Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm not sure if this a problem or not, so I'll ask.
My kitten was allowed out for the first time yesterday, and my big cat took it well. A little butt sniffing, and if the kitten wanted to play with him he'd make a noise of sorts at him and the kitten would back off and find something else to do. Same thing this morning. But this afternoon was a little different.
At first he basically ignored him, but then he got down in a half-croutch then he went over to the kitten and grabbed him and rolled him onto his back and made like he was going to bite him. He didn't, but I yelled at him when he did it and he let him go. A few minutes later he did it again and then followed him when he got away.
The kitten hadn't been near him or bothering him when this happened.
Is this aggression or something else? If it is agression I would like to stop it before it gets further.

I was reading back through and thought I should add a few things.
When he did this his eyes weren't dialated, no tail wagging, no bristled fur, no flat ears. I would say that it was closest to stalking behavior.
And for anyone not going to the kitten boards, the kitten is only 5 1/2 weeks, but has been in the house since less than a day. So Orestes is used to him being here and on top of that had been around many kittens in his previous home.

It might be best to isolate the kitten for a bit and let the big cat just sniff noses under the door. The problem is that he could do damage to a kitten that young.

It does sound like he's just asserting his dominance, but there is no reason to take chances. Allow short, supervised visits for the next week or so and see if things get better.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

I agree with that. Is he neutered? An intact male can be quite dangerous to a kitten.

he's been fixed since he was a kitten himself.
I had considered the dominance thing, but didn't think it would be a huge problem since he's been seeing the kitten though the fence that I put between rooms for 5 1/2 weeks, and didn't react the few times he excaped in the past.
I am definately being more carefull now. Last night he seemed over his problem and even groomed him a bit.
I do wonder if it had a bit to do with the stray that was outside the house when I came home. He may have been redirecting his anger?

The fact that he's been exposed in a way to a stray may be enough to trigger the "dominance" issue. Since he is grooming the kitten all will more than likely be well. I would definitely keep a separation at times where you cannot intervene quickly in case something goes wrong. However, if the cat has not shown any signs of agression in a month or so, things will probably be OK. From your description it sounds like he's not totally aggressive, but for safety's sake it is best to err on the best side.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

The kitten is not allowed out at night or when I'm not home, so he is well watched.
This had actually been the first time I've ever seen Orestes agressive in the 10 years I've known him (he only recently became mine). He has always been top cat but tends just to walk away if too annoyed. Well, hopefully it was a one time incident.
Thank you for your input!

Hi, look, I have 2 cats, a male and a female both "fixed", and they play like that, she gets his paws up and the male gets on the top of her, and he opens up his mouth, it seems like an aggression but they are having a great time. I don't know if this is what they do?