About 3 months ago, my partner and I adopted a Maine Coon from the shelter. "She" turned out to be a he with spraying problems, but by letting Inka outside and by using Feliway, we have managed to eliminate any spraying problems. In the last few weeks, he's really warmed up to love and affection, and has overcome some of his seeming insecurities from his time in the shelter. He's currently probably about 13 pounds and growing, and he's very playful.
Yesterday, we brought home an 8-week-old roly-poly kitten from a friend's recent adoptee's kittens. We made sure to bring a girl, so as not to prompt territorial spraying from Inka. The kitten, Baja, is quite tiny and not overly aggressive. We brought her home and took her into our bedroom. After a little while, we let Inka in and at first he seemed afraid of her. He chirped and trilled at her. then batted at her with a sheathed paw. He's taken to licking her all over, especially her face and head, but then he'll try and pick her up by her scruff (which she usually mewls about).
We've been segregating them to separate rooms and plan to switch the rooms soon, and they've been having supervised visits. But he's started pouncing her and taking her throat in his mouth, pinning her down. She cries and he lets go and walks away. Is this a normal dominance thing? He's Maine Coon, so he's a hefty, stocky size currently, and she's quite tiny. We're concerned about whether or not this is play or aggression, whether he'd be likely to injure her on purpose or by accident. When she's in one of our laps or we're both sitting right next to them, he does better, but if they're both on the floor or something, he's much more prone to attack...
Any advice, cautions, or reassurances you can give would be great. Sorry about the incredible length, just trying to describe it all accurately!
