Cat Chat Feline Forum

We have an indoor 6 year old male cat. He is not fixed. I know, I know. We never planned to get another cat, he has no chance of getting outside, and has only sprayed a handful of times in his lifetime. I still take responsibility that it should have been done a long time ago and I wish we had when he was young. He has an appt in a few weeks.

5 days ago we brought in a feral male kitten, 12-13 weeks old. We did our "introductions" between the two while the kitten was still outside. They could see each other through the window, smell each other through the door, and the kitten would play with toys that we'd then give to our adult cat. Our adult cat would meow for the kitten and seemed really anxious to meet him. This went on for a few weeks.

When we brought in the kitten, they hissed at each other just once, and not since then. Within 5 minutes the kitten was running around, playing with all the toys and climbing everything, and was right at home. He slept under the bed the first few nights, but is now sleeping out in the open wherever he pleases. He doesn't seem stressed whatsoever. Our cat eats with the kitten (while he has his own food & litter box, he sometimes eats with the older cat in his bowl), lets him play with his toys, and sleeps near him. I haven't witnessed any grooming, but they touch noses and the kitten tries to rub up against him (he usually backs away, not knowing what to do..he hasn't been around another cat since he was the kitten's age, so I think this is a learning experience for him even more so than it is for the kitten.)

Our adult cat seemed to be curious more than anything for the first few days. He has always been a very vocal cat, but now he's "chirping" at the kitten constantly, and meowing when its not in view (we are...very tired, haha)

Since day 3, he has been pinning the kitten by the neck with his teeth. It's gotten less intense with each day, but he's still trying to do it constantly when the kitten is awake. The kitten cries and I think he may be doing it too hard, I've had to break it up a few times although I know I'm supposed to "let them work it out". There is no growling. The kitten goes right back to wanting to play afterward. Normally this is only when the kitten is active and playing, running around (he will chase it if it runs "too fast"). When the kitten is relaxed, ours is too, and sleeping nearby. The kitten tries to play with him, shows him his belly, and seems to be submitting, but our cat is not letting up.

I know this is normal "asserting dominance" behavior, but could it also be sexual aggression, since our adult is not fixed? He almost seems to be trying to mount the kitten, and the chirps he's been making at it, while he makes them to talk to us regularly, he also has made them while "humping" things when we try to take them away from him in the past.

He also is constantly smelling the kitten's behind, and smells his urine/feces right after he uses the litter box.

Could he be trying to mount the kitten, even though it's also a male? Could he hurt it in doing this? Does he not realize the kitten is a male, and thinks it's a female? Will getting our adult male cat fixed help prevent this behavior, either way (I know not instantly), even though he's 6 years old? The kitten will be fixed too, when it's old enough. Our adult cat has not sprayed since bringing the kitten in.

I know introducing two males is a bit different than a male and a female, and him not being fixed complicates things even more, but I really want it to work out between the two of them. Our cat doesn't seem angry or stressed, he just doesn't seem to know what to do.

Sorry to make a short story long! Our adult cat is our baby boy, and we love him dearly, but I don't want to see the kitten get hurt of course. Other than the pinning, they seem to be getting along great. The kitten is on cloud 9...no longer having to be outside in 100* heat and all.

But, please, instead of telling me what I may have done wrong up to this point (I know he should have been neutered, I know, I know, I know), I would appreciate tips on what I can do right, moving forward.
Thanks so much for reading, and for any advice.

I also wanted to add:
We have been feeding our adult cat first, greeting and petting him first, giving him a lot of attention and positive reinforcement. I pick him up to calm him down if I feel he's getting too worked up. I give him treats when he is being a good boy and calmly relaxing near the kitten, and while the kitten is eating, to associate something positive with this behavior. I'm doing everything possible to remind him he is the top cat.

With the bum sniffing, he has also started licking it. He doesn't groom the kitten anywhere else, but will not leave his behind alone. I'm afraid the kitten will start to get sore there.

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I agree with Kay - I think you're doing all the right things, but as a young cat with raging hormones it will be hard to progress any further until you've had him fixed. I suspect that once his hormones have calmed down everything will be fine, but do make sure to get the kitten fixed when he's old enough too.

I have to say that I think you are doing every right as well, yes, your older cat should have been neutered long ago, but you already know that.

The neck biting is a dominant thing, when we got our two youngsters last year the male would frequently do it to the female, though he never managed it with our older female. Occasionally she would yell at him when he did it but normally he would then stop and she would head off elsewhere away from him. I don't think he ever actually hurt her, I think she was just say 'yes I know you are the dominant one, now leave me be'. As long as the skin isn't getting broken, I don't think you need worry too much. He also tried it on me a time or two, I just turned round and bit him on the neck instead, just to let him know that I am dominant to him.

I would also suggest that you get your vet to have a look at the kitten as soon as possible, at 12 - 13 weeks, it could be that he is already starting to mature, some vets will neuter earlier than 6 months if the cat is healthy and mature enough. (one of the kittens we had when I was a kid, started to mess around the house when he was just under 4 months, we had the vet check him over and the reason was obvious, so to speak). Getting them both neutered as soon as possible will probably really help the issues.

Thank you all so much for the encouraging words!
Today is day 7, and things have greatly improved. The older cat only pins now when they are obviously playing, it's not an aggression-type thing anymore. He's starting to get back into his old habits and not be totally fixated on the kitten all day. I got him to play with his toys for the first time in the past week, and he's gone back to his favorite spots in the house to lounge, away from the kitten. I'd say he's getting used to having a second cat around. His appt is soon, hopefully that will prevent any future territorial aggression, over time.

That does sound encouraging - well done.