Why won't my kitten stop playing too rough with my older cat?
Growing kittens often ignore a resident cat's warning cues and push past boundaries during play, escalating into tackling and actual physical harm. Because older cats frequently fail to put the kitten in its place, owners are left constantly separating them and worrying about long-term stress for their senior pets.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Separating the cats whenever play gets too roughDid this help you?
- 2Switching which cats sleep in the main bed night by night to prevent nighttime fightingDid this help you?
- 3Providing escape areas and climbing walls for the older catsDid this help you?
- 4Warily waiting for the kitten to mature with ageDid this help you?
- 5keeping cats in separate rooms during feedingDid this help you?
- 6using spray bottlesDid this help you?
- 7grabbing the kitten's scruff and scoldingDid this help you?
- 8offering treat incentives for being niceDid this help you?
- 9tossing the kitten in a different room when it pouncesDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“as Appa has gotten bigger, he is ignoring the other cat's cues to stop being so rough dueing playtime.”source ↗
“It's almost like he enjoys the reaction of them screaming when he gets them, as he will tackle them to the ground and then run away and wait to be chased.”source ↗
“We seperate them anytime play gets too much, which is pretty much every time.”source ↗
“we are worried that it could stress out out bigger cats long term.”source ↗
“They both do this where the tuxedo cat(9 months) will chase the turtle cat(15 years) up her cat tower (can never tell if it's malicious) and the scratch the posts at the bottom.”source ↗
“My kitten would beat up on my senior cat. It didnt do much as a kitten, but as they got older they started actually hurting him.”source ↗
“Nothing I tried seemed to work. Maybe my cat was just extra stubburn, but beyond that, I really dont if YOU can do anything if your older cat cant put them in their place and hold the hierarchy unfortunately.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 75Why does my anxious cat scream and panic over closed doors?