As you may know from many of the other articles on this site, I live with 2 cats. One of them seems to be dominant over the other, with the other often taking their cues from the dominant one. That got me thinking about cat hierarchy. What is the cat social structure and how is it established?
Catster.com says that most wild cats (except lions) are solitary predators. They find a large enough territory to supply enough prey to feed themselves and stick to it, except for mating or if they get in a dispute with another cat about where the boundaries of the territory are.
However, domestic cats have adapted to living in groups when there are enough resources to support mulitiple cats. Cats in groups form social structures which help them get along aside each other. According to the catster.com article, feline social behavior in feral colonies sometimes takes form of a matriarchy, with females cooperating to raise group kittens and drive away threats. The kittens also got priorty over adult cats for food. After that, sex. body size and age affected the order in which they ate. Adult male cats tended to eat next, followed by females. Among the males older cats ate first more often and among the females the bigger cats usually got the next chance to eat before smaller females.
In our homes, our cats usually don't have to compete for food, but the social behavior of cats can carry over. Vetexplains.com says this can be a good thing. Having a hierarchy among cats helps reduce fighting. When there is a cat pecking order, cats understand their position in relation to the other cats, which helps them get along. Having a dominant cat is only a problem when it leads to bullying or aggression.
Vetexplains.com also says that, like in a feral colony, age, sex and size can be determining factors of dominance among house cats. Often younger cats will defer to the older ones. Male cats may be more assertive and female cats more submissive. And, bigger cats might also be more dominant. If your cats include some cats that have been neutered and some that have not, the intact cats might also display more aggression than the neutered or spayed ones.
In my house, it is the smaller girl (Sophie) who is clearly the dominant one. She is older (although newer to our household), and smaller but she always eats first, and the bigger, male cat (Reggie) defers to her. So, another factor in cat dominance is personality. She wants to be first, and he's more easy going, so he lets her get her way.
Our dominant cat also has her favorite toys, her favorite cat bed (although my bed is her first favorite), and her favorite spot by the window. Like he does with food, Reggie finds other toys, beds and vantage points and lets her pick the ones she likes best. And, catster.com says that having plenty resources is a good way to avoid conflicts coming up. If you only have one scratching post, for example and a dominant cat has claimed it, it might cause conflicts if the more submissive cat uses it, so you may consider getting another one to reduce fighting over it. The same goes for toys, beds, and attention! Make sure there is enough to go around for each of your cats.
If you have a dominant cat and it is causing conflicts, it is a good idea to see a vet or animal behaviorist to help get to the underlying causes to assist in getting your cats to coexist!
What about you? Do you have multiple cats? Is there a clear cat hierarchy or dominant cat? Does it fit the pattern of a older, bigger male cat being dominant, or not - like in my house? How do you help your cats get along?
Cover photo by Chris Barbalis on Unsplash
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