Playing or fighting?

Martian Eye

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
19
Purraise
12
Hi! New cat owner with some questions.

I've had a 3 month old siamese kitten for 3 weeks. Just recently I adopted a russian blue mix stray, about 8 weeks old. I tried my best to isolate them to gradually introduce them, but the siamese was so adamant about playing with him that I ultimately ended up letting them in the same space.

The siamese is constantly chasing, swatting, mounting, and biting him, but he's chirping rather than hissing. The russian blue keeps running away, hissing and growling, but sometimes when the siamese is lying down the russian blue seems to initiate the chase, but it always ends up with him hissing and growling. So I'm confused if they're getting along or not?
 

rubysmama

Forum Helper
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
25,278
Purraise
62,759
Location
Canada
Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on the new kitten adoptions. I'm sure in time they'll be best buds. But right now, it could be that the older kitten is just a bit too much bigger than the younger one, and the play might be a bit too rough.

Main thing to watch for is that the russian blue doesn't seem scared. If he runs away and hides, but then quickly comes back for more "fun", then it's probably fine. But if he hides from the siamese, and seems scared, then I would keep an eye on them, and not leave them alone unsupervised, till the russian blue is a bit older.

Hissing and growling is just a cat's way of communicating, so is also probably fine. Fur flying or bloodshed would be more concerning.

Here's a TCS article Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing? – TheCatSite Articles that might be helpful, though it is mostly catered to older cats, not kittens.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

Martian Eye

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
19
Purraise
12
Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on the new kitten adoptions. I'm sure in time they'll be best buds. But right now, it could be that the older kitten is just a bit too much bigger than the younger one, and the play might be a bit too rough.

Main thing to watch for is that the russian blue doesn't seem scared. If he runs away and hides, but then quickly comes back for more "fun", then it's probably fine. But if he hides from the siamese, and seems scared, then I would keep an eye on them, and not leave them alone unsupervised, till the russian blue is a bit older.

Hissing and growling is just a cat's way of communicating, so is also probably fine. Fur flying or bloodshed would be more concerning.

Here's a TCS article Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing? – TheCatSite Articles that might be helpful, though it is mostly catered to older cats, not kittens.
Thanks so much! Yea, he's not hiding thankfully, so I guess it's not a huge worry.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Sounds fine. It could be that he isn't totally sure big bro is ok yet, so you might get some random hissing even if they aren't playing. That never lasts too long. You will get some hissing in play for much longer though. Also, they tend to bite a lot in play when the other cat is smaller or docile. Once it gets more equal, there isn't a lot of opportunity for play biting. So we get questions about it in situations like this, but its quite normal. And quite normal for the little one to make noises to say "DAMN IT! GET YOUR ASS OFF OF ME NOWWWW!!!" The fact that he isn't hiding and is initiating sometimes means your good. This is like 7 and 4 year old human siblings. The 4 year old might scream and run for mom now and then, but he wants the 7 year old's attention and would be so unhappy if seperated for more than a few minutes.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

Martian Eye

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
19
Purraise
12
Sounds fine. It could be that he isn't totally sure big bro is ok yet, so you might get some random hissing even if they aren't playing. That never lasts too long. You will get some hissing in play for much longer though. Also, they tend to bite a lot in play when the other cat is smaller or docile. Once it gets more equal, there isn't a lot of opportunity for play biting. So we get questions about it in situations like this, but its quite normal. And quite normal for the little one to make noises to say "DAMN IT! GET YOUR ASS OFF OF ME NOWWWW!!!" The fact that he isn't hiding and is initiating sometimes means your good. This is like 7 and 4 year old human siblings. The 4 year old might scream and run for mom now and then, but he wants the 7 year old's attention and would be so unhappy if seperated for more than a few minutes.
I think I'm also concerned because the new kitten is still afraid to roam the entire house, and the siamese isn't really giving him a chance to look around.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
I think I'm also concerned because the new kitten is still afraid to roam the entire house, and the siamese isn't really giving him a chance to look around.
Has it been less than a week? Sometimes kittens take up to around a week to get confident with a new place and new animals. Normal.

The reality is that two kittens this young essentially always become friends even if there is some tension in the first week. So you can relax. You dont need to do any thing special -- it just happens, every time. Its literally a zero difficulty introduction, because the humans dont need to do anything special (other than cat proof) and can't mess it up.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

Martian Eye

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
19
Purraise
12
Has it been less than a week? Sometimes kittens take up to around a week to get confident with a new place and new animals. Normal.

The reality is that two kittens this young essentially always become friends even if there is some tension in the first week. So you can relax. You dont need to do any thing special -- it just happens, every time. Its literally a zero difficulty introduction, because the humans dont need to do anything special (other than cat proof) and can't mess it up.
Oh its only been 3 days. I did briefly see the new kitten licking my first kitten, so I think he's starting to warm up to him!
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Oh its only been 3 days. I did briefly see the new kitten licking my first kitten, so I think he's starting to warm up to him!
A joyous sign of the friendship and hairballs to come. I stepped in one in socks just yesterday ;)
 

rubysmama

Forum Helper
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
25,278
Purraise
62,759
Location
Canada
Oh, they're just as cute as I expected. :redheartpump:
Make sure you take lots of pics, as they grow so fast.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

Martian Eye

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
19
Purraise
12
So fun story: just found out from the vet that our new kitten is a she, not a he, like they told me at the shelter. I guess I should've figured when they told me they don't have a licensed vet at the shelter to inspect the animals.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

Martian Eye

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
19
Purraise
12
Do you have to change her name now?
Nah we chose "Blue" from the start and I think it works for a girl too. I'm just concerned our Siamese male (named "Sky") might be too energetic for her.
 

rubysmama

Forum Helper
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
25,278
Purraise
62,759
Location
Canada
Oh, that's good. Though she probably wouldn't have had any trouble learning a new name. I love their names, btw. :)

I think once she gets a big bigger, she'll be fine with her bigger brother. Just keep an eye on them for now, and if she gets really overwhelmed, you can separate them for a bit.
 
Top