I'm having a hard time figuring out who's the alpha cat in my house. Midnight was only here for two weeks before her sons were born, but was that enough time for her to become the alpha? Lately, I've noticed that when it's time for them to eat, no particular one eats before the others. It's pretty much first come, first served. None of them get particularly hissy if someone is eating before he/she is.

There haven't been any battles over who the boss is, either. Midnight scraps with Lucky. Lucky scraps with Star and Star scraps with both of them. However, Midnight does tend to hiss more at Star than she does at Lucky, but her hissing doesn't bother Star. He continues to scrap with her.

I'm so confused... :wha:

In our house to the outsie observer one might not be able to see who the alpha cat is. Or one might assume someone else is the alpha cat. But, since we live with the kitties daily we know who the true alpha cat is. Our Loki is the alpha cat. He doesn't exert his dominance too often. But, everyone looks up to him. He's the one cat everyone respects, the one cat no one has ever tried to pick on, the one cat that can stop everyone in their tracks just from a look. Now, he's not a mean ruler and lets kitties get away with stuff, but when it's needed he will put the others in line if they cross him too much. So, even though he doesn't act like what one might think the dominant cat should act like, the fact that he naturally has everyone's respect and obedience proves he's the top cat.

Aww JJ, that's such a sweet story about Loki! :luv1:

In my house, Smudgie is the "Top Cat". But he doesn't rule his rein with an iron paw... he is a pretty mellow dude. However, when crossed, he can become a pretty pissed kitty... :lmao: :lmao:

Digger could care less about that... Digger could care less about anything!! :lmao:

Now, between females... that's a toughie. I'll go with Pebbles as the top female most of the time....but Silkie is a constant challenge to her.

If I have Nikki around for awhile, I can see him trying to get the "crown" from Smudgie....but I doubt he'll suceed!!

I think Tucker is my alpha. :)

Sasha. She definately gets her way, or will demand it. :lmao: But she's also very affectionate!

at our house it is Linx but Sundance is giving him a run for the spot. My questions and problems are the boys pick on the girls! It is Linx after Mischka and Sundance after Pandia. If Sun tries to mess with Mischka she will put him in his place. Pandi & Linx are buds (I think she likes him).Mischka will hiss as soon as she thinks Linx is too close, and will run from his attacks. She will not stand up to him???? if she sees that he is not paying attention she will jump him and run. I am still trying to figure out the pecking order here I guess they are too.

Milo is our alpha cat here with Georgie in the right pecking order. No one fights with Milo EVER. Milo beats Georgie up all the time & no one else. Georgie is the vocal drama queen, hisses, spits and swats at everyone. :rolleyes: :lmao:

Allie, your Georgie is my Marley! He is the biggest drama queen (king) I have ever seen! :rotfl:

Turvy Demeter is the alfa here, which is actually kind of funny. She is the oldest, AND the smallest. But she gets served first, gets first crack at the favorite blanky, makes sure that everyone is groomed and presentable before going before the public and sitting in windows....and she's not the least bit afraid to bat a few heads when they need it :rotfl:

Motley's Top Cat here - she owns everything, including me and Sparkle!

Georgie and Marley sound just like Sparkle! :rotfl:

Eskimoe was our Alpha male and since he passed no one has stepped up to take his place. Brent thinks that Cody will when he gets older. I'm really not sure. Eskie was a natural born leader.

:rolleyes: You'd think they'd be embarrassed. :lmao:

My first inclination is to say Scotty because Oscar doesn't have a lot going on upstairs, but when they tussle, Scotty is the one to run away first. Then again, I think it has more to do with him not caring as much. lol

I mean, Oscar will growl at Scotty if he gets to close to him and his toy, but if he could, Scotty would just shrug his shoulders and walk away.

:wha:

So, Scotty?

And here I was, typing my original post thinking, "I must be the only one on this planet who can't tell who the alpha cat is in my house. How pathetic, Renée."

I must say that I'm relieved to see (read) that I'm not alone. :blush:

:confused: I think it's Moogy... but I'm not sure...

I think is Sun but not 100% sure.
Sun is always the one choosing the place where to stay, no matter who's already there. He's the one sneaking and stealing food from his sister, undisturbed (on the contrary, i've never seen shine stealing food from sun). He's the one that starts the fight if something goes wrong.

But...Shine is the one that leaves the feces uncovered, and this is usually considered as a sign of dominance! Dunno, may be she's only too lazy ;)

LUCIFER - because he just is, you can tell

Baby Girl is the Alpha cat here. No one even walks close to her... if she growls ... they're gone. The next one would be Smokey.

Tinkerbell is very much our alpha - lol, part of the reason Erik gave her the nickname General Tinkerbell J. Snakeskin (or simply "the General"). She was our first kitty and because we raised her from only two weeks old, she sees herself as more of a human than a cat. She very much demands that she gets her own way, and she's "in charge."

WillyB is the alpha here-but only because he has my support. I eject the other cats from his prime spots (on the electric blankets) and prevent them from pushing him off of his food. I do these things only for health reasons. He needs warmth for his arthritis and CRF, and he needs every bit of food he can keep down for weight management.

If I didn't take an active roll in these things, I think he's never leave my bedroom and would not be held in such high esteem.

I also prevent any aggressive or disrespectful behavior toward him. I get on to Pup when she's mean to him (smacking him) just to prevent him from getting nervous or scared, or even humiliated.

If this is true-

Then Brudder would be the next in line for TopCat position. He gets a bit of preferential treatment from me, and he hangs with WillyB a good bit. His siblings looks up to him, and I think the others are beginning to, also.

Does any aggressive behavior indicate possible alpha position? Would a cat that is aggressive with others have more of a chance at being the alpha than others, or is it based more on an age type of thing? WillyB is not aggressive at all, nor is Brudder. But the ones that are (Pup and Bella) don't seem to qualify for the position. Pup is too young and immature, and Bella is too, well, nutty. :lmao:

:wave:

Well, I'm chiming in after reading this many times! :)

I would say that Andy is our alpha cat. Then at times there's a 'trickle down' effect..... Andy will hassle Sky; at times Sky will hassle Katie; and NOBODY messes with Roxie!!! :rotfl: She's a tough broad! :lmao: However, she does like to play chase with everyone if 'they' are so inclined! :thumbsup:

Andy is our guard cat.....he wanders around and makes sure everything is OK....He learned that as a kitten from our senior cat, Monday, and now he's taken over that important position. :bow:

I think Chloe Mae is the alpha cat of my two. She is always the first to eat, the first to use the litter box when it's cleaned out (even if she just went 5 minutes ago... she'll sit in it until she has to go :rotfl: ), she wants to be the first for everything. But i'm really not sure.

Munchie is the alpha cat here. He is the one that will slap all the other cats around and even Poopsie really does not fight back! Munchie is the one most vocal about getting the canned cat food for the night.

Phoenix is the king in this palace. Everything is his, and he owns anyone who walks in the door :duh:

What a bad cat :lmao:

Do y'all think our behavior or preferential treatment (however unintentional) has anything to do with who is alpha cat?

The reason I as is that there is no way that WillyB could have maintained his position without me enforcing it a bit. I don't allow the others to take over the prime spots. Not because of favoritism, but because Willy needs them for health reasons, and he gets too confused when I change things around.

But if I weren't here to protect him, I feel certain someone else would be the alpha.

Do you think a cat that is treated with some favoritism has a better shot at alpha?