Kitten/Cat Behaviour

[abba12]

I have two cats, a boy and a girl. They are about 10 months old I think. We got the girl, then about two weeks later were finally able to bring the boy home. They were desexed before they came to our house, and they both came from different foster kitten homes. When we first got them they were 4 months old and there was a lot of play fighting, loud with hissing and other cat noises, however only two or three truly unfriendly incidents with claws out and never any blood or real damage. My research told me that loud play fighting could be normal, especially with kittens, and that if they really hated each other they were quite capable of causing actual scratches and hair removed etc which wasn't happening and indicated it was just very boisterous play/testing/alpha behaviour. Over the course of the first few weeks it settled into being playful and got a lot quieter, and they became friends, sleeping on the same bed in the guest room most mornings, cleaning each other, sitting with DH and I on the same couch, and playing 'who can run the fastest up the hallway at 2am even though we don't know how to stop on the tiles yet and always smack into the door at the end every. single. time.' (sigh) There's no issues around food either. I would say the boy is the alpha, but there's no real strong dynamic except that if the food bowl is in the process of being filled and only one side has food in it, he gets to eat first. There's no issues or fighting over attention or space or anything particularly dominant like that. He is just braver and more outgoing, especially among company, while she loves to play with the kids but is quieter.

 

Last night I noticed a bit more noise to their play fight than usual, hissing and at least one yowl, unsure which cat made it, which was unusual enough to catch my attention. Then overnight, they both managed to escape the house by pushing out a loose flyscreen. I have them both back and inside now, thankfully.

 

But I found and brought in the boy first, then a couple of hours later finally found and brought in the girl, and her first response to him was a yowl and hissing again (fairly sure they came from her). I figured it might be a response to the excitement of their little outside adventure until I remembered I heard it the first time last night BEFORE they escaped, so I actually have no idea if it's connected or not (though I suspect the rougher play fights are probably what caused the flyscreen to give and allowed them to escape in the first place, as it was by their favorite play corner.)

 

Any insight? They don't suddenly hate each other for life do they?! Is this some sort of adolescence stage? If it makes any difference, the boy has been told off a lot for scratching up the couches/carpet instead of the post recently, and has been doing it more than usual.

[catz]

I would bet that they're fine. We have 2 cats, and sometimes when one is outside and the other in and they come back together, one of them will get a little huffy about it. I think because the smells are different than usual/expected?

 

Both our cats are 12 years old and they'll still wrestle and fight (and cuddle and bathe each other sometimes too).

[Belacqua]

All my knowledge about this is purely anecdotal, so take it for what it's worth. :)

 

Our two cats (both adults, though the second came in as an older kitten) usually get along fine. The alpha makes sure the other knows her place, but they will occasionally sit together and groom, etc.

 

Sometimes, though, they pound the snot out of one another, complete with hissing and fur literally flying. Ten minutes later, they're hanging out on the couch, then at it again in an hour. It doesn't seem to follow any set pattern. The only trigger I've noticed has been scent: when one has been to the vet, the other will get all hissy and aggressive (so maybe the outdoor adventure did factor in?).

 

Obviously you'll keep an eye on the situation, but I wouldn't say it means they suddenly hate each other. 

[Trilliums]

Well, we have had neutered male cats who still try to mate with  female cats.  I have read that delaying neutering can result in this, but this particular cat was neutered at the recommended age.  I would suspect your male kitty is making um, advances toward the female and she is letting him know she isn't interested.  Might take a while for the message to sink in with the male cat though.

 

To further complicate things, our vet was telling us that spayed female cats have part of the ovary remain in their system and they can end up still going into heat.  Oy vey, that could just cause all sorts of havoc. 

[Hypatia.]

Every time one of our cats gets out, our grumpy old man cat gets grumpy and hisses and growls at them for a day or so.  Things always settle out after a little while, I guess once they stop smelling strange to him.