Okay so I know the general answer to this question is ‘you’ll know if they’re fighting’ etc. but I’m reading a lot of mixed info about the noises.

Context: We’ve had our older cat (15, M, tabby) for four years now and have recently adopted a younger brother for him (8months, M, orange and white).

We’ve done all the normal intros by the book, and after two months they’re (relatively) okay with sharing the flat and roaming freely. Our older cat still sometimes hisses and swats at the kitten when he gets too close, but they’re able to relax on our bed together (a metre or so apart) and generally exist in each other’s presence.

The kitten obviously wants to play a lot more than our senior boy, and so we spent a lot of time using wand toys to get his energy out so he doesn’t bother his bro too much.

Last night though, our older boy instigated this interaction. He was settled in his bed and suddenly got up and went over to his brother. We started filming as they started interacting.

From what I’ve read, the actual behaviour seems quite normal for play (including some boundary setting from our older boy) but I’m a little concerned about the noises. Wondering if anyone can shed any light on why he might be doing this? And if we should be allowing these interactions to continue so the older one can put those boundaries in place or whether we need to be stepping in and calmly separating?