Male Cat Aggressive Towards Female Kitten?

[Breann]

I recently got a new kitten about a week ago, and I’m not sure how my male cat is taking it. He’s about a year old and not neutered and has interacted with cats before and has been fine. Sometimes he will randomly bite her (usually around the neck) and makes a growl sound. For the most part she doesn’t meow or squeak when he does this, however the way he growls when he does it concerns me. She doesn’t seem to be scared of him and is always trying to play with him. Is it maybe that he just doesn’t know how to play with a kitten or? Also I have seen her lick her bottom and is still sniffing it whenever he gets the chance. I keep them separated for the most part and let them interact a couple hours of the day until I’m comfortable with them being alone. I do plan to get him neutered before she is old enough to breed. But this might speed up the process if it is indeed aggression. Any thoughts of his behavior and how to handle it? I have a video embedded of the interaction. I didn’t stop the encounter this time solely for the video purpose.

 

[ssssupernova]

If she's not injured in any way after he does this, it's probably just rough playing or asserting dominance. If he wanted to kill her, he could quite easily. That said, definitely neuter him ASAP because "old enough to breed" for some cats can be as young as 5-6 months old, and being an intact tom keeps him very interested in maintaining dominance, so he could one day go too far and actually hurt her.

 

[danteshuman]

I agree with ssssupernova...... I would also not leave them alone together if I was not awake & around.

 

[rubysmama]

Congrats on the adoption of your new kitten. I hope in time she and your male cat will become best friends.

Right now though, at a year old, and unneutered, and with the arrival of a female kitten, your boy is probably having all kinds of new feelings.

I think getting him neutered asap is a priority, for 2 main reasons.

1) at one year old, he could start territorial spraying at any time, especially if he feels threatened by the presence of the new feline in his home.

Spraying: When Your Cat Uses Urine To Mark Territory

2) female kittens can become pregnant as young as 5 months, sometimes before they even show signs of their first heat. So your female kitten is really at risk with your unneutered male.

Also, be aware that the hormones take a couple weeks, at least, to get out of the male's system, so he could still impregnate her shortly after he's neutered. I would ask the vet about that to get a risk timeline.

Here's the TCS articles on neutering.
Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats
When To Spay Or Neuter A Cat?