Will my cat hurt a kitten?

Question

Hi I have a 1 1/2 yr old male cat that has always been the center of attention. Well the pther day at work I found a kitten under the hood of car. No one else would take it so having another cat already I figured theyd be good playmates. Well I brought the kitten home and introduced them slowly in a 2 day period, neither ever hissed or ran and they get along great playing all the time and what not. Now heres my problem when they do play (which the kitten usually starts by smacking the older one in the face) the older one gets on top and doesnt let the kitten up he just holds her down and bites her playfully never making any angry cat fight noises. Now what concerns me is he far outweighs her and when he is on top she lets out terrible little cries, also I think he bit her a little hard on the neck as she has bumps there now. My question is will he hurt her or are they just playing and shes crying b/c shes mad he can pin her? Also if he does hurt her will she let him know with a sound and will he back off. He is very mild mannered not jealous at all just loves to play and is a little on the rough side but her being so small I worry. Any help is appreciated, even leave a link to your question if you and ill give you a good answer if you do the same.

Answer 1

mm prob but no not likely !

Answer 2

If it's anything like dogs, what he is doing is establishing dominance. Don't worry too much, it's more difficult than you think to hurt a kitten, you will hear all about it if she is hurt.

Answer 3

From your description, it sounds like they should be fine.  Animals are very sensitive and can tell when they are playing too hard, bothering the other cat, animal, person, etc.  They can tell who to stay away from, who is sick, etc.

My one cat I used to have, used to paw at the door handle, because he would always see us turning it to open the door.  If the door was shut, he would always try to turn it to go out.  You have no idea how smart animals really are because they cannot talk like us.  So you don't really know what they know if you know what I mean.  ;)

Answer 4

your older cat is basically saying:

"this is my house and i'm the boss"

because the kitten is still small it can be hurt but this is not likely. the older one will know what the kit can tolerate and will back off before he causes any damage. just to be on the safe side, only allow supervised play and provide plenty of toys for them to play with. feed them in separate rooms with separate bowls to avoid any jealousy......and always feed your older cat first so he is distracted while you are giving the little one your attention. this way he will know he is boss and is less likely to show dominant behaviour.  

Answer 5

omg that happened to me a couple of weeks ago...i also have cats and the other day we found a kitten in our garden...one of my other cats is about five months old but is way bigger then they little kitten but they r like the best buds and are always playing...its the exact same thing w/ him being able to easily overpower her and she is constantly crying out...but i think they know when to stop because she keeps playing with him...i wouldnt worry about it its just good that they r getting along :D

Answer 6

I think they are really just playing. I've seen a mad kitten, and I think you'd know when you saw it.

Just supervise them if you are concerned until she grows a little bigger. Maybe separate them if you are at work for a long time by a closed door or something just until she bulks up a little.

Answer 7

no they are fine, if they didn't like each other they wouldn't play together, and you male won't hurt it, its mearly showing the little one where it ranks. its a submissive power thing. another thing in just a few months time, she will be pinning him.

and your male sounds great by the way, most won't except another cat just like that.  

Answer 8

cats can pick up on body language, so if you make it alright for the new kitty to be there, it will eventually be alright with the older cat. just make sure that he knows he is still loved and wanted very much. cats like children can get very jealous, so make sure to continue to make him feel loved and continue to shower him with lots of love, attention and treats are a good touch too. good luck.

Answer 9

We were in the same situation. Since she is so small, he could hurt her very badly. The fact that they play-fight is normal, though, they establish hierarchy. My stronger advice, that we did, is to not leave them alone together. When you are outside the house keep them in separate rooms. Soon (in 2-3 weeks) they will not be fighting so much and the kitten will be bigger anyway. So then you can gradually leave them alone together. But they will be OK together eventually. Neuter your cat, if you haven't already.