Kitten meets kitten

[Fran_ki]

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Well we got Brodie our new BSH on Friday . He's adorable and good as gold, has not so much as shown a claw.
Unfortunately Mac hates him ! Mac is a domestic shorthair. Mac is almost 10 weeks, Brodie 13.
Every time Mac gets the chance he takes a swipe at Brodie and also jumps on his back trying to bite his neck. It's not playing tho it's vicious.
Ive been reading up online and I'm keeping them apart a lot of the time trying to let them get used to each other's smell ( although Brodie doesn't care and is do laid back ). Then I'll give them time together while I play with the. At same time and give them treats at same time etc. then give them time apart.
Think it's going to be a long haul but will just need to persevere. The swiping is not so bad as claws aren't out but the biting is bad as I don't want him to break the skin.
I know a lot of you have had lots of different cats a lot longer than I have ( all ours we had growing up were single cats do no problems ) so if you've any advice that might help I'd be delighted
P.S if anyone knows Jackson Galaxy personally will you PM me his number hee hee xxx

Mac is the tabby/white
Brodie is the grey ( lilac BSH )

[Kay]

it's been a long time since I had two kittens together, but I must say I really can't see a 10 week old kitten being vicious - overly rough perhaps, but I can't believe at that age there could be any intent to do actual bodily harm - the instinct to do so just wouldn't be there

[Fran_ki]

Hopefully you're right Kay. Maybe I'm just panicking when he tries to bite the skin on his neck, I'm frightened he pierces it. And he's more agile that a wee Chunky British shorthair so Brodie can't really get up from under him.
Tonight Brodie had started chasing him back ! I can't really leave them alone just now without Mac attacking and ending up on top biting his neck so I go and intervene.
It's hard and will b a long process I guess ? X

[Roscoe32]

Slightly different scenario but thought I'd mention it. When we first got Jeff he was 9 weeks old and we introduced him to roscoe who was 7 months. For the first two to three weeks roscoe was continually jumping on Jeff and biting his neck and trying to instigate rough play. At first it was quite distressing but we let them continue only when supervised and roscoe actually stopped in the end. As distressing as it might look is try to let it run it's course for a bit. If your older cat looks in pain then intervene but it might just be a phase as they've first met.

[greenkitty]

I have to agree with the others that it's unlikely to be anything vicious at their age despite what it might look like, as the others have said you need to let it run it's course, it is early days but they're just sorting themselves out and learning the boundaries with each other.

[sarie]

Hey Fran_ki - is there any chance you could video them and pop it up online somewhere for us to take a look? As everyone else has said, at those ages it's unlikely to be genuine aggression and could just be overly boisterous play but it'll be easier to tell from a little bit of footage

Usually if kittens hate one another they just hiss and spike up and avoid each other - I've had bad kitten introductions in the past and they won't usually attack one another, they just stay completely clear and hiss and growl.
Jumping on the back of another kitten and biting the neck is *usually* play fighting, but I understand that you're not new to owning cats so I wouldn't want to call your judgement into question regarding how vicious he's being.
Whatever the case, the fact they're coming into contact with one another (aggressively or not) is still a step in the right direction and hopefully Brodie will start sticking up for himself too. If he's chasing Mac now then that's a good start. At that age they're likely to work out whatever their issues might be on their own and I'm sure they'll be fine with one another within a week or two

Video would definitely help They're both adorable though!!

[meriad]

I also agree - leave them to it to sort out; they are kittens learning their boundaries. And I really wouldn't have thought his little kitten teeth will get through Brodie's thick fur

And as hard as it is - try not to intervene too much when Mac is pouncing on Brodie; there will come a time when Brodie will 'retaliate' and Mac will be in for a surprise

As a matter of interest, do you know much about Mac's background? I forget how old is he now?

[Fran_ki]

Aw thank you all so much for replying . Your posts are really helpful.
Mac sounds very much like Roscoe was, and like him was in the house before this other "stranger" arrived lol. As you say Greenkitty it IS early days. We only took him home Friday t time so that's only been less than 3 days so far.
Meriad ,Mac is almost 11 weeks . Just over 2 weeks younger than Brodie.
We adopted him from someone online who'd only had him a week but re homed him because their dogs didn't take to him. We arrived to collect him and although the family were lovely and nice house and kept their dogs apart from him we were shocked to see 2 barking staffies so poor wee Mac was probably used to defending himself for that week.
Sarie I'll DEFINiTELY take a video for you to see of what goes on. I took one today of them using their treat game which they did for couple mins before Mac took a swipe. I'll put that on too.
It's just slightly concerning as I say it's always been 1 cat at a time we've had. My sister had 2 but they were siblings so were used to each other.
Will film them later on x

[Fran_ki]

http://s166.photobucket.com/user/tico15 ... sort=3&o=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure if this will work

[Crewella]

Worked perfectly, and looked like two very cute kittens happily playing to me!

[Fran_ki]

This was another
http://s166.photobucket.com/user/tico15 ... sort=3&o=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Roscoe32]

They look fine. Cat play can look pretty rough sometimes but there's no hissing or ached backs so all good. It will calm down after a few weeks I'm certain and they'll be hanging out together like buddies before you know it. They'll always play together though I'm sure.

[bobbys girl]

I to view the video but was unable, don't know why.

[Fran_ki]

See if this link works for yu Bobbys girl

http://youtu.be/bGAhxHQIykI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


http://youtu.be/ChVji1DIFYw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sarie]

Awww they're so cute! You've got your hands full there Fran_ki haha. One kitten has kept me on my toes but TWO!

You'll be relieved to hear that from watching your video that's 100% play fighting, there's no malice in that whatsoever. Brodie is clearly a squealer but that's purely his nature (some cats protest more vocally) and isn't a sign of him being hurt in any way, he's just telling Mac where his boundaries are. However, it is clear from that video that Mac is the dominant one but there has to be a dominant cat so there's nothing to worry about there either.

My kitten rough plays with my big cat Clive and at some points it looks horrific.. they'll get one another in headlocks and kick each other in the face with their back legs so violently it looks like they're going to snap their necks and the kitten will squeal but one of them will always give in before it gets to that point The give away is that despite all the squealing, the kitten usually goes straight in for seconds once he's out of his headlock.

From watching that I'd say with absolute certainty that you've got nothing to worry about. Quite the opposite, the fact they're engaging in that kind of rough play is a sign that they're bonding very well and should be very happy together in the future The rough fighting will no doubt continue and probably get more scary to watch as they get bigger but kittens just love to rough house and they know their boundaries so will very rarely do one another any injuries - any injuries are usually accidental.
If you have any friends with little boys under 10, watch how rough they play... they'll mess about and fight until there are tears. Kittens are exactly the same

Kittens can be very rough and vocal and sometimes things can seem like they're nastier than they are but rest assured Mac and Brodie look like they're getting on like a house on fire and you should be fine to leave them unsupervised etc without any worries in the future

You might also be interested to know that from the first video you posted, Brodie actually instigated that play fight, not Mac - just from his body language on approach - so he clearly likes Mac

[bobbys girl]

Thanks for trying Fran_ki. I had to join some google rubbish to view it THEN they say it's private and I still can't see it! Now I'm expecting all kinds of drivel from google!

Still not your fault, I'm sure it is lovely.

[MagnificentMogs]

Nothing to worry about there, all looks perfectly normal to me

[Fran_ki]

Sorry bobby's girl. I had it on private there silly me xxx

[sarie]

Awwwwww now it's off private I got to see the one of them playing too. They are far too cute! Brodie is like a little teddy bear bless him

[Fran_ki]

Sari thanks so much for that post.
Yesterday and today I've given them long periods of play and tussling together. And Sari I HAVE noticed now that Brodie is actually the one to start chasing on ocassion . I think macs taught him this , over the last few days since we got him on Friday he's gone from being scared to now creeping up on Mac when he's not looking. Even though and it will always be the case that Mac is the ringleader. And Brodies wee squeaks do worry me wen Mac is biting his neck. But I'm more relaxed that I was lol
Look at the photo I've attached. This was about half an hour ago.
I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Mac came and lay on sofa ( on top of furry hot water bottle ) then Brodie came over onto other and actually licked macs face ! ( although only 2 licks ha ha ) they fell asleep then. They have never lain down together till now. I think we are on the up lol xxx

[Fran_ki]

That's good to hear mogs , thanx
Yes Brodie is just like a wee cuddly toy Sari. We met his father on Friday and he was like a ton sized teddy bear with deep deep teddy bear fur ha ha xx

[sarie]

Awww bless them that's far too cute!
Grooming is a sign of a very good bond so if Brodie is licking Mac's face (and Mac is allowing it) then that just confirms everything I thought from the original video. You have two very contented kittens who are clearly best buddies already and will no doubt cause all sorts of mayhem in the future, especially with cheeky Mac leading the charge

You've certainly got absolutely nothing to worry about at all, in fact quite the opposite, you've got the perfect terrible twosome there - most cats and kittens take a good bit longer to bond as closely as your two have and no doubt their bond will only get stronger as time goes on

I'm glad you're feeling more relaxed now; try not to worry yourself at all about Brodie's squeaks - if I get chance I'll record the noises that mine make when they're playing so you can see how much of a fuss they make - it's all noise when they're playing like that, there's no harm done More often than not mine seem to make a load of noise to trick the other cat into letting go and then they catch their attacker off guard and go in for an attack of their own, sneaky!

Also awww Brodie's dad sounds gorgeous! Brodie looks like he's going to be huge himself which makes it all the funnier that Mac is the leader

[Fran_ki]

Aww thanks very much. My mind is a lot more at rest now.
They've just woke up. Slept together for ages.
You think just because you've always a cat through life that 2 kittens wud be a doddle ha ha.
I think the last 4 days since they first met has flown by despite the stress ha ha. All in all I guess Mac's not been as unwelcoming as he could've been .
I guess it's the way we'd all feel if we found a stranger in our house eating our food and using our bed lol.
Everyone on here has been a great help thanks to you all.

[sarie]

Haha I've had cats all my life and have had my fair share of kittens in the past but it's been about 5 years since I last had a kitten. I thought I knew what I was letting myself in for when I got Bailey (aged 9 weeks) a month ago but I'd forgotten just what a handful they are!
Bailey is incredibly demanding - I get very little done when I'm home as he just follows me around demanding things constantly. And the energy... I'd forgotten! He spent most of last night belting around my bedroom "merping" loudly and destroying everything. He swung off the curtains, sent the lamp flying, scaled the headboard on my bed repeatedly, attempted to jump off the headboard to take out a painting on my wall... it goes on. Good job he's so cute

At least in some ways with two they'll keep each other occupied and burn off energy together where my big cats get sick of him quickly as they're too lazy to play with something that insane. That said, I've had a pair of kittens in the past too and they seem to encourage each other to get up to mischief so you get double the trouble!

They're so much fun, I can't wait for more updates on your two

[Fran_ki]

Well a wee update
Mac and Brodie are like 2 changed kittens ! I persevered with separating, playtime together , ear mixing etc and by day 4 they were kinda thinking " y'know it's not so bad havin a playmate around the place"
Since my last post they've got even better. It's great having a kitten/s around the place again.
Mind you , you'd think it was a herd of elephants running about upstairs and not 2 tiny kittens !
When 1 goes out of sight the other looks everywhere for him. They love their rough n tumble and follow each other about. If 1 decides to have a drink of water then the other will have 1 too.
They love all their climbing trees, tunnel and toys. And font believe I'm saying this but they're really good boys. Not Interested in climbing curtains or blinds ( yet ha ha ) and they love to sleep together.

http://youtu.be/csEINZvhC4Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sarie]

Ohhhh they're so cute!! I'm so happy to read your update

Although just you wait... they're a bit crazy when they're little but once they hit 14+ weeks old and have that extra energy to burn off and better muscles all hell breaks loose. I thought I'd got lucky with Bailey as he was showing no signs of any particularly naughty behaviour but this last 2 weeks he's sure as hell made up for it
Swinging from curtains, scaling my paper IKEA lights, mountain climbing up the back of the sofa, hanging off my legs, leaping up the TV.. you name it, he's doing it.
He sounded like an elephant at 8-10 weeks but now he's like a whole herd of them

Good luck

[Fran_ki]

Ha ha Sari ! I can quite believe what's coming. Already they love to jump up to telly and try to catch the footballs or snooker balls ha ha.
They are crazy ! Mad as a box of frogs !! Already they've both been climbing to the top of the clothes horse and I'm there picking up all the clothes that they've knocked off and somehow Mac climbed up and got stuck on top of washing basket, was wondering why he was miaowing lol.
A crash in the hall last night . . . We went to c what it was and there's brodie halfway up the stair looking like butter wouldn't melt and Brodie half in and half out of my pot that my artificial spider plant was in , lol still in one piece mind you
They keep you on your toes that's for sure. Wouldn't have it any other way tho xxx

[sarie]

Hahaha that gave me a properly good belly laugh!! I feel your pain with the clothes horse - Bailey climbs that too and attacks all my clothes!

I don't even know why I bother hanging my clothes up at the moment - I might as well just tip the basket out all over the floor as I'd get the same drying effect anyway

They're such fun, even if they are completely mental!

[puppypaws0123]

Ohhhh they're so cute!