How to encourage normal play behavior between cats?

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ashleyberner
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How to encourage normal play behavior between cats?

Post by ashleyberner »

I have two cats, male and female, siblings, two years old, indoor. The male gets overly excited/hyper and wants to wrestle/tackle his sister. She is not having it. Whenever he does ambush her, I give him a time out. This seems to calm both of them down. But it is happening quite frequently. I do play with both of them in the evenings to try to wear him out, but I'm not sure it's deterring him from going after her. Any advice?

I should say otherwise they act normally around each other.
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lilynmitz
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Re: How to encourage normal play behavior between cats?

Post by lilynmitz »

So long as she's not distressed by this, and they get on fine the rest of the time, I'd leave them to it. It's just natural boy cat adolescent behaviour. He obviously has a lot more energy to burn off than her, and I do find this can be common with male/female households. Are they both neutered? If not, get them done straight away for too many good reasons to list, with there being not a single good reason not to. This might calm your laddie down a bit, although tbh my lads have always stayed just as silly afterwards, just less inclined to get into actual fights.

On the other hand, if it does bother her, you could try distraction techniques on the little fella, ie every time he pounces on her, give him something more interesting to play with. Hopefully he will eventually look elsewhere for entertainment.

You don't mention whether they are indoor/outdoor cats? If they're indoor only, you do need to find a way for him to burn off more energy.
ashleyberner
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Re: How to encourage normal play behavior between cats?

Post by ashleyberner »

They were both spayed/neutered when they were little. And they are indoor.

Sometimes she gets distressed by it... and sometimes she brushes it off. Except for a really heated argument (I say argument because it was a lot of noise and chasing, no bloodshed) about three weeks ago. That really stressed her out. Since then, she has been letting him know how she feels about his method of play. Sometimes she'll dart underneath my bed, because he can't fit under there. But she does come out shortly afterwards... she doesn't seem to let it interfere with her normal routine.

I try to wear him out in the evenings, I play with both of them. He gets so bored even though he has so many toys. I try to rotate them out... but he's difficult to keep engaged sometimes.
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