Battle is Joined

I at last was able to capture Hector and Zofia wrestling. They intersperse this activity with chasing when they play. I found it interesting that the chase came first, and was their only game for a while. I think they had to gauge how serious each other was taking the game before moving on to something that might be more dangerous.

Now, they wrestle quite often. Sometimes, Zofia growls and grumbles while they fight; Hector never does. Of course I watch for signs of real combat, but they aren’t there. I think little Miss Zed is practicing being a real fighter; this may be one of the ways kittens learn how to act in a genuine battle: along with movement, there must be sound.

And on the subject of sound, Zofia periodically squeals and yells during close-in combat, as if in distress. I break up their match then, but with further observation, I have determined not to do it so soon. Those noises too may be part of learning, or they may be mock cries for help, to get her opponent to back off. In any case, she is hardly hurt or fearful: in almost every instance, as soon as she has her freedom, she renews the struggle, now having the advantage and using it to jump on Hec or whap him in the head. I am not worried about Hector intentionally harming Miss Zed, but she is so small and slender that injury may come nonetheless, inadvertently.

A favoured battleground is the nylon cube that a friend bought for the kitten. I think they like the enclosed feeling, the pliable walls allowing a fighter to brace herself, while the holes permit an escape. Now and then, Zofia will simply bounce about frantically inside the cube by herself, with Hector wondering when the exuberance will spend itself.

All of this is good for both of them, I believe. The only concern I have is, as mentioned above, that Zofia will be hurt by accident. But that is unlikely, and, as she grows and gains strength, ever more so. Then the concern may become Hector being hurt!