aggresive castrated male cat

Question
Hi, I have a 8month DSH castrated male cat. He has always been hyper and a bit aggressive when he plays. I got a 10wk old male maine coon who is the gentlest kitten I have ever met. My coonie is now 5months old and due to get castrated when he is 6months. My older kitten attacks him really aggressively. The coonie at times can be terrified of him and tries to hide. Most of the time they get on great but it feels my older kitten can go to far when playing and ends up hurting the coonie. My 8month old appears to still have a scrotum which I thought would have shrunk after been castrated. The scrotum does not feel full but you can clearly see it. Not sure if my maine coon is a threat to the 8month old as he is becoming more mature. The coonie is not displaying any tom cat behaviours at all but maybe i'm unaware of other signs where as the 8month old is not. I'm at a loss as what cat to sort out. The two boys love each other its just at play the 8month old goes to far and terrifies the coonie.Any help would be most welcome or if you need more information about this problem please ask. Thank you Cathy

Answer
Cathy,

Rough play is very normal for cats.  People often misinterpret rough play as aggression.

Cats have very, very tough skin and tend to play very aggressively with each other with lots of biting scratching behaviors. If you saw how little kittens play (even before their eyes are open), you might be horrified.

The other point is that cats have to work out how they are going to interact with each other and, like it or not, we are stuck with how they see their inter-relationship.

One thing you might try is "play therapy". I.e., try spending about a half hour playing with the older kitten with a kitty tease. Sometimes all you need to do is find a way to get them to expend excess energy.  

All in all, it sounds as if they are getting along normally.  So, I would leave them alone (except for the play time). Remember, human intervention in their relationship tends to be counter productive.  As long as no blood is being drawn, all seems to be normal. Also, it is not unusual for the already established kitty to be dominant and assert the dominance over the newer kitty.

Please let me know how things develop.

Best regards... Norm.