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Mine play rough too. It's just their way I guess. Much rougher than I would like -and it looks and sounds just terrible. Sometimes someone has had enough - it's usually Lexie and she will hiss and run away all puffed up
Simon is the rough hooligan of the group. Mak is right behind him though! They tumble and slam each other into walls, roll each other off the bed and just keep going. They also grab each other by the legs to get the other on the ground, then go for the throat. They "bunny kick" with the back feet - I hate that! so we keep back nails trimmed as much as possible.
I do think it's funny when two of them will stand off in a room and just circle each other and growl. One will lift a paw and just smack at the other in turn. Finally someone will go in for the first lunge then it's game on!
But I do know mine love each other to death - it's not fighting at all Especially Simon and Lexie - best of friends. They are always sleeping and cuddling and bathing each other.
I know that Freddie and Meeko are relatively new housemates and quite possible this is overly rough play - and a building of the hierarchy of the household. Until you get those unmistakeable hisses, guttural growls, etc. I would just keep watch for no further escalation. To me though it sounds like they aren't best friends but not enemies either.
I have two cats who beat the crap out of each other constantly. They get really rough with each other & I sometimes break them up. I always worry about the rear paw kicks to the face & head as I certainly don't want scratched eyes.
Even though they are rough about it, if I let them go, one will eventually walk away appearing disinterested in continuing. My guide as of late has been:
Are their ears back, do they hiss, caterwaul, growl, raise the hair on their backs, etc? So they're showing no signs of real anger or aggression. The answer is consistently no to all of those questions. In my mind, this tells me that these kitties are play fighting, just a little rougher than I would like to see but that's basically what is. They lock onto each other's throats, bite each others legs, paws, ears, etc. But never any blood, just clumps of fur on the floor & in their mouths.
Beyond this, I don't know what to tell you. This is just my experience.
Clumps of fur, AAAH! That Would really freak me out!
I'm relatively still new to understanding cats, but with Meekos "problems" whatever they may actually be, I'm guess I'm not sure he would give the usual signs.
I'm pretty sure he hallucinates more than a cat with the "midnight crazies"
Last night we all slept together again, Meeko had his back to me on the bed, I was talking to him and out came "I'm sorry if I am misunderstanding you" Meeko rolled over to face me, blinked slowly, then put his paw in my upturned palm then rested his head on that paw and went to sleep.
Glad everyone had a peaceful night. I'm sure there will be bumps in the road, but here's hoping they make progress toward becoming friends, or at least accept each other.
I'm relatively still new to understanding cats, but with Meekos "problems" whatever they may actually be, I'm guess I'm not sure he would give the usual signs.
Those "usual signs" are instinctive with kitties. They don't conciously try to fake you out. If they're angry and have intent to harm the other, it'll show in their body language. Ears back, hissing, growling, etc. It's all part of the social behavior which with kitties, is not very social since they're not really social animals like dogs. Kitties who get along typically just "tolerate" each other's presence. There is a level of familiarity that they have with each other that is basically smell based. They'll lick & groom each other because they are comfortable around each other. In my house though, that licking invariably turns to biting & wrestling and then before you know it, they're rolling around on the floor play fighting like they're mortal enemies. It seems worse to humans than it really is. Cats just have the agility & weapons that few other predators do so when they play fight, it looks very real (and scary to the uninitiated).
Want some fun? Take one of your kitties to the vet for any period of time. They'll come back smelling different and the other may or may not recognize them because of the different smell. Happens in my house almost every time one of them goes to the vet. You'd think you'd brought a brand new kitty back from the vet instead of an old housemate.
Trust me, cats are a real piece of work. My wife still insists she'd rather have a dog..... a lot fewer psychological issues with dogs she feels.
I have three cats all boys, two are siblings the other is a Ragdoll I have owned them from being kittens the siblings were 7 weeks old, my Ragdoll was 5 months old when he joined us.
I used a large dog crate to separate them while they all settled down together, it took about two weeks before I integrated them.
They are three years old now and they still play rough and tumbles sometimes things look a bit scary as they size each other up. I simply say oy, pack it in. That's if Duke does get in there first, he usually separates them with his nose. He has had them hanging off his neck as their way of saying butt out pal.
On the whole we have a good harmonious balance, and I am sure you will too with your two.
I wish I understood and could now still afford to become technologically literate.
I was watching other videos of cats play fighting and also of FHS episodes and none matched the intensity or choreography of either.
Once Meeko gets onto Freddies back or throat, he does not let up and Freddie runs and cries (back) or just cries (throat).
When Meeko "goes to crazy town" as it has become known around here, the atmosphere gets tense between them.
I'll follow Meekos mad dash into the living and play with him for a while (usually 5 am) or just close the bedroom door and coax Freddie onto the bed to cuddle.
JJ has no bite inhibition, so when he 'plays' he grips Robin by the throat and SQUEEZES. He doesn't really mean to hurt her, but he's heavier and she has trouble freeing herself when she's pinned.
I know the two of them will never get along or be best friends, but I don't reward him for this behavior. You may want to try a penny can- fill a soda can with pennies and tape over the opening. Next time Meeko starts, shake the can. The loud noise should distract him. Then separate the two and leave Meeko alone- don't fuss over him. You're just rewarding his behavior. I have JJ and Robin to the point now where they basically ignore each other.
Which cat was first in the household? How were they introduced? You may need to back up several steps and start over.
How is Meeko's body language during these attacks? Is he putting his ears back or lashing his tail? How about Freddie? Different cats have different play styles, like like people (and dogs). Reading the body language will help you figure out if Meeko is playing and just being too rough, or if there is true aggression going on. There are ways to manage both.
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