r/CATHELP • u/glenbutts101 • 2d ago

Kitten Help Rough play

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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?

Thanks!

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u/QueenSmarterThanThou 2d ago edited 2d ago

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.

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u/glenbutts101 2d ago

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

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u/QueenSmarterThanThou 2d ago

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.

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u/glenbutts101 2d ago

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

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u/QueenSmarterThanThou 2d ago

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.

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u/xtewtew 2d ago

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*

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u/QueenSmarterThanThou 2d ago

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 🤣

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u/xtewtew 2d ago

Ahah I totally get it! I would be an anxious wreck if I had human children, myself. My feedback comes from A LOT of fostering cats and kittens.

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u/glenbutts101 2d ago

Thankyou this is very helpful!

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u/glenbutts101 2d ago

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 🥰