cat rabbit kicking HELP!!!

chazmo

i have a resident 18 month old male neutered cat. I have been introducing a new male kitten to my house. the kitten has a large cage which he goes in when im out or sleeping, and at different intervals during day.

There was some inital hissing but that has now stopped.

Archie the resident on a few occasions has been playing with Marley (kitten) but ive heard blood curling noises coming from marley. I have noticed Archie Grabbing Marley and holding him with his front legs and doing the rabbit kick on Marley. this is very concerning for me. Any advice would be so appreciated as this is causing me distress and im worried i dnt want them being hurt.

There are always supervised and i dont leave them alone together

Thank you

Angelicdevil

My Bengal, Ash, did this to our new addition - Harriet, in the beginning. He's HUGE compared to her, even though there's only a month age difference!

It's not nice to watch but with my two, as Harriet settled in more she started to fight back and it evened out in the end. Now they play far more than they scrap!

gettingready

Sorry but I do nto beieve in separating cats myself.

Any new one I ever had was just put on with whoever was at home already and I just let them get on with it.

They soon establish the pecking order, none was ever hurt.

They did the rabbit kick (still do now sometimes) - they are just playing and establishing who is the top cat.

By separating them you increase the level of "curiosity".

Just let them be for few days

chazmo

gettingready wrote: »

Sorry but I do nto beieve in separating cats myself.

Any new one I ever had was just put on with whoever was at home already and I just let them get on with it.

They soon establish the pecking order, none was ever hurt.

They did the rabbit kick (still do now sometimes) - they are just playing and establishing who is the top cat.

By separating them you increase the level of "curiosity".

Just let them be for few days

what would you recommend i do when Archies rabbit kicking marley??

gingin_2

chazmo wrote: »

when Archies doing the rabbit kicking would you just recommend me leave them to it???

I was a nervous wreck when I got my second cat. I kept mine separate at first, the introduced them with supervision, I didn't leave mine alone together until they had settled. Mine would do the rabbit kicking thing to the youngest, too.

The first few weeks were rough, I was a bag of nerves. I would not intervene when he is rabbit kicking unless little cat is being obviously hurt. If you think about it, the bigger cat could cause a lot more damage by scratching or biting, it's really just a dominance thing.

Mine are good companions now with the eldest still being the dominant one, they still play fight and whilst youngest still hisses and growls at eldest when he's being mean, the next 5 minutes they will be curled up together on a bed somewhere fast asleep.

gettingready

what would you recommend i do when Archies rabbit kicking marley??

Honestly?

I would just let them be, I would not get involved at all.

My boys play this way quite often, and then curl up together to sleep.

The more you separate them - the more/longer there will be that "novelty" factor.

BUT - this is my opinion, this is what I would do.

Lots of people may suggest other things and you will do what you feel is right.

I never separated the cats.

peachyprice

I too would leave them to get on with it, separating them is only for your benefit not the cats. The kittens mother will have done the exact same thing to it before it was taken from here, it's how they learn.

Unless the kitten is being obviously injured and the cat is showing signs of aggression ie. hissing, clawing or biting they do not need to be kept apart.

chazmo

thanx everyone, im more than a nervous wreck

gettingready

Leaving them enough space to run away from one another, places to hide etc and letting them to get on.. best way in my opinion.

Confining one to a small space (crate etc) or keeping in the separate room only increases the "curiosity factor".

You do not need to keep an eye on them all the time, you do not need to run every time you hear anything, you do not need to be with them all the time - they are cats, let them be cats

peachyprice

Also, if the kitten was really distressed he would find somewhere to hide, and not in a 'catch me if you can' sort of way. You'd soon know if things were getting out of hand.

JennyBee78

When our cat had her 2 litters she'd do that rabbit kicking thing to keep them in line. Looked a bit rough, but I'm pretty sure it is just the older cat teaching the wee one what is okay and what is not.