Hello, me and my girlfriend got our first kitten ever at the end of November. He is now approx 16 weeks. He is very lively and giddy as i presume most kittens are at his age. He has his mad hour then usually settles down and sleeps or rests with us.
We both have full time jobs and are often out for the majority of the day.
We have bought Smudge many toys and playthings to keep him occupied. We have even taken to leaving the radio on for him so he doesn't feel isolated.
After much pondering we decided it would be best to get him a fellow kitten to play with.
We picked up our new kitten, Buddy, last week. I have kept them in seperate rooms since then allowing short supervised meetings for them in the living room. Smudge is constantly outside Buddys door, and they both seem to pining for eachother.
The only problem is that once we let them play together, Smudge (the eldest) gets really giddy when he sees Buddy and is quite forceful with him.
As soon as he sees him, he pounces on him wrestling him to the floor. Buddy yelps, although i think he is just saying "Get off me!" rather than feeling actual pain. Although it looks like a move from WWF wrestling, nibbling on the back of his neck and ears.
Is this normal behaviour and will it calm down??
We are both novices with pets and just want them to be happy.
I have read many similar stories but im just looking for abit of advice off an experienced cat owner.
Thankyou for reading. Adam and Carrie

Years ago I had two cats who weren't litter mates and never got on. One was a stray and moved in which really put out our other cat. Anyway you could always tell they weren't keen on each other. hissing, spitting, slapping etc. although when the one died the other one really pined. Anyway now I'm the proud owner of two new fur babies who are brothers and litter mates. They are currently pulling each other down the stairs and stamping on each other plenty of yelping from both. It looks a little rough but the tell tale signs that it's play is that they take it in turns to attack the other and there is no hissing or spitting or raised hackles and one moment they are fighting but the next they are curled up in bed together and grooming each other.

What are yours like does the little one ever look distressed?

well sounds like youv'e done the right thing to introduce them, yes its normal "play" for kittens, i'm sure it will take a few weeks for them to really settle but just make sure you keep and eye on them for really rough play.enjoy your bundles of fun

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My furbabies
*Monty(Black cat) 12*
*Bella 18 months just got her on 3.1.11*

this sounds like normal behaviour of kittens. Mine are at each other's throats one minute and the next are all curled up in bed. Just make sure that Smudge doesn't go too far and that Buddy has somewhere he can get away when it all gets too much for him.
You should think about getting Smudge neutered soon too or his 'play' will become more aggressive rather than calming down.

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How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven. - Robert A. Heinlein
http://www.lambchopsiamese.webs.com

Thankyou for all your advice, very much appreciated. As i said, im a rookie at looking after cats/kittens so its all helpful.
I think what it is, is that Smudge just wants to play with Buddy.
Buddy doesn't really look distressed, just abit helpless to stop Smudge wrestling him to the ground.
I know there both young kittens, 15 and just over 8 weeks, but do you think that could be a factor??
It seems like Buddy just wants to skip around investigating, yet Smudge is that excited to see him, he just pounces.
Buddy is in at vets on Friday for his 1st jab so i'll see if I can get Smudge in to get him "done".
Adam, Carrie, Smudge & Buddy