Kittens Playing Until One Is Bleeding From The Neck.

[dawn harvey]

Hi, I am fostering 2 female kittens that are not siblings, but do everything together. When they play the older of the 2 bites the other one on the neck until she bleeds. Is this normal? I am normally not present when this happens. I check the one's neck intermittently to see if it appears more scabbed up. Today there was a little blood. And she is biting her under the neck, not on top of it. Hope someone can help here. I am concerned.

 

[sabian]

It could be something to be concerned about. They may just be getting a little to ruff and it's nothing. But, then again it could be aggression. I think I would keep them separated while away and they are unsupervised if that is when it seems to be happening. It's not abnormal for them to go for under the neck. That is a kill instinct but when they play they don't usually break the skin.

 

[dawn harvey]

Ok thank you. I wonder if I should still let them sleep together? I really don't have anyway to separate them in close quarters. We are dealing with limited space for their sleep.

 

[sabian]

Ok thank you. I wonder if I should still let them sleep together? I really don't have anyway to separate them in close quarters. We are dealing with limited space for their sleep.

Without being there and knowing the exact circumstances it's hard for me to say. It's really a judgement call on your part. If they sleep together peacefully and this doesn't seem to be when the incidents occur then it's probably ok. I would try and pin point when this is happening and what they are doing when it does. I really think that it's just them playing ruff if they get along the rest of the time. As kittens this is the time they are socialized and learning their boundaries. The thing that concerns me is your saying that it happens while your not around. I just think out of caution it would be best to separate them when your away. If your there I would think you would hear a ruckus if they are actually fighting and one is trying to hurt the other intentionally.

 

[dawn harvey]

One is the more dominant one, she's a little older. I think she is trying to be dominant and the other girl is also fighting back. They do get along very well. The spot that just broke open was a scab so that may just be it, it's tender. But I am going to keep an eye on them more often and as for their sleeping they seem to do fine then. Thank you so much.

 

[dawn harvey]

One is the more dominant one, she's a little older. I think she is trying to be dominant and the other girl is also fighting back. They do get along very well. The spot that just broke open was a scab so that may just be it, it's tender. But I am going to keep an eye on them more often and as for their sleeping they seem to do fine then. Thank you so much.

I should say they get along most the time, but when they play it can get rough and I have broke it up. I will just watch closer. And split them up if it's needed.

 

[sabian]

Your very welcome! I assuming you have cat trees and toys for them. Spending time playing with them and redirecting their energy toward the toys and giving them a place to call their own is recommended. It does sound like maybe one is trying to establish dominance over the other.

 

[dawn harvey]

Oh I play with them a lot! They have a lot of toys and all too. Yes she is because she tries to take over all the food too. I have to watch them eating as well. A handful!!! So far no more neck bites.

 

[ArtNJ]

I disagree and consider this a serious problem requiring immediate intervention. Cat bites often get infected. Bites turn into abscesses and require a vet to drain them. In addition to the stress on the cat, it is expensive! Cats don't normally bite hard enough to break skin unless they are fighting for reals. When house cats fight with each other, its normally claw swipes, not bites. Claw marks can sometimes leave pretty deep scratches and look like a bite puncture, but they are much less likely to get infected.

What to do about it is another issue -- I'm not sure frankly. Just saying it is a serious issue. Or at least I think so. Some of the mods have 20x the experience.

I'm also a little confused about how you are even noticing this. Normally, even short hair cats have so much fur that you feel the scab, you don't see blood. I've had infected bite wounds twice on cats and not seen blood. So kinda wondering if this is bad, your just really observant or what.

 

[dawn harvey]

I agree to a degree, but I have been rubbing that area with peroxide and she seems fine. I am watching the situation and can't get vet care until after Christmas. I honestly do not think it's infected. These are kittens brought in from the outside and not really "house cats" yet. I honestly don't know what to do about it except watch them and I may split then up if I see this happen again. For the most part they play well together and have a lot of fun. Oh I noticed it when wiping her down with a damp cloth. Her fur was looking like it could use a bath, but it is really cold here so I just wiped her down and that's how I noticed it. It wasn't bloody when I did notice it, but I could feel a scab. Then right before I wrote on this forum she was laying down and had lifted her head to look at me and I saw pink, her fur is white there and then I saw a very small amount of blood. They are both rather aggressive kittens and the one that got her neck hurt is actually starting the rough housing. They are playing, but it's really rough and IDK honestly.

 

[ArtNJ]

Ok Dawn thanks for the additional details. My guess is that its not actually a bite wound, just a scratch that happens to be in the same region as the play bites you are witnessing. Occasional small scratches are not a big deal.

 

[daveleau]

We got two kittens from different litters that were about 2-4 weeks apart in age. The younger one had an injured leg. We kept the two separated until we thought the younger one was healed. Once we introduced them to eat other, it was a massive neck-biting free-for-all. We let them play until the older bit the injured leg of the younger. We slowly introduced them to each other after that. Lots of play fighting, but they grew to tolerate each other and then became inseparable. The younger now bites the left hind leg (his previously injured leg) as a first strike in play fighting. (They're 12 and still play fight.) So, he remembers that pain and tries to inflict it on the older when they play, still.

Get a tall, narrow cardboard box and put linens and a toy in it. Put one cat into it and keep the other in the rest of the small space you have available. In other words, there are ways to separate them. You need to do so until they get used to each other and stop trying to kill the other cat. Cats know when they are applying pressure to hurt and when they are applying pressure to warn with their teeth.