# How can you tell between play fighting and real fighting?



## Kat1703 (Nov 22, 2011)

Hi - We've got two five month old kittens (Basil and Sybil) which we got at the same time from a rescue a few weeks ago (they were being raised together and were fine with each other's company).

Basil settled in immediately while Sybil was extremely skittish and hid for the first week or so. Sybil has now totally come out of her shell and is out all the time, total lap cat etc, which is great 

But, Basil seems to pounce on her a lot, tries to bite her stomach, steals her toys and tries to eat her food. They do sometimes groom each other though and sometimes sleep in the same place. 

How can I tell whether it's play fighting or something I should be more concerned about? Have heard Sybil meeow and hiss a few times!


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## Jenny1966 (Feb 7, 2011)

TBH I find it very difficult! Molly and Manny will chase each other like crazy, and end up in one big bundle of fluff! I worry that Molly is that much bigger than Manny so will hurt him, but touch wood, so far no damage has been done. 

I have noticed that Manny will hiss and make silly noises if Molly just comes near him, am sure just to get her in trouble 

I just go with my gut instinct, if I feel they are being too rough, they will get told off ... and seperated if needed! But I feel that because they do have times they snuggle up together, they never really like to be too far from each other, they eat together etc that they really cant dislike each other that much, so I let them get on with it


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I agree with jenny above.....look at how they act _when they are not actually fighting_ and you will get more of a clear idea. There is normally some kind of pecking order....one cat getting to eat first or polishing off the other's food, but that is normal and does not necessarily signify animosity.


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## Longton Flyball (Nov 6, 2011)

Poppy and Snoopy are always falling out. Snoopy's always got a scabby nose and I'm always telling them off but it's not nasty it's just how they would act in the wild and Poppy is the boss she sorts the dogs out when they play up.

Duke and Clover the dogs are the same always fighting but it's not nasty Duke will use a certain way to bark when he's had enough or Clover's getting too rough.


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## Cats cats cats (Feb 4, 2011)

for me , it's the amount of noise  Unfortunately , i have seen my cats fight with each other , and also , mr fuzzy , try to fight with the neighbours cat (from behing his enclosure    )

In my experience, they really .........SCREAM and SCREECH at each other and the fighting is so violent that really, you'll have no doubt 

Mr Fuzzy play fights with my new kittens and it's completely different, yes they sometimes hiss , they chase , leap on each other, roll around etc ...but it does not have the same vicious quality :thumbup1:

hope this helps


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## Chewie39 (Jul 24, 2011)

It definitely is hard to tell sometimes! Kitty and Oscar (7 months) are pretty rough with each other sometimes _but_ they are utterly inseperable almost all the time (and so cute together). How they are when they aren't actually fighting is definitely a good indicator, I'd say.


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