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Kitten behaviour when eating-help!

fitnessqueenfitnessqueen Posts: 5,185
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in Pets #1
Any cat behaviour experts out there? I have two kittens who are nearly 6 months old - a girl and a boy from the same litter. He has always pushed her out of the way when I put food down but she would just go to the other bowl. However in the last couple of days he won't let her eat at the same time as him at all- he growls at her and sometimes swipes so she retreats under a kitchen chair. I have tried putting her bowl elsewhere in the kitchen but he just goes over to her, growls and starts eating from her bowl. Otherwise they play together as normal, sleep on the same bed etc. They had their neutering ops done a couple of weeks ago. Any ideas what's going on?

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    molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,828
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    #2
    He's a bully ! We used to feed our bully girl in another room entirely so all of ours got their fair share.
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    stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    #3
    Don't feed them in the same room.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,129
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    #4
    I have a rescue kitten who is nearly 12wks. He does exactly the same and growls at all ours and hits out as well he isnt afraid of anything apart from humans. I would myself feed them in different spots as well. I would stay with the one that is being bullied to give her more confidence. I am sure it will work out but it might take a bit of time though
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    cosmocosmo Posts: 26,840
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    #5
    Never had more than one cat but a friend had four at one stage.

    One (a tom cat) wouldn't tolerate any of the others near him while he was eating. He'd make noises that sounded like they were coming from hell. The other cats would move away until he was finished.
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    LippincoteLippincote Posts: 7,132
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    #6
    It sounds like a dominance behaviour. I agree with the other posters who say feed them separately. Try moving their plates to opposite sides of the room, and sit near the female while she's eating to ensure he doesn't threaten her. If he does, put him and his plate the other side of the door so he eats in a separate room. You will probably have to do this for a couple of weeks to break the habit.
    Remember, you're in charge, not him:D
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    fitnessqueenfitnessqueen Posts: 5,185
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    #7
    Thanks all- they are snuggled up together on my son's bed at the moment with their paws round each other! I tried moving his bowl to another part of the kitchen earlier on today but he just marched back over to her bowl and swiped her out of the way. Looks like I'll have to try feeding him in the living room for a while.....
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,317
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    #8
    They have now just got to early puberty and he has now become more aware of his relative position and his ability to establish/impose this on his sister.
    Depending on what they are fed, how aggressive he is, how fearful she is and how easy it is to deter/block him, you can either feed them some distance apart, in separate rooms or, if they are on dry food, you can scatter the food over a large area of the floor (I'm assuming you have tiles or lino in your kitchen) so he can't guard it all at once.
    However be aware you want to try to address this at this stage or he may gradually extend it to other areas/resources as he gets more confident about his ability and the effectiveness of his bullying tactics.
    You can support the female while she's eating, feed her at a higher level than him, remove HIM if he is aggressive to her, support her in eating first so she has finished before he can butt in and keep a look out for him positioning himself to block her from things, including exits/entrances/walkways, glaring at her etc.
    If he does, intervene at the earliest stage to support her and to maintain her confidence to prevent a victim/aggressor cycle developing.
    Also be aware that if he starts to become more territorial outside over time, as he becomes more confident, physcially stronger, more socially mature thus and status/territory aware, (cats are fully socially mature at ~18-36 months) this increased status/territorial awareness can result in re-directed aggression to his sister, as an easier target to take any frustration out on if he is less confident about takign on outside cats, or just because he could still be aroused about outside cats.
    If he is agitated when he comes in it can be best to keep them apart until he has setteld down, which can be a while after he appears calm.
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    LippincoteLippincote Posts: 7,132
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    #9
    Agree it needs to be nipped in the bud, I've got a victim/aggressor cycle going on and it's a beggar once it gets established, they both cling onto their roles for dear life. As Tass says aggressors become the full nightmare around 2 years of age, so put a stop to it before he gets to that stage - I'm sure you can, it sounds like it's still early days so he can be 'redirected'.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,044
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    #10
    Yes, feed them in separate rooms and verbally scold him whenever he bullies her. My male cat used to be like that with his sister. She might be sitting washing her paws or staring out the window at one end of the room but he would snort and growl when he was eating. Thankfully he is not as bad any more although if she happens to be in the top hammock he feels well within his rights to go and push her out.

    In all honesty she prefers even now to eat her food in a separate room as he will quickly gulp his food and given half the chance would try to eat her's aswell if he could.

    The really funny thing though is that if I have tell off either of them for one thing or another, the other one will go and bop the one who's been naughty on the nose. I think they both think they're my right-hand cat! lol!
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,317
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    #11
    lozza73 wrote: »
    Yes, feed them in separate rooms and verbally scold him whenever he bullies her. My male cat used to be like that with his sister. She might be sitting washing her paws or staring out the window at one end of the room but he would snort and growl when he was eating. Thankfully he is not as bad any more although if she happens to be in the top hammock he feels well within his rights to go and push her out.

    In all honesty she prefers even now to eat her food in a separate room as he will quickly gulp his food and given half the chance would try to eat her's aswell if he could.

    The really funny thing though is that if I have tell off either of them for one thing or another, the other one will go and bop the one who's been naughty on the nose. I think they both think they're my right-hand cat! lol!

    Basic rule of political alliances: stay in with he/she who wields(sp?) the power ;):D
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    fitnessqueenfitnessqueen Posts: 5,185
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    #12
    Tass wrote: »
    They have now just got to early puberty and he has now become more aware of his relative position and his ability to establish/impose this on his sister.
    Depending on what they are fed, how aggressive he is, how fearful she is and how easy it is to deter/block him, you can either feed them some distance apart, in separate rooms or, if they are on dry food, you can scatter the food over a large area of the floor (I'm assuming you have tiles or lino in your kitchen) so he can't guard it all at once.
    However be aware you want to try to address this at this stage or he may gradually extend it to other areas/resources as he gets more confident about his ability and the effectiveness of his bullying tactics.
    You can support the female while she's eating, feed her at a higher level than him, remove HIM if he is aggressive to her, support her in eating first so she has finished before he can butt in and keep a look out for him positioning himself to block her from things, including exits/entrances/walkways, glaring at her etc.
    If he does, intervene at the earliest stage to support her and to maintain her confidence to prevent a victim/aggressor cycle developing.
    Also be aware that if he starts to become more territorial outside over time, as he becomes more confident, physcially stronger, more socially mature thus and status/territory aware, (cats are fully socially mature at ~18-36 months) this increased status/territorial awareness can result in re-directed aggression to his sister, as an easier target to take any frustration out on if he is less confident about takign on outside cats, or just because he could still be aroused about outside cats.
    If he is agitated when he comes in it can be best to keep them apart until he has setteld down, which can be a while after he appears calm.

    Thanks Tass and everyone else- I was wondering if it was connected with his age- I have two sons going through puberty and now kittens as well :eek:
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