Cat biting my other cat

Question
Hi, Norman. I will try to make this short. :)  I adopted a 6-7 year old neutered male cat about a year ago. He took a while to adjust, but was doing well after a while. (I will refer to him as cat #1 to make this easier to understand.) Then I adopted a 3 year old spayed female. (cat #2) Now cat #1 chases & bites cat #2. I don't know if he is playing, or showing him who's boss, or being mean/jealous. lol  Sometimes cat #2 doesn't mind too much, but sometimes she bawls or hisses when he bites her. And she always runs away from him, but cat #1 just follows her & repeats it again. I usually speak to him firmly when he does it, & he stops for a few seconds, but then he's back at it again. Also, sometimes cat #1 cleans cat #2's head & neck, but then he bites her after doing that! It's been a few months now, & it is not getting any better. What's going on & what can I do to prevent him from doing this? He really has cat #2 tortured! :(

Answer
Melissa,

I have two rules in understanding cat inter-relationships:

(1) There should be no human interference and (2) Humans do not understand the rules.

Frankly, it all sounds normal to me and that they are getting along fine.  Cats play with each other awfully roughly, but, because they have very, very tough skin, they really do not hurt each other.  It sounds mostly like play to me.

So, I would just ignore it all.  Do not intervene, just grin and bear it.  Cat #2 is not being tortured, it is part of the game.  If there is mutual grooming going on, that means they are getting along fine.  It is not uncommon for mutual grooming to end up in a noisy wrestling match.  It is not unusual for games of chase to ends up in a noisy wrestling match.  This is how cats play!

Best regards.. Norm.