Is my kitten being a bully

[Galacticfudge]

I have adopted 2 sibling kittens that were dumped on the street . They are about 10 weeks old . The boy is bigger and more energetic . He will play fight with his sister but that often leads to him pinning and bitting while she meows and hisses . She is never the aggressor and never gets the upper hand. Other then this they are inseparable . Should I break them up when he progresses to get to rough or break them up when he starts to play ? I don't want to impede there growth and understand that kittens learn from this sort of thing. I have linked a video . Thank you a
cats fighting

 

[UnoMama]

Awww…. They’re so cute !!! love this age!
Here’s what I can make out from the video …

- yes the smaller cat isn’t as into the fighting as the bigger one. She’s not necessarily having fun, and she’s letting him know
- he doesn’t seem to be harming her though. He lets her get up and walk away. It’s not a particularly violent situation, at least yet

As of now I’d let them work this out, because it’s not really possible or even right for you to stop their interaction. Good chance that as she catches up on growth she’ll give as good as she gets, or find other ways of managing the interactions - my (slightly) smaller kitty is ridiculously fast for instance, leaves his brother in the dust!
And yes, kittens do learn hunting skills from this so it’s important to let them interact!

 

[UnoMama]

One watchout though - if you hear any hissing or growling, or LOUD yelps or any signs of distress (trust me, they'll be a lot more audible and obvious) ... BREAK THEM UP. You dont' want them getting into a serious fight and even unknowingly harming each other ... it'll be a vet visit for you, and some loss of trust between them (which they can recover, but why chance it)

 

[klunick]

I agree with UnoMama . They are just fighting like brother and sister. He isn't hurting her but probably annoying her. My two do the same thing and the boy is 7lbs heavier than my girl so it's pretty unfair. But... the girl instigates it a lot of the times so what she gets is probably deserved. You will be able to tell if "play fighting" turns into "real fighting" by how the girl acts/sounds. Break that up immediately and separate them for a while. Kind of like a reset for the two of them. Your boy will learn just how far he can take it with his sister and hopefully the girl will one day stand up to her brother and try to take the advantage in their tussles.

 

[vince]

Kitten play looks worse than it is. Others here have said, "If you have to ask, it's just play."

She'll probably even the score later.

 

[di and bob]

Perfectly normal, females are a little more 'gentle', but believe me when they grow up she will rule the roost. If she starts hiding and avoids him, THAT means he is truly hurting her, if she runs but comes right back, or doesn't avoid him, he is being very annoying, but not truly hurting her. All kittens, scream, hiss, etc. when play fighting. This is how they learn limits and manners. They sound like they are killing each other. He could hurt her badly if he wanted, there would be deep puncture wounds with lots of blood, believe me, i have been bit by kittens younger than this and they can cause a lot of damage.
Get a kickeroo (a long, catnip-infused toy) on amazon and throw it towards him when he is being aggressive, it gets rid of a LOT of energy!

 

[vince]

Kickers are good. You can throw them, use them as a surrogate hand or arm, or tie a cord on them and use them as a pursuit toy. Most cats like them. A lot. You can even make one out of a couple old sweat socks one inside the other and tied into knots.

 

[danteshuman]

I was going to suggest looping a cord around a kickeroo or kicker toy & dragging it ; that way your male kitten has a toy to attack instead. (Just never let them have the cord without supervision!)

So I fostered 3 kittens. I adopted one boy & my mom adopted the other two (a boy & a girl.)They are 3 years old & the boy still bugs his sister when he gets bored. Lots of play & a weekly visit with my boy helps (so the brother has a wrestle buddy.) The boy’s play looks like fighting but the girl is not afraid of her brothers at all....... she just gets annoyed with them sometimes! However she loves it when I grab a wand toy in each hand or lock the boys out to give her some one on one play!

I would suggest you play with both kittens one on one, twice a day & maybe once a day together. Hanging bird feeders in view of screened window is always good for cats mentally. You can try harness training them (or just the boy) & letting him hunt outside a bit. A catio would be ideal but isn’t always possible. If you see him eyeing his sister, you can try distracting him with play. Hexabug mice are great for entertaining active cats. Clicker training & puzzle feeders are good to. You have to tire their minds to tire their bodies.