Kitten Without A Voice, Older Male Trying To Crush Him, Literally

[wannahelp]

I've recently (two dys ago) moved a formerly feral kitten (approx. 6-8 months) into the house from a closed off room of the house. My female is still hissing but I knew she would be difficult. Ideally, I wanted to wait until the hissing stopped but I am having an issue with a home repair issue and I had to move him.

The two males are startin to play more aggressively-wrestling, etc. I am concerned for a few reasons: one-the older male is much bigger and stronger, about twice the weight of the kitten; 2-on two occasions I caught my male sitting on the kitten, crushing him, while the kitten wihipered and struggled to breathe; 3-the kitten doesn't seem to have a voice. He wimpers but he cannot meow or make any noises. He does purr but that's it.

Why is the older male sitting on the kitten and trying to crush him?
Why can't this kitten meow?

 

[ArtNJ]

Pinning is pretty normal in play. If the kitten is not avoiding/hiding from the older cat, all is good.

Normally a pinned kitten might squeal a bit in that situation, but you wouldn't necessarily get any growling or hissing from him. Growling and hissing is for stress, and usually the pinned kitten is just uncomfortable, like a younger brother getting an indian sunburn. So you might get the "you stepped on my tail" type noise.

2 days is not a lot. Once he learns the routines and gets comfortable, he'll likely be meowing at the food dish is my guess. He may not be growling or hissing (kittens usually dont) but meowing takes a little comfort and confidence...give it time.

 

[di and bob]

Cats don't usually meow to each other, only to humans. There will be hissing, growling, swatting, etc. especially from the female, because she is the home rule enforcer, they all are, and will teach the boys manners and limits, that is what she does. Pinning the kitten is teaching him limits, he must be annoying the older male. It is instinct to create a 'pecking order' in a house, and all newcomers will be subject to the rules of their house. I agree with the post above, if he is not avoiding his 'big brother' and approaches him to play, everything is normal. Your older male almost sees him as a toy, something exciting, a new playmate, so may get carried away for awhile and stalk and jump on him. It will all straighten out. Some of their play will seem too rough, and if active biting or growling and scratches that bring blood come out, (some small scratches may happen, normal) by all means step in and stop it, make it known you will not accept that type of behavior, I have grabbed an older cat by the loose skin on the back of the neck and pinned them down, saying NO loudly, that is what mama cats do and is very effective if you can't get him to stop. Keep us posted!

 

[KatKnapper]

I bet seeing this for the first time kind of makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Mine sure did. First time I saw this was when a huge male stray newcomer literally pinned a young outdoor female to the ground by clasping his teeth around her throat as he stood over her. She just laid there limp and whimpering. I freaked out and intervened, frightening the male off her. It came to light later, that this female had been abandoned. I was fortunate to have the local Humane Society take her in. I waited while they took her into an exam room. The staff quickly returned and said, "Sir, your female tabby is actually a male tabby!" This was my first lesson on this feline pecking order behavior. It then came clear to me as I observed this male newcomer closer, that he strutted around the other outdoor cats as though they were minions or just didn't exist. They would even move aside as he walked by them.
I got this male neutered and he is now with me indoors, and being introduced to another, the dominant male resident. A few months later, I found myself taking in a 7-month-old spirited female. Here I am introducing three cats to one another at the same time. Well, the little one got the slip on me twice and ran into the big cat's (whom I titled Prince) area. Twice now he pounced and rolled her up into a little ball and wrapped himself around her, as she's frantically squealing like a little pig. I'm sorry, but I still cannot sit idly by and watch the Prince do this. I feel I am forced to pull him off her and risk a vet visit.
She and the resident are pals now. He is believed to be a mature cat (5 - 7 years). They both get to sparing and wrestling with one another in a playful way, and I will catch him pinning her to the floor. Sometimes it gets a little rough and I hear the squealing, rush in and break them up. She is a couple or three months older now, larger, and faster than "greased lightning" with unparalleled energy (but no match for the Prince's brute force and agility though he's a much much larger kitty.) I have caught her attempting to pin the resident cat. Sometimes he is the one squealing and running for cover to get away from her as he is exhausted. She also is quite fond of taunting the Prince, knowing that he can't get to her...yet. He has that look about him that says, "I am patient. Soon I will show you who is boss."
My little female at 6 - 7 months also had no "meow" voice. She would make other little raspy sounds and chirps like her vocals were defective. The resident is naturally quite, while the Prince will drive you bonkers meowing and making that gut-wrenching cry like you're breaking his heart. I watched her learn from him. She is now one little expert drama queen.

 

[Caspers Human]

My former cats, “Spike” and “Jerry” used to do this.

Spike was a big Van cat, a big, 20 pound Tom and Jerry was a little grey kitten, half his size. Jerry was also semi-feral but he acclimated well.

Spike and Jerry would often play rough. They would often wrestle at 3:00 a.m.
Jerry would mount these fly-by attacks where he would run by at top speed and dive at Spike even though he was outweighed, two-to-one.

When Spike got tired of Jerry’s antics he would often just pin him down and sit on him. When Jerry squealed in submission they would break up and go their own way but, a few hours later, they would start all over again.

This was an almost daily occurrence so, if they didn’t like each other they wouldn’t be doing something like this. You might expect them to walk wide circles around each other if they didn’t get along.

It sounds like your cats are behaving like Spike and Jerry did.

I wouldn’t worry too much unless the fur actually flies.

 

[wannahelp]

You’ve seen bigger cats sitting on smaller ones and pinning them face down? The male literally just up amd sits on the kitten.
I’ve seen cats wrestle andnplay before but this is something else. It is disturbing to see because it doesn’t look like play. It does look more like a dominance behavior or attempted homicide.
To me, it seems unprovoked and the older male will do it repeatedly, to the point that I’m following them around the house until I am completely frustratd, at which point somebody ends up locked in a room. It does worry me, normal or not. I used to watch my male get pixked om by Bengals. Cats don’t have a sense of when they have gone too far.

 

[ArtNJ]

Yes, we already told you its normal. Is the smaller male afraid of him? Does he run away on sight?

If there is stress, that can be its own issue. But this is not how the bigger cat would go about it if he actually wanted to hurt the smaller. If there are no signs of stress apart from when it is actually happening, then the smaller male is ok. He may dislike it intensely, but if he isn't actually showing signs of significant stress, you have to let them do their thing.

 

[Caspers Human]

You’ve seen bigger cats sitting on smaller ones and pinning them face down? The male literally just up amd sits on the kitten.

Yes. That is exactly what I am saying.

Furthermore, Jerry would instigate these wrestling matches with Spike full-well knowing that Spike was going to sit on him yet he still did it.

If Jerry was getting hurt or if Jerry thought Spike was being unfair or over dominant he would have walked a wide circle around Spike but, as I said, this was an almost daily occurrence.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My former cats, “Spike” and “Jerry” used to do this.
...

When Spike got tired of Jerry’s antics he would often just pin him down and sit on him. When Jerry squealed in submission they would break up and go their own way but, a few hours later, they would start all over again.

This was an almost daily occurrence so, if they didn’t like each other they wouldn’t be doing something like this. You might expect them to walk wide circles around each other if they didn’t get along.

It sounds like your cats are behaving like Spike and Jerry did.

I wouldn’t worry too much unless the fur actually flies.

You’ve seen bigger cats sitting on smaller ones and pinning them face down? The male literally just up amd sits on the kitten.
I’ve seen cats wrestle andnplay before but this is something else. It is disturbing to see because it doesn’t look like play. It does look more like a dominance behavior or attempted homicide.
To me, it seems unprovoked and the older male will do it repeatedly, to the point that I’m following them around the house until I am completely frustratd, at which point somebody ends up locked in a room. It does worry me, normal or not. I used to watch my male get pixked om by Bengals. Cats don’t have a sense of when they have gone too far.

I don't have a multi-cat household, never have. So, with that caveat, I'll say that I have seen enough of all of my cats playing with stuffed animal toys over the years to realize that this is an instinctual thing for them. My cats have often tussled with their "prey", then sat on them. Cats & kittens often sit on prey to immobilize them - usually just prior to further play and/or bunny-kicking, but sometimes too just to end the play session. Your 6-8 month old male kitten will eventually learn how to extricate himself when he is sat upon, I think. The cats are learning each other's social behaviors right now, and perhaps your larger male cat is just sitting on the younger cat to "tell" him to quit wriggling around, playing around, or following him around -- as he is not in the mood for it.

 

[Caspers Human]

Cats & kittens often sit on prey to immobilize them...

Agreed.

My cat, “K.C.” used to do that when he caught mice.

He’d chase it, play with it for a while then sit on it to keep it from getting away until he decided what to do with it next. He would usually catch, play, sit and repeat several times until he finally decided to do the mouse in for the final time.

...perhaps your larger male cat is just sitting on the younger cat to "tell" him to quit wriggling around, playing around, or following him around -- as he is not in the mood for it.

That is exactly what I thought Spike was doing to Jerry.

Jerry could be a little pest, at times. I always presumed that Spike was sitting on Jerry as a way of saying, “I have had enough of your crap.”