Teenage Behaviour?

[Rhall]

I have a 6 month spayed female and a 4 month old male unneutered (to be done in the near future). They were introduced beginning of February, there was an adjustment period and were doing well. The past few days, my girl doesn't seem to want much to do with him. She has been sleeping a lot, but eating and pooping fine. I was concerned there was something else, but last night she came up to bed with me and had her normal playful behaviour with me, purring etc. Is it just teenage behaviour? Tired of all the little guys antics? She gets angry with him if he plays to hard, but lets him lie by her and groom her. They were playing a lot together before. She would still chase balls etc. Still not sure what's going on. She has all her shots, has tested negative for feline leukaemia. She had injured her leg as a kitten - so I wondered if it had been bothering her. I gave her some meds last night (with the vet's approval) to see if there was any difference. I'm not sure but she did play with me about 4 hours later. Any thoughts?

 

[susanm9006]

It would be very helpful to their relationship for you to go ahead and get him neutered but their relationship sounds pretty normal. He has too much energy, irritates her, and she lets him know. That is the way they establish boundaries. If she has only been a bit quieter for a few days I wouldn’t worry about that as cats and kittens go through spells where they may sleep more during the day, probably from being up more during the night.

 

[Rhall]

Ok thank you. Yes it will be in the near future.

 

[rubysmama]

I haven't had a kitten in such a long time, that I don't remember what their behaviour is like at 6 months. And I've never had 2 kittens at the same time, so have no experience with kitten sibling antics. But maybe she just needed a break from her rough-housing, rambunctious, little brother.

I'm glad you checked with your vet though, and certainly keep an eye on her, and let your vet know if you feel something isn't right.

 

[di and bob]

Perfectly normal for a female to set limits, that is what they do. She will get more irritated as she gets older. But he is learning manners and that is never a bad thing. His age IS especially irritating, he has WAY too much energy for her to keep up with. Since they were just introduced in Feb. I would say they are doing remarkably well! Definitely have him neutered sooner rather than later, he will be getting more and more aggressive with her and will definitely be a pain and take up way too much of her time. But he will also provide her with entertainment and companionship, so all is good in the end. they will both be much less active and quieter as they get older, just keep thinking that!