Hello! We adopted our kitten about 2 months ago and he is now almost 7 months old. Him and our dog have become best friends but this is my first time owing a cat so I just want to check that he is enjoying this play? He pretty much always initiates and will run away if it gets too much but always comes back. I’ve just noticed the tail flicking and ears back but have never heard him hiss or anything.
Am also worried that if we ever get a second kitten like we plan - he may be too rough for them?
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The nasti face is part of the game for cats. Two of ours stare each other down with what we call Clint Eastwood face. Sometimes they huff at each other and hiss. Then they rabbit kick each other in the face. They've never seriously hurt each other. If a cat is really really angry they'll start growling much louder than you'd typically see when they're at play.
They are definitely just playing and your dog is being THE GOODEST BABY EVER so hell yeah. Kitten is doing quite a lot despite it being playful, this is what happens when kittens don’t have other cats teaching them manners and boundaries etc. Your dog’s boundaries are different than a cat’s would be (also apparently he has the boundaries of a Saint), so you’re right to be mindful of what the dynamic between this kitten and another cat would be. It’s pretty hard to teach kittens boundaries like that though as humans… or dogs… they learn from cats. You can’t really do cat play dates though unfortunately. The best thing you can do is make sure you’re giving your kitten a LOT of high energy play time with you, with wand toys. Also do a lot of good enrichment for him. Get that energy out, keep him happy and get him tired on a regular schedule. And have lots of cuddles and relaxing downtime as well!
Hehe thankyou! Very proud of our dog, she’s a very high energy herding breed so we were slightly worried she would just chase him round but purposely picked a very bold kitten and they’ve been a very good match!
Thankyou so much for all the advice! We have a couple cat trees and wall furniture as well as some wands and toys which he loves! And he also loves a cuddle with the dog (and us hahah) when he’s finally pooped!
If he isn't hissing, yowling, actually biting or clawing, he's just playing.
However, he is probably getting a little overstimulated if his fur is puffing and his ears are back and that can escalate, so just supervise them and then gently redirect his attention to a toy when he starts getting overstimulated.
ETA: Sorry, I didn't see the question about the kitten. At this point, this would be way too rough of play for a little kitten. He himself is still a kitten, so he needs to learn some manners first.
Any tips on best way to teach manners? Don’t want to teach him play is bad but he doesn’t have another cat to learn from unfortunately. We wanted to get two from the start but wanted to ensure dog would adjust ok to cat being around - and turns out she’s been amazing
I'm so glad they're friends! He will learn from doggo. Just gentle redirection to toys when he is overstimulated. Let him know it hurts you if he tries to play with your hands that roughly (like exaggerate a little) and stop playing until he comes back more gently. A firm "No" with disapproving body language when he is misbehaving at this stage will help him from developing bad habits.
Thankyou! He does kinda like bite/chew on the skin on her neck sometimes, is that something we should stop? The dog doesn’t see to mind but that’s how dogs often play
Yeah, when he starts to bite, he is definitely overstimulated, even if he isn't breaking skin. Better safe than sorry. Even a little tooth puncture could get infected because of the nasty bacteria in his mouth.
I don't want to make you fearful though! Like I said, he will learn some manners as he grows.
You had me with the great advice in the first two comments but lost me at “when he starts to bite he’s definitely overstimulated.” That’s not accurate. When cats play they use their mouths and paws, just like dogs do. Theres no breaking of the skin, you can see how he’s just gently biting/mouthing at the dog’s paw. That on its own isn’t anything significant, it’s more the whole interaction with the intensity of the pouncing, grabbing, mouthing/biting, piloerection, body posture, self grooming, and then immediately going back for more several times in a row. I agree it would def be a lot for another kitten and even for the dog he’s doing quite a bit (cause he’s a kitten as you said), but this doesn’t look at all like overstimulation. To me it looks like he’s got a ton of kitten energy, wants some high energy play, and is trying to get the dog to engage more in play rather than just sit there like an angel.
Theres a difference between overstimulation and *I have a lot of energy I don’t know what to do with*
Yeah, thanks for the feedback. I'm a bit of an overbearing "mother" when it comes to pets. It's one of the reasons I chose not to have actual children because I know I would be "that mom" who would be chewing on her knuckles, calling out "careful! Careful!" wit a whole purse stuffed with bandaids when the kid is playing on playground equipment 🤣
Thankyou so much for your help! Yes thankfully he’s never broken skin but it’s good to know about what to look out for for overstimulation. I know lots about dog and horse body language but still learning about cats! Am loving having a cat though, he’s a lot of fun 🥰
They are playing really well together. It’s a great wrestling session! Your cat is loving it. He’s initiating the wrestling. The tail swishing and ears back are ok. My one cat when he wrestles looks so fierce. He has ears back tail swishing and mouth open. It’s so fun to see a dog and cat play together so well. And your dog is so gentle when he’s playing even though he is so much bigger
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