# How do I know when it safe to leave them alone together?



## peanutsmommy (May 19, 2012)

I have two kittens, Mack who is just about 8 wks old and Peanut I think is about 5 wks old. Peanut is probably 1/3 the size of Mack. They play together when I'm home and can supervise, but I keep them separate when I'm not home because sometimes Mack gets too rough with Peanut. I've never seen blood or fur flying, but Peanut will "whine" when Mack is getting too rough and sometimes it seems like she's trying to run away from him and hide and Mack will follow her and continue to "attack." But other times, she will whine and then when does get away from Mack, she goes right back to "attack" him. So should I continue to keep them separated unless we are home until they are closer to the same size or how will I know Mack won't end up hurting Peanut? I don't have to "break up" their playing/fights nearly as often, only occasionally when Peanut really seems to be vocal with her "whining" and Mack seems to be getting overly aggressive. Should I be doing this?


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## LaurulFeatherCat (Sep 16, 2011)

At five weeks she is too small to be allowed to be around a full grown cat without supervision. Not only is she physically small, but her brain is not developed enough to read his body language or respond appropriately to his rough play by retreating. The whining is kitten speak for "Mommy, resuce me". The reason she goes right back and 'attacks' him after being rescued is because she wants to play and he is the only other cat available to play with; but she is not mature enough to react appropriately to his aggression as yet.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

LaurulFeatherCat said:


> At five weeks she is too small to be allowed to be around a full grown cat without supervision.


The other cat is an 8 week old kitten though! Honestly, 5 weeks is too young to be away from the litter, so I would keep them together b/c a 5-week old kitten doesn't absolutely need mom but DOES need the littermates. Give them enough room to get away from each other, but it's really hard to imagine an 8 week old kitten hurting a 5 week old one.

If the OP mis-typed and the other kitten is 8 MONTHS, that's another matter.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

At five weeks, she really should still be with her mother in an ideal world. I don't like weaning this young although I know it sometimes has to be done.


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

at 5 and 8 weeks respectively, the huge size difference seems like you meant 5 weeks and 8 months or peanut is just a runt, maybe? and it seems like there's no mother available or something, so it's not like it's a choice.

i'd just let them play/fight unless serious damage is occurring, but i wouldn't leave them alone together until they're fairly close in size. make sure peanut is put away in a carrier or a room mack can't get into while you're gone. actually with two kittens that small, i'd put both of them in carriers while i was out unless my house was 100% kitten-proofed, or i had a room i could shut them in where nothing bad could happen or they couldn't eat weird things because trust me, they're both going to eat things they weren't meant to if they can find them.


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## BroganMc (Feb 28, 2010)

5 and 8 week old kittens are toddlers. You wouldn't leave human toddlers alone, would you?

Assuming you didn't mean 8 mos old, I'd let them play with each other more. They need to teach each other what is acceptable "safe" play. The screeching is an equivalent of our "crying uncle".

Next time they play like that, wait before you jump in to separate them. See how they respond. The one getting screeched at should stop and the screecher will run away. Then a few minutes later, you'll find the screecher is leading the attack. If they do separate on their own, then they are working out the game correctly. You only need to get involved if they don't.

I was worried when my 5 month old kittens play fought with each other too. They'd wrestle each other pretty fiercely with lots of hind leg kicks. It looked pretty intense to me. I shot some video and shared it with the forum. Everyone agreed they were just play fighting and I should leave them to it. At most I'd give them a verbal chastisement if they seemed to get too loud.

Take good care of that 5 week old. I've raised kittens from 4 weeks before. (Abandoned stray.) They are adorable little fur babies. Mine happily crawled up my shirt and nestled in the crook of my neck. They need lots of love and protection at that age. Ideally you don't leave them alone at all until they are weeks older.


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## peanutsmommy (May 19, 2012)

Thank you everyone for you input. Yes, I typed correctly, they are 5 and 8 wks old. We got Peanut at 3 wks old, although were told she was 6-7 wks old. I knew she was much younger than that and my best guess was she was around 3-4 wks old, but as that first week progressed, I think 3 wks was more accurate, so have went from there and she seems to progessing pretty much on track with that age, but I will never know for sure. I got her at a local hardware store that has a pet section too and people bring kittens in there for them to sale. She's doing well though. She drinks from a bottle about 2-3 times per day and eats a Tbsp of canned food 3 times per day. She's active and playful, no fleas, clear eyes, etc. We've been very lucky and she's our little baby. 

Thank you for the advice on her and Mack playing too. I have been gradually intervening less unless Peanut is really screeching and Mack isn't retreating. Yes, Peanut is quite a bit smaller than Mack. I think she was either the runt or maybe just a slow grower because she was taken from her mom too soon? Not sure. I don't have her history. I will continue to keep them separated when I'm not home. I do daycare from my home though, so they do have a lot of playtime together too. Today its been adorable because they've been curling up together to sleep. Its so sweet. I'll post a picture if the "Meet my Kitty" area and you can kind of see their size difference.


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## BroganMc (Feb 28, 2010)

peanutsmommy said:


> Thank you everyone for you input. Yes, I typed correctly, they are 5 and 8 wks old. We got Peanut at 3 wks old, although were told she was 6-7 wks old. I knew she was much younger than that and my best guess was she was around 3-4 wks old, but as that first week progressed, I think 3 wks was more accurate, so have went from there and she seems to progessing pretty much on track with that age, but I will never know for sure. I got her at a local hardware store that has a pet section too and people bring kittens in there for them to sale. She's doing well though. She drinks from a bottle about 2-3 times per day and eats a Tbsp of canned food 3 times per day. She's active and playful, no fleas, clear eyes, etc. We've been very lucky and she's our little baby.
> 
> Thank you for the advice on her and Mack playing too. I have been gradually intervening less unless Peanut is really screeching and Mack isn't retreating. Yes, Peanut is quite a bit smaller than Mack. I think she was either the runt or maybe just a slow grower because she was taken from her mom too soon? Not sure. I don't have her history. I will continue to keep them separated when I'm not home. I do daycare from my home though, so they do have a lot of playtime together too. Today its been adorable because they've been curling up together to sleep. Its so sweet. I'll post a picture if the "Meet my Kitty" area and you can kind of see their size difference.


I just came from looking at the photo. Peanut is the gray/white kitty and Mack is all grey?

I see what you mean about size difference but it doesn't seem that dramatic. Stupid question: you did take Peanut to the vet right? He/she will be better able to determine exact age. 

Our previous kitty Peppermint was adopted when she was 4 weeks old. Her mom was a feral who took up residence in our garage so I knew her exact age. She was also the runt of the litter. She looked very tiny for a 4 week old. She grew up to be a petite adult cat too.

I would keep Peanut & Mack together as much as possible. They won't kill each other. Your biggest concern is that they hurt themselves by getting into mischief. Kittens have a special skill for knocking things over and getting trapped. When we had kittens they were always crawling into the dishwasher while we were loading it. Had to make sure we checked for kittens before we closed the door. If we left the house, we always first did a "kitten check" by listening for those faint meows of a kitten locked in a closet. My biggest worry was they'd knock something on top themselves. That can happen if they get too caught up in playing.

Peanut & Mack will grow up as best buds/siblings the more you let them play, eat and comfort each other. Have your camera ready because there will be plenty of cute moments to come. 

Then you only need to worry about the fighting beginning when they turn into bratty adolescents.  Pass that hurdle and you get happy housemates who will live into old age with each other.

Oh and make sure you neuter both as soon as possible. Check with your vet.


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## peanutsmommy (May 19, 2012)

Thank you. Yes, Peanut is white and gray, with just a little cream and Mack is black, orange and white (white being his belly, which might be what is showing in the picture) Mack and Peanut are together most of the day, because normally I am home. Days when I'm gone most of the day, I do put Peanut in the bathroom and Mack has run of the rest of the house. I know what you mean about doing the "kitten" check for closets etc. I thought my goofy kittens were the only ones who thought the dishwasher and the dryer would be a good play place!! I always take a visual on them both before turning either on. Fridge too, although there we just have to be careful not squish them in the door. They do play together and sometimes sleep together, but I haven't been letting them eat together. Should I be? I didn't at first to monitor how much Peanut was eating and have just kept it up. I just didn't want them fighting at the dishes? I guess I thought being territorial of their dish was okay, but should they learn to eat together? I'm not as worried about Peanut's intake now, she seems to be doing really well and she gets extra KMR anyhow so I know she's getting enough.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

I do NOT feed cats together. You cannot be sure who is eating what. Teach them to go to separate rooms -- soon they will run ahead of you to the right place. Feed them separately, give them 15-20 min. to eat, then take up anything not eaten until the next meal. At 5-8 weeks they should be eating 5-6 times a day at this point.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Mine get fed together with no quarreling at all. The dog also gets fed in the same room but knows she isn't to take the cats' food.


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## peanutsmommy (May 19, 2012)

I tried feeding them together today, but I stood right there to make sure I saw who was eating what. Normally I feed Peanut in the bathroom and Mack in my living room, because I wanted to make sure Peanut was eating. Now she eats hers, and then goes and finishes whatever Mack didn't finish. Now I worry more about how much Mack is getting and have pulled his dry so he's not filling up on it and not eating his canned. (I just had the dry down to suppliment between the canned because they alwayed the canned, but now that he's not I took away the dry. They get fed canned 3-4 times per day with dry left out from around noon to 4 pm, then back up again so they are ready for "supper around 6-7 pm. So back to feeding separately, although they did do really well sitting side by side eating. (I have a 2 sided dish and they each have their own side) Peanut also drinks 2-3 bottles per day, the morning and night one being about 1 1/2 oz and the afternoon one being only about 1 oz.


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