Is my Cat a bully or is this normal behavior??

Question

I have a 14 month old neutered male and (2) new 7 wk old male and female kitties. They all seem to be getting along, but i noticed my older cat seems to catch the kitties, seems to bite them at the throat.( I thought he killed the kitty). At that moment he stays at the kitties throat, lets go and proceeds to clean them. During this episode the kitty would close his or her eyes and lay very still. Is this normal behavior is he emulating what a mother cat does?????

Answer 1

'Biting' the throat, then grooming are both very normal cat behaviors.  Neither are a sign of aggression.

Answer 2

This is totally normal, i have 3 cats that always do the same thing.  The cat is not being mean in any way, it is just playing, and yes when it cleans the other cats it is kinda imitating what a mom cat would do.

Answer 3

the cat just wants to be the boss and u cant help it the little kittys like it while she cleans them and wants there mother to clean them if they move the mama is not gunna run after them and clean them. you get it?? she just wants to be the boss

Answer 4

This can be taken as a aggressive behavior, but also playfulness or like a motherly instinct.  The mother cat will grab her kittens by the neck to move them in place so she can clean her babies.  Cats are clean freaks, most of them anyway.  My oldest cat(male) will clean our youngest kitten all the time.  Also he will bit on her neck when they r playing/wrestling.  Don't worry that isn't aggressive behavior, hes just doing it to clean your baby.

Answer 5

Completely normal and yes, mother cats do that too.  

My girl did that with her kittens and with the new kitten we found and my guys do it when they groom each other.  As long as the kittens don't seem upset there's no problem.  Cats and kittens sometimes play (and clean) really roughly, mine certainly do, but playing rarely results in injury.  Somehow all my kitties seem to manage to have fun without hurting each other even though some are very big and a couple are quite small.

Yours is just being a good big brother.  

Answer 6

I don't really think that it's motherly behavior-I think that sounds like predatory behavior.  I would definitely watch interaction between the older cat and the kittens.   Sometimes cats can be very territorial to a person, place or thing, so your older cat may think that his territory is being invaded.  you may want to try something to calm him down.  I know that places like Pet-Smart sell a "plug in" unit that emits a certain hormone that produces a calming effect on cats-It also helps to stop nervous cats from urinating in the house.  Good Luck!  (I have three cats and it did take them a little while to get along.)