Cats playing or fighting?

Question

I have one cat who is 8 months to a year old that we got March of this year. And just the other day we got a kitten 8 weeks old. The two of them chase each other and wrestle and the older one bites the younger ones neck and licks it sometimes. They are both males. The younger one can't meow yet it opens its mouth but nothing comes out so I don't know if it hurts him. I keep separating them but when I close them off in separate rooms the older cat meows like to say open the door but then they go at it again. What should I do

Answer 1

It sounds like they are having fun. The fact that they chase each other, not just one always chasing the other is a big clue. If it were not mutual, you would see one always being the aggressor. Cats do like to wrestle and play. I have a couple of older male cats that do the same thing.

I would watch them when they are together. if it looks like the younger one is really in distress, spray them with a little water bottle. It won't hurt them. If the go back to playing again, fine. Just keep an eye on them and keep them seperated when you are gone til the younger one is a bit older.

Answer 2

Do the cats act really "mean", like is one cat very persistant about chasing down the other cat and pinning it down so it can bite it, or do they both attack each other? Do they hiss, growl, or make any other kind of noise?

It's common for new cats to fight and wrestle around like this for a while until they establish who is the dominant cat. When we adopted our second cat (both cats were fixed males), our vet warned us that they would probably fight for 2-3 weeks (!!) until they figured out the pecking order. Fortunately though, our cats fought for 24 hours straight (that was a long night...) but then decided they were friends after that! (Our older cat was 1 year old and the younger one was 4 months at the time.)

If the cats are fighting non-stop, or if the older cat won't let the younger cat near the food, litter, etc., you may want to separate them for a while and just let the older cat meow for a while so the younger one can have some peace. The first day we had our new kitten, we did lock him in a bathroom with his own food, water, and litter for a few hours since the older cat wouldn't let him near his food and litter! But by the time they quit fighting the next day, they were sharing the food and litter just fine.

What was really weird though, is that even when the cats were fighting and acting very mean, they were making cute little high-pitched meows instead of growling and hissing! (And I know they were really fighting, because now when they "fight" they're not as mean and you can tell they're definitely playing.) And I think the younger cat is the dominant one -- even when he was still half the size of the older cat, the older cat would let the younger one push him away from his food and bed!

So just give them a little time, and hopefully they will be friends before long! Good luck!

PS: Don't worry about the person who said you can't have two males -- as long as they are both fixed (once the kitten is old enough, of course) they will be fine! You can tell our older cat is actually much happier now that he has a kitty friend to play with! Our cats even snuggle together when they sleep sometimes! I've also read that if you're going to have multiple cats, it's best if they are all the same gender, since male cats play rougher than females! So you are on the right track!

Answer 3

There is a step inbetween fighting and playing, and it's called dominance. Whenever you have two or more animals in a house, they will often have little battles and standoffs to determine pecking order between them. As you said, one is grabbing the other one's neck and licking it, signs and actions that show dominance. The back of the neck is how a mother cat would control and pick up her kittens, so it's a key dominance spot. Cleaning each other can sometimes be dominance as well. The younger one is probably opening its mouth cause it would love to dominance grab the other cat, but obviously can't if there's a size difference. Unless you see real hissing, spitting or blood, there's nothing to worry about. When a cat is really fighting, you'll know it.

When introducing cats, it's good to have observed cat meetings at first. We call them "summits" :). Usually there is lots of posturing and some play, and careful smells, but they get used to each other.

Answer 4

I've got 4 kitties and have noticed when playing they DON'T meow. No vocalizations at all. But when they fight the howling starts. Even when they do fight I just clap my hands and shout NO or QUIT and they do. No need to separate them. Unless the fighting is serious let them work it out who is the alpha of the pride.

Answer 5

they're just playing
beleive me
my kittens - 3 - are all sisters and they're always jumping on each other and biting each other
i really don't know why they open their mouths and don't make a noise but i can assure you that if it was fighting then they would be hissing and spitting at each other.
they have thick skin so when they bite each other they don't actually get hurt.
it's fun to watch them so don't worry
your cat and kitten like each other.

Answer 6

Dear, they never play! 2 male cat in one house!!! You don't know what you are doing. They are programmed to get rid of other male in their home. You have to get out the little pitty one before old one is strong enough and bite to kill. You can have single male and multiple females under one roof or garden but not two males together. Unless MAYBE if they are brothers born same time.

Answer 7

It sounds to me like they are just playing since neither cat is growling or hissing. Cat play can look violent to us!

Answer 8

Cats r playing when they r fighting.

Answer 9

they say u shouldnt have 2 male cats in a household. l dont know if its true

Answer 10

they are just having fun let them go