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Cat/Kitten Behavior Question


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OK, I need some advice on how to handle something with my 2 kittens. When we first brought them home, they got along famously and would romp and play together. They would tumble all over each other, playfully biting and chasing each other. All seemed fine, no yowling, no claws, no hissing.

 

Then they got little kitty colds, one worse than the other -- she ran a fever for a few days and just laid around. She is coming out of that, and is acting more like her old self. Except that she does NOT want to play. The other kitty we could tell missed playing with her and tries every day to get her going. She will engage, sort of, but then runs away.

 

My question is this: when should I intervene if I see the play getting a bit one-sided? They *do* bite each other on neck, back, legs. The boy kitten seems to get a bit rougher than the girl -- the girl is the one who was the sickest, with a fever.

 

I don't want to intervene if this kind of biting and rough play is normal, but I also don't want my little girl kitten to be attacked. I don't want them to become enemies either.

 

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

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Hard to tell without seeing them. One of you should play with the boy kitty. Get a toy on a string and help him use up some of his energy. And get them both fixed.

 

Both are fixed; we do try to play with boy kitty a lot, so he doesn't bother her when she does not want to be bothered! He actually likes to play "fetch" and we have a long hallway to throw a little ball; kitty loves to chase it.

 

Thanks for the thoughts.

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Are they siblings and are they fixed?

 

We introduced a new boy kitten to our other cats almost two years ago. He was neutered at the appropriate age. When he entered cat adolescence though, he initiated more territorial/sexually aggressive play with one of the female cats ;we have 2 females but he definitely prefers her). He has mellowed out in the past few months, but he still sometimes jumps on her and bites her neck as if he is trying to mate. I have read that neutering "dims" the urge, but does

not eliminate it totally.

 

If she is still sick, I would keep him away from her for a while. I hope she recovers quickly!

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Well, maybe she needs more time. We have a little rescue that was very sick when we got her and it took her weeks to become a normal playing kitty.

 

Yeah, I am thinking she might just need a little more time to get back to normal. She's definitely doing better these last 2 days, not sleeping as much and she doesn't feel warm anymore. She engages *some*, I am just worried that he gets too rough sometimes. I suppose the "biting" is a normal part of their play since no one is getting hissy or angry?

 

Are they siblings and are they fixed?

 

We introduced a new boy kitten to our other cats almost two years ago. He was neutered at the appropriate age. When he entered cat adolescence though, he initiated more territorial/sexually aggressive play with one of the female cats ;we have 2 females but he definitely prefers her). He has mellowed out in the past few months, but he still sometimes jumps on her and bites her neck as if he is trying to mate. I have read that neutering "dims" the urge, but does

not eliminate it totally.

 

If she is still sick, I would keep him away from her for a while. I hope she recovers quickly!

 

Yes they are fixed, no they are not siblings; we brought them home together though and have had them for about a week and a half. We discovered the fever last Thursday at their first vet appointment; but she had been lethargic for a day or so before that (but still eating & drinking). She started to come out of it on Saturday night -- I am assuming the fever "broke" then. She is improving a little more each day and staying awake for more and more each day.

 

Thanks for the thoughts.

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