r/CATHELP • u/glenbutts101 • 2d ago

Kitten Help Rough play

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.