# new female kitten + 10 month old male cat = stress



## neo (Apr 20, 2004)

Hey all....first post, how are ya?

We have a 10 month old male fixed cat named ozzie....he's orange with awesome stripes.....rescued him from under a building near a barn. He's awesome, but definitely shows that he spent the first 3 months of his life alone & possibly abused/scared by humans.

We just got a 2 month old female on Saturday, mostly white calico....she's great.


My problem is that Oz stalks her as if she's prey, or so it appears to me. Sometimes I think he's playing, but then he gets her in a bear hug & starts the bunny-kick....she's so little that she can't get away. I feel as if he's simply playing & doesn't know how big he is, only because he's had his jaws around her a few times & never bit down. It's just that he's really aggressive.


I currently keep them in seperate rooms when we're not there & when we're sleeping....


If anyone has any insight at all for a newbie it would be much appreciated....


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## neo (Apr 20, 2004)

Maybe I should be more specific with regard to my questions....


1. Should Ozzie's behavior as I described it worry me?

2. Any suggestions on getting them to eat their own food (kitten for the kitten, adult for Oz)? They seem to want to eat the other's food....

3. What to do when the play gets too rough? I had to pull him off her once....



Thanks all!


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

This is probably too abrupt an introduction. They should be separated and introduced gradually over a week or two--depending on how they're reacting. Please see articles on base camp and cat-to-cat introductions at http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=library for details!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


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## neo (Apr 20, 2004)

Thanks doc. Those were really good reads.

After reading, I'm figuring out that the kitten just doesn't care....even after the skirmishes she goes right back to him, taunting in the playful way cats do.

Oz, on the other hand, is the one I have to concentrate on....I'm going to change some things a bit pursuant to those articles when it comes to him. I don't think I've been as sensitive to his space as he needs me to be.


Thanks again!!


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Good insights! You're paying attention, and I'm sure you'll have the problem solved in no time!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


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## orion76 (Apr 30, 2004)

I don't think this problem will be solved until the kitten is quite a bit bigger. It seems to be more play/alpha male behavior than an attempt to harm an intruder into its territory. 

Keep in mind that if you stroke your cat's belly he may bearhug and bunny kick your hand too. When he does that he doesn't mean to harm you, he's just playing albeit a little rough. Cats do not have compassion as do humans and the kitty not enjoying the playtime is of no concern to your cat. His only concern would be not getting hurt himself and he won't have to be concerned about this for many months.

I've had the same issue and it didn't stop until the kitty was big enough defend itself. They should not be left unsupervised until this behavior stops, which can take a while. At some point the kitty will be stronger and may hiss and claw the cat a few times after which things should get better.


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## Djinn (Apr 30, 2004)

*.....*

This sounds like the same exact behavior we saw from my sister's 3 year old) male cat named Jedi when I took in my kitten last year. The female kitten, Kouji was only 6 weeks old at the time, but right off they would rough house. We'd sometimes have to separate the two because we were afraid that Jedi would hurt her. 

He'd pounce on her, grab her in a bear hug and do the "bunny kick". But as soon as we'd separate them, Kouji would go right back after him. More times than not, it was the kitten going after the older cat and instigating the rough housing.

We never left the two cats alone together until Kouji got old enough and big enough to defend herself. She never outgrew the instigating, but once she was old enough to defend herself, she often had Jedi on the run.


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## orion76 (Apr 30, 2004)

Very true, often the roughness will start when the kitty claws and bites the older cats tail or something like that :lol:


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