play or fight?

[ashleycat]

Jake being the young kitten he is wants to play. Every now and then I see him and Ashley going at it. How can you tell the difference between playing and fighting?

[catmandu]

ITS HARD SOMETIMES TO TELL WHEN THEY ARE FOOLING AROUND OR NOT.
THE KITTEN TRIO LOOKS FEROCIOUS , BUT END UP CUDDLING ALL THE SAME.

ITS ALL IN FUN.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/cat%20photos%202/cats101184.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/cat%20photos%202/cats101116.jpg

[lvpets2002]

;) Sometimes I mistaken play for fighting.. However watch the ears & claws.. If the ears are layed back & the claws out then that is fighting.. If ears normal & just batting around with flat paws then thats play..

[Kalei]

Playing seems to be always when they do not hurt each other, if they are fighting they'd be truely hurting each other I think.

[heidiv]

Hissing and growling is NEVER a good sign.

[ashleycat]

well then, Ashley plays for a few min then starts getting annoyed when Jake won't back down lol.

[Freedom]

Some of this will just be the adult teaching the younster his place in the world, ha ha. I usually go by the sounds, but factor in the personality. Chestnut hollers up a storm all the time, so its tough to decide if he needs me to intervene on his behalf or not. With the others, the sound changes when it gets serious.

Keep a water spray bottle handy and intervene when necessary. (I know, your question was WHEN is it necessary.) You'll get used to the sights and sounds enough to know for yours, just as moms do for their kids.

[emilysgk]

I also think noise is a big indicator. I have seen many lay there ears down in play, and play can get pretty aggressive and hurt eachother a little also. But typically if there is a lot of growling or hissing going on its probably time to separate them.

[jennielynn1970]

A bunch of my guys play rough, and they chase all over the house. The one foster cat, Furbee, shrieks like a cat being torn apart just when other cats walk past her. It always sounds like she's being attacked and mauled by the whole crew, and when you look, no one has even touched noses with her.

My newest guy, Honey, seems to pick on my girl Boris. Boris is more independent, and doesn't snuggle with anyone. Normally she picked on the other girls. Now Honey picks on her, but he will back her into a corner, which I don't like at all. She has claws, and he doesn't, but he's also FIV+, so I don't want any real fighting to ever take place! I try to keep it as neutral as possible, and I do time outs in separate rooms when needed. :D