Cat hierarchy--for those with more than one cat - - Page 3 - City-Data Forum

jasper12 · 12-10-2011, 03:23 PM

My Mom has many cats, and it seems like in her house different cats have picked "territories" within the house. And that cat is in charge of that area. One cat, Bubba, seems to monitor all activity, and supervises and is the referee if other cats fight. "Break it up". He takes charge. He is also in charge of the food bowls. But he lets kittens tackle him. He does not like the dog though. He smacks her around.

ParallelJJCat · 12-10-2011, 09:19 PM

I recently lost my oldest cat Heather to brain cancer, but when she was alive she was definitely the alpha. Jonas is a big bully, but he knew better than to mess with her. When he was a kitten one hiss would make him drop to his belly. He would just lay there and wait for her majesty to pass.

Things did change as he got older and as she got sicker, though. He must have smelled or sensed that she was ill and become more aggressive toward her. We had to be very careful not to let him jump on her.

Robin is a little younger than Jonas, and is just the most placid happy cat. I would say Jonas is dominant over her, but she doesn't roll over easy. She knows he's blind and will sit just out of reach with a little smirk on her face.

Upstate Nancy · 12-11-2011, 04:19 PM

My then eldest cat would literally rule the roost. She sat up higher than the others for everything--eating, napping, looking around. They'd be on the floor looking up at her on the counter mostly always. When she did nap behind furniture, after she woke up she'd quickly walk up to the counter, jump up and resume her alpha position. She kinda sneered at them too.

Speleothem · 12-12-2011, 01:35 AM

My two are brother and sister.
The female definitely rules the roost.

mspress · 02-11-2013, 01:11 PM

I have a kitten who is almost a year old and a few months ago I got a new kitten who was 8 weeks. At first they were best buddies. They slept together, groomed each other and played nicely. All of a sudden as my younger kitten approaches 15 weeks old, the older one has started hating him. He won't let the little one on the bed anymore and will run up and attack him when he's just sitting there. If the younger one is on my lap the older one will walk by and hiss or swat at him. The younger kitten just lays there and doesn't fight back. It's getting worse by the day and I'm hoping when the younger one gets neutered next week things will calm down. Does anyone have experience with this or suggestions? I'm worried the older kitten will eventually hurt the new one or that neutering won't solve the problem.

=^..^= · 02-12-2013, 07:34 AM

My four cats all have such distinct personalities that we don't see any alpha cat. If one is, it's not obvious.

Martha Anne · 02-12-2013, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doglover29

For those with more than one cat, what have you noticed about your cats' hierarchy (i.e. the alpha cat, beta cat, etc.) How was this hierarchy established? Was the homecoming of a new cat or kitten disruptive to it?

My husband and I have two cats. When we were looking for the second one, we read a lot about this and decided (after lots of research), that a young, female cat would be the best addition to our established older, male cat. We read that a young, female cat would be the most readily accepted by an older male cat. It was a rocky first 6 months that we had the new kitten. The older cat would not accept her for about 6 months, and there was lots of hissing and growling.

Finally, after 6 months, they worked things out and are now friends. The older male cat is definitely the alpha, and the young, female cat is the beta. It's very interesting to me to see their interactions in terms of this--she always takes the submissive stance to his dominant one, in terms of things like who gets the preferred spot on the couch, etc.

What are your experiences with this? How have you noticed your cats' hierarchy established?

Actually, I would not have chosen a young female companion to an older male cat. I would have chosen another male not too far off in age - maybe a bit younger. With at least 6 cats in the house at a time (currently 10), we have found that, as a rule, neutered males have a better chance of becoming best friends with another male, but never has this occurred between any of our males with any female over all these years. To me, it's sort of like elementary school: the girls think that the boys are yucky and the boys think that the girls are not much fun. Of course, this has only been my experience: a sample of one <ss>!

hensleya1 · 02-12-2013, 12:16 PM

Hi all--

I have two female calico's, and although they look like sisters, they aren't - one is actually about two weeks older (and much stockier) than the other. It's not clear who's the alpha (Except when it comes to the food bowl - while there aren't any fights, the older one literally forces her way in and pushes the other one out of the way at feeding time).

As far as places they like to sit, they do just fine curling up next to each other, and seem to take turns sitting in my lap just fine.

Martha Anne · 02-13-2013, 11:28 AM

This is not rescue- politically correct, but we had this magnificent purebred American Shorthair Silver Tabby female (spayed), and she had such Presence, was like a royal Queen: She never once fought with another cat and yet all of our bully males backed down to her. She got to eat what and when she wanted - they did not dare to interfere. She slept where she wanted - no challenge given. It was truly amazing! Now that she is gone, our bully cat (actually the sweetest guy in your arms!) takes over ALL.