[andeevans]

I have never had cats before. I adopted a male neutered kitten who is now 11 weeks old. Today, I adopted a 7 week old male neutered kitten, as a companion. I didn't realize the size difference would be so great until I got my new kitten home. 4lbs vs. 1.2lbs. My older cat seems to want to play, but he bites the smaller one constantly, rolling onto his back and holding him with his paws. The small kitten cries, hisses and tries to bite back. Both cats are free of diseases. I was told that 2 male kittens would grow up together and be pals. Is this true? Ive separated them and both kittens cry constantly if they are not in the same room with me. I know I will have to separate them when I go to sleep, but which one do I isolate? My older kitten is so affectionate. Will this change? I want to bond with the smaller kitten, but I don't want to neglect the older one.

[bushg]

I have 3 females 1 male and they range from around 11 years old to 1 1/2. I can say that yours are at a good age to bond. Whether we humans like it or not 1 will be the boss. At night I would let them both sleep with me until they started the playing then I would put the kitten in a carrier and sit it beside my bed or on a night stand ->making sure it can't fall off. When they had to be left alone I would confine 1 of them so that the playing did not get out of hand, at least till the 7 week old had time to catch up in the weight department. If there is a tiny crack under the door they will still interact, by sticking their paws under the door and swatting at each other. I do not use cat nip with my cats as they seem to get weird. They will also fight over toys that have cat nip in them. Just my experience , use your judgement. The confined kitty will need a litter box as well as water, maybe a small amount of kitten food. I think they will get along just find esp. since you had them neutered. My neighbor her 3 cats and 2 fosters at the moment and they do just fine they are all male. Good Luck

[andeevans]

Awww... thanks so much. Im almost in tears here ;( Mylo, the 11 week old, I think is just playing too hard, but he is biting Koal, the 7 week old, to the point that he cries hysterically. Is this normal play and Mylo is just being too rough, or is it a territory thing?

[bushg]

He is probably just being to rough. I rescued/fostered 2 kittens last spring twin sisters and sometimes I thought they were out for blood. When they acted this way I separated them. Honey don't be so upset it will all work out.

[andeevans]

Thank you.

[froggy7]

Does Mylo stop when the little one cries out? If he does, then really it's just cats learning how hard to play. Trust me... cats play extremely roughly. If the ears are staying pricked up (instead of plastered back), the tussling is relatively slow, the cats stop playing when one cries out, and (perhaps most importantly) the little one goes back for more if you break them up, then it's probably just play.

But you might want to keep them separate for now. Let them play footsie under the door, until it seems that they really want to be together. And try to give them some one-on-one play time with you. Easier to do if someone can take the other cat into a different room and play with it, and then switch off.