My big cat goes on top of the kitten. Is it aggression or dominance?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is a display of dominant behavior. This is generally not a big concern but I would try to avoid as much as possible as she could hurt the kitty by mistake. Have a great day!

Hello. This is just a way for your older cat to demonstrate dominance over the younger one. It is not sexual. As the kitten matures, this will put everyone on more equal ground & the behavior will stop. Just shoo the cats apart ( don't get loud or angry because you do not want to make either cat fearful of the other ), or distract them with a toy or treat, & eventually they will learn to live peacefully with one another. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach. I would recommend giving them time to adjust to each other. This may be Cheech trying to establish dominance over the kitten. I would recommend gradually introducing them to each other over a period of 4 to 6 weeks. I would also recommend incorporating Feliway products to see if this helps. Feliway products can be found online quite easily or at your local pet store. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This behavior is likely due to the new kitten. The good news is that Nolan is very likely to go back to his normal self fairly soon. This is not an uncommon reaction in cats when a new cat is introduced to the household. Good luck and have a good night!

Hi there. I don't think the cat is being overprotective of the kitten. If she is not letting her out from under the bed is because she is asserting dominance and is basically bullying the kitten. This is aggressive behavior. When inserting a new kitten or cat to a household you need to introduce them slowly. Here is an article on how to do this. Cats are not like dogs where you can just throw them in together and they usually get along. http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/how-to-introduce-a-second-cat/ So, I would go back and start over basically using the article's techniques. Next I would get Feliway diffusers and put them in your house. These release "happy cat pheromones" which helps to calm the cats. These things work amazing!!! Please, if you do anything at all, do this. You can usually buy this in most large pet stores and even some vet offices carry it. I hope this helps. You really need to go back to introduce them the right way or you are going to have MAJOR issues in your house with the cats. Best wishes. If you have any additional questions you are welcome to ask!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unfortunately introducing another cat to another cat's environment can cause undo stress for one or both. Typically this is territorial behavior and I suspect this is what the case is with your two cats. Unfortunately this can be quite difficult to manage and address. I typically recommend starting out by trying products such as Feliway, which is a pheremone product that is supposed to keep cats calm. This product does not work in every single cat and the response varies. Anti-anxiety medications might be something to consider, but you will need to speak with your veterinarian in regards to this as you will need a prescription. If you are unable to get the two cats to be friendly towards one another and it always ends in trauma, I would seriously consider rehoming one of the cats to prevent further injury. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

From your description of your cat's behavior, it does sound like play behavior rather than aggression. When Mini is playing with you, he likely wants to join in on the play behavior as well. As long as he isn't hurting her or showing signs of aggression, I would not worry about it. I hope this helps.