Can kittens play too rough and hurt each other?

[AbbyMom]

I'm fostering three little kittens. I picked them up last Wednesday and their socialization is going well. They are about 7 weeks old. This is my first time fostering.

When I let them out to play at night, they play really hard and rough. Last night the most aggressive one wouldn't stop attacking one of the others, the largest one. This was after 40 minutes of solid play (What energy!). Both kittens were visibly panting.

The largest one seemed to lose his temper and then the play seem to "go over the edge." I mean they seemed genuinely angry, especially the large one. I separated them for a little while. They were tired and hungry anyway.

My question: I would like to let them have free roam of the spare bedroom and stop putting them back in the cage. Since I would no longer be around to supervise, I'm concerned that the play could escalate and one of them actually hurt the other because they are so aggressive.

Am I being over protective? I have separated my adult cats after they began serious cat fighting, but they are not littermates.

I have no experience with multiple kittens, so I'm hoping Pet Talkers can help me out!

Thanks, Pat

[QueenScoopalot]

Pat, It's very common for little ones to duke it out like that. It's all part of learning to be big cats, and often they look like they're really hurting each other, but rarely do. They're learning to assert themselves and show dominance over each other. Maybe when things get too rambunctious you can distract them with an interactive toy such as a ball, or feather wand. Cat Dancers are very inexpensive and great fun for kittens, as are Turbo Scratchers. WalMart carries Turbo Scratchers as well as the cardboard pads for the center. Well worth it for babies. Just remember to take the ball out at night if it's in earshot of your bedroom lol...they'll drive you nuts playing non-stop otherwise. Fun, fun, FUN huh? Good luck with the monkeys!

[AbbyMom]

Thanks, QSAL. I guess I'll trust that they won't really bite each other or something else awful.

They have a lot of toys! (Our motto: Anything for the cats. ) Actually, I think jealousy over the feather wand was part of the battle.

But they don't have a Turbo Scratcher and I'll look for that.

And they are great entertainment!

Thanks, Pat

[Andy Mentzer]

We have just added to our lil' family.We've just adopted what I believe to be a ferral kitten,a little boy, about 8 weeks old.We also have a little girl, about 9 1/2 old.Got her from the shelter. Anyway,we just brought him home tonight and Grace wanted to immediatley rough- house the lil' guy.I dont think shes big enough to cause too much damage but shes just a little bigger than he is and we're a little concerned that she may be hurting him. Does anybody have any more thoughts?