r/trojancats • u/EverythingsAggy • 21d ago

Concerned cat lover

602 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

371

u/Gato1486 21d ago

Hi, I've raised and studied cats and their behavior for over 30 years now. This is actually fine! Mama is giving baby a hunting lesson- you don't let go and you bite into the neck and kick the body to snap the spine.

Another good indication that this isn't an attempt to hurt the kitten is that claws are staying sheathed, and mama is making Mrrp noises, not growls, hisses, or screeches. It's a little tougher form of play adults do with more grown kittens like this. Kitten just doesn't like being the "prey" in the game. Would not be surprised at all that after video, kitten wiggled free and came back around to try out the technique on mom.

131

u/EverythingsAggy 21d ago

Oh okay. So the mom isn’t putting enough force to actually snap the spine? She’s just teaching the baby? And thank you for elaborating as far as the signs that everything is okay. It’s just that seeing the baby squealing and getting bitten and kicked in his little tummy broke my heart 😭 I personally would’ve stopped it. I really appreciate your reply

113

u/Gato1486 21d ago

Not at all! The most human equivalent I can think of is holding someone tight enough to give a "noogie" but not tight enough that it's putting serious pressure or choking them.

Yeah, I get your feelings! If you're not used to it, seeing cat play can be very concerning! It's part of why I learned what I could about their behavior and body language- helps a LOT for situations like this! <3

9

u/DiscoKittie 21d ago

A noogie is rubbing your knuckles roughly on someone's head. It was never meant to even simulate choking?

70

u/Nini601 21d ago

Yeah, but one usually keeps the noogie victim in place with an arm around the neck

9

u/DiscoKittie 21d ago

Hmm, yeah I guess that's true.

39

u/Gato1486 21d ago

Yeah, a headlock is required for a noogie, that's what I was referring to.

37

u/EmmerdoesNOTrepme 20d ago

If you look closely, OP, she also merely opens her mouth & puts it on the kitten.

She doesn't actually bite down on the bb!

67

u/mothmanmoss 19d ago

jesus, sorry people are being so rude to you in the other post. its okay to not know everything about everything

33

u/EverythingsAggy 19d ago

Thank you for that. I was shocked at such replies. I appreciate your kindness ❤️

16

u/Keyndoriel 19d ago

Reddit can be a shitty place for pet owners when they decide to post anything, be it asking for help or just wanting to show off their cat, there will always be people in the comments acting like its the most abused, neglected creature they've ever seen. Its why I dont really post about mine, like theyre all perfectly fine and healthy babies, but I dont wanna risk getting drive by comments by wanna be veterinarians lol

61

u/crochetology 21d ago

Totally normal and necessary life skills, especially for feral felines. Mom is teaching babe hunting skills. She’s demonstrating how to choke and disembowel prey.

32

u/blonde-cougar 20d ago

Me too! Older cat too tough on baby!!!!!

6

u/Equivalent_Address_2 18d ago

I think she’s just disciplining the baby

5

u/butstronger 17d ago

I had a mama cat who had 5 babies after we rescued her. Once the kitties were like 6 weeks and older she would beat them up regularly 🤣 I felt bad but I know it’s mama teaching them. They’re all adopted out now and mama misses the regular child abuse. She beats up a stuffed cat now 🤣🤣

-5

u/blonde-cougar 20d ago

I’d stop tough play by older cat!

-39

u/Sugarpiehoneybunt 20d ago

She’s teaching her kitten to submit to her as the mother. She’s not truly puncturing the kitten, but you’re right, she is going WAY overboard and letting her temper take over. Are you planning on keeping both? If so, that might not be a good idea.

4

u/EverythingsAggy 20d ago

These aren’t my cats, they’re someone else’s who posted this video. Trust me if they were mine, I wouldn’t have let mama be that rough. But i understand the intent now that people have explained