constantly plays too rough with Luna--to the point where he pins her down and she starts screaming bloody murder as he bites her. I have tried making loud noises and distracting him with every toy at my disposal, but I just can't get his attention off of her when he gets so excited. I have to physically separate them every time.

I read online that letting them interact only a few times a day might be making things worse because then he sees visiting her as "play-time" and gets too excited. But I just don't know how to keep his attention off of her. Should I continue having longer supervised play sessions so the allure of playing with "fresh meat" wears off?

I know it's only been a few days and that this process takes time, but it feels like I'm seeing no progress, and the idea of her not being able to tolerate him and enjoy his company breaks my heart a little. Does anyone have any ideas for how I can make her more comfortable in his presence?

 

[MDPNymfa]

@shaysoo!

Please check out this post: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You're going to have to monitor them fairly closely for a while yet. Make sure that Luna has places to get away from Louis until this settles out. It's likely going to be a reasonably long introduction in terms of monitoring, simply because he is, currently, so much larger and stronger than she is. And Luna is still a wee bit too young to be away from mama. They are going to get along eventually. I have only once in 68 years of dealing with cats seen a pair of kittens who could not get along, and I'm certain from other issues that the aggressive kitten had neurological issues. Louis is just a kid, and full of himself.

 

[ArtNJ]

[QUOTE="shaysoo, post: 5334788, member: 10058188"
I read online that letting them interact only a few times a day might be making things worse because then he sees visiting her as "play-time" and gets too excited. But I just don't know how to keep his attention off of her. Should I continue having longer supervised play sessions so the allure of playing with "fresh meat" wears off?
[/QUOTE]

Since you've already done a few days in a safe room, and the little sounds adjusted to you, thats what I would do, just let them work things out. They will be friends before you know it. As Mamanyt1953 mentioned, kittens this age always get there eventually.

I know a screaming kitten is very distressing, but the fact is that some kittens are just a lot more dramatic about things than others. Oh, don't get me wrong, the big kitten is probably causing some actual discomort, on the level of a head noogie or indian sunburn, but thats as far as these things go. Most kittens react to that with hissing. Some scream bloody murder at the same treatment. The smaller one won't actually be hurt; you won't find wounds (although an accidental scratch on a nose or ear is possible). Within a few days of togetherness, you'll likely see the smaller one initiate play sometimes, and that they come out of hiding and act like nothing happened minutes after rough play stops. Which tells you that all is well, even if the protest noises don't stop right away.

I don't much see the point in a weeks long introduction process with kittens this age. A few minute sessions here or there doesn't help things, just as you've noticed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Just a couple of comments - 1.) As mentioned above, until she reaches a size that is more comparable to his, I would supervise and separate them when you feel it is beginning to concern you - or, you think she has had enough. 2.) If she starts showing any signs of fear when he is around, then you might have to consider keeping them separated most of the time. No harm in using a baby gate or door barrier (as discussed in the Introduction article above) so that they can see each other, but she needs to feel confident that she is not going to be repeatedly attacked every time he sees her. Either way, once she catches up on the size difference, hopefully she will let him know when to back off with a few swats!

 

[shaysoo]

Thank you all for your replies. It's been two weeks since we've brought her home and they are pretty much inseparable now. She's gotten a bit bigger and stronger and is able to put him in his place more. I think it took about 2-3 days of longer supervised play sessions to get them more used to each other. It just required patience which I don't have very much of LOL.

Overall, I'm so glad we decided to get a second kitty. They entertain each other for hours on end and there's less mischief. Plus, it's TWICE the cuteness.