Cat Behavior 101,  Cats,  Domino,  Odin

Cat Wrestling Video With Odin and Domino

If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

It’s fun to look at silly cat videos like the one here of Odin and Domino wrestling but they aren’t doing it for our amusement. Some cats never outgrow the kittenish desire for roughhousing. It’s great way for cats to bond and to get exercise. Usually any serious play aggression fades when kittens become adults. The play “fighting” and aggression serve as a safe education in hunting and defence. There’s a lot of tactical attack/retreat stalking, pouncing, prancing, play biting and pinning their “prey”.The rough play might at first glance appear aggressive but if you watch the subtle signals, it’s clearly as benign and choreographed as a WWW wrestling match.

Domino usually signals Odin to a match with a distinct call. They take turns, chasing each other, pouncing and being pounced on in an every changing display. After two years, they have some pretty sophisticated moves down. When they’ve had enough one simply walks away until a re-match. When the guttural vocalization and thumping get loud, I’ll check in on them but they’ve never gone past play into true aggression. It’s a fine line but obvious once crossed. True aggression will have prolonged hissing, growling, scratching, biting and possibly drawing blood. The ears are flattened to the side, teeth bared, fur on the back and tail bushy.The movements are quick versus the delicate, slow touches as demonstrated in this video. Aggressive cats don’t take turns playing defensive or offensive and afterwards the friction continues.

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For cats who play too rough or don’t have a wrestling partner, a stuffed animal is a good substitute to redirect their energy. The plush animal, ideally the size of a kitten or larger can be led on rope as part of interactive play with a human but never allow the cat anywhere near striking distance of you hands or feet. To break up aggressive play with two cats, redirect their attention with or throw a pillow to separate them and allow the bullied cat to escape. Closing the door to keep them separate until they cool down is best.

Odin is always up for adventure and he’s competing today in Next Top Cat from AmazeCats and as the undercat really needs YOUR vote. Voting is only on Facebook but it’s quick and easy here. He’s also a new member of the Tabby Cat Club.

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22 Comments

  • meowmeowmans

    You mancats sure are good at wresting. That sure can be fun, but only if both parties are on the same page. WE voted for our pal Odin! 🙂

  • Sweet Purrfections

    Truffle and Brulee are always rough housing. Truffle actually hurt Brulee a little bit when Brulee first came to live with us, but now Brulee is bigger than Truffle. Now they just enjoy it.

  • Skeeter and Izzy

    Izzy is most definitely the instigator of the rough housing but brother Skeeter puts her on the move. Bestest luck Odin my luv…mes don’t do the Facebook…they ruffled my fur…
    Luvs Skeeter and Izzy >^..^<

  • Flynn

    I used to love watching Eric and Flynn wrestle. When one or the other was ready for a game they would chirp to each other like they did when they were kittens. We have voted for you.

  • Abby

    There are very few wrestling matches in our house.
    The only aggressor here is Abby.
    But she is getting up there in years and is fairly mellow. More meow than bite.

  • CATachresis

    Austin and Tigger fight. I have never seen them get scratchy bitey aggressive for prolonged periods. It’s usually just Austin letting Tigger know that he’s the boss! Voted for Odin 🙂

  • Bernadette

    We have wrestling matches here all the time, especially among the brothers, but Mewsette and Mama Mimi get in on the act too. It’s all in fun since they are related and I’m surprised they really haven’t outgrown it.

  • The Musings Of A Crazy Cat Lady

    It’s great to see you guys in action. So, who won? Of course, we voted for Odin. He’s a winner today and every day.

  • Texas, a cat in New York

    That’s Kitshka and me… I’m sure Kitshka will always stay a kitten deep down though 😉

    The vote doesn’t seem to be up yet. Ah, we’ll get back to FB later to vote for Odin!

    Purrs

  • Sam and Pam

    That video is great…..your boys certainly get a good workout when they wrestle……Sam likes to wrestle with (a) my arm (which often has consequences) and (b) a favorite toy. Not quite the same of course as a “buddy” would be…..but a nice little workout.

    We’ve voted!
    Pam and Sam

  • Kathryn

    I went to the AmazeCats link, but there was a lot on the page, and I didn’t see a place to vote for Odin. Or voting. Very crowded page.

  • Kathryn

    Mao does get a bit aggressive, but my catsacological theraphy with Ched has enabled Ched to stop biting his belly fur.

    Adorable video.

  • Sparkle

    Binga beats up on Boodie at least once a day, but my human is loathe to stop it because Boodie seems to thrive on it, even though she gets really annoyed at how rough Binga is sometimes! And Binga never hurts Boodie, although we do get tufts of Boodie fur around the house! I wonder what would happen if my human shoved a stuffed animal at Binga instead… it might be an interesting experiment. I will keep my distance, though! I do not like rough games.

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