Hi there,
I'm writing because we've just adopted a 2-month-old kitten to join our first cat, who is a year old.
They are both males, and the older one has been neutered.
We originally planned to keep them separate for a few days before doing the introductions. However, since the older one knows how to open doors, everything was fast-tracked and they ended up meeting face-to-face just a few hours after the kitten arrived.
The kitten was scared of the big one at first, but that wore off in a matter of minutes. So, we decided to let them spend time together.
For the first two days, everything was fine, aside from the older cat putting the little one in his place a few times (like "don't bite my tail while I'm asleep"). We even caught them sharing the same food bowl and playing together a bit.
Since yesterday, though, we've noticed the big one 'violently' licking the little one two or three times. This grooming is very quickly followed by bites, first to the neck and then on the back. The bites seem quite hard; they made the kitten meow at first, and because the older cat was so persistent, the kitten ended up hissing and even swatting at him. It's worth noting that the older cat seems to want to pin the kitten down while licking him.
In your opinion, what's causing this behaviour? And what should we do?
Thanks for your help.
