For those of you with multiple cats...

This is all very fascinating to read!!! I was also thinking that when it was just Lily and Stumpy, there didn't seem to be an Alpha - Stumpy and Lily were just best friends, and that was it. It wasn't until we brought Smudge into the mix and she also became Lily's best friend that Stumpy began to assert her dominance - nothing aggressive, but she definitely made sure Smudge know she was the first cat.

I have a "delicate" balance, to say the least. Twitch & Lily live strictly upstairs. Twitch is alpha. Damita is also upstairs for the time being, she simply hides from Twitch to not get swatted at. Ophelia, Dory, & Molly are strictly downstairs. Ophelia is reigning alpha, but only because she is a nasty cat. If Ophelia sees Lily under the stair door, she attack either Dory or Molly. So, under the stair door must be blocked so Lily & Ophelia cannot see each other.

It's not entirely clear in our house. Tailer doesn't seem to care much about who's dominant...he's pretty laid back. But he is always the first one to greet visitors or check out anything new in the house. So it's possible that he's the one in charge, but doesn't flaunt it.

There's a power struggle between Harvey and Forest, though. Forest definitely wants to be the boss (pretty ambitious for a handicapped cat). He'll push the other two away from food or prime spots in the house. He'll also chase and pounce on the other two. Tailer usually just lets him have his way (or calmly jumps up out of his reach when he's being stalked). Harvey will frequently give him a bit of a tussle, but usually ends up giving up and walking away first. So it could be that Harvey and Forest are battling for alpha status. My vet says that in a house with only bachelor males the social structure isn't always as defined as it would be if there was a female around.

Hercules is by far the alpha kitty. Hes the only one who will destroy stuff to get his way. Like the carpeting out front of the bedroom, when we got Dawkins he clawed a chuck of carpeting to get into the bedroom. Dawkins is Hercs buddy but there are times when he gets a good buttkicking for doing something Herc doesnt like. Like eating out of his side of the food dish, thats a big no no, Dawkins also isnt allowed on the top of the recliner. When we were watching Cali and Trotter for my mom they kinda paired off. Cali and Herc were snuggle buddies and Trotter and Dawkins were snuggle buddies.

Originally Posted by calico2222

Absolutely! 2 cats are multiple cats. Who is in charge? (I only said multiple cats because if you only have 1 then we already know he/she is in charge

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that's what I thought, I wasn't totally sure!

Tiger is the alpha here and Miagi is scared of him sometimes when he gives him the "look" but they get along VERY well and chase each other around the house all the time. I think Tiger is the alpha, because Miagi is younger than him. but they would never hurt each other. sometimes I catch them snuggling together on my bed but they would never admit to that. when I catch them, it is like they are saying don't you dare tell anyone about this or I will scratch your eyes out.

Originally Posted by ryanjay

ducky likes to buggy hunt but has no depth perception as he repeatedly slams into the

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Aww I have a Ducky, too

Easy without a doubt is alpha. Its very fascinating to watch her with her children. Shes very protective of them, she grooms them, just like they were still kittens and she will slap and hiss when necessary.

She is the smallest of all the cats I have and sometimes its funny when she slaps Tino or Ducky who are more than twice her size and they totally submit.

But Tino, although he is submissive to Easy seems to be alpha over the Ducky, Kiko and Laura.

Laura absolutely adores Easy and when Easy walks into a room, Laura immediately stops whatever shes doing to run to Easy. Kiko is the baby and could care less about anything but love from Easy and me. Laura has a strong personality but easy going at the same time.

They all bathe each other daily, cuddle together, sleep together, except Tino and Ducky. They have had some kind of struggle between them for about a year now.

Cat politics, hmmmm, mine haven't come to the negotiating table yet

Every day it is some new surface one of them is trying to claim from the other. Sonic sits on the windowsill and splats Radar on the head, Radar sits on Sonic when Sonic gets on the floor

I think Sonic will end up boss - he tucks into Radar's food and Radar just sits back and lets him eat his fill before the fun starts all over again!

That's an easy one in my household. Lucky is in charge of everything and everyone (humans included!!). She's even got the tenents upstairs submitting to her will!!! LOL Rambo is just a laid back guy (who's also a bit of a chicken!). So if a strange cat comes by the window, Lucky will growl and hiss and confront them, and Rambo will either want to play with them, or run away with his tail between his legs.

BUT...when Rambo was sick and stayed over at the vet, Lucky was very upset and was looking for him everywhere. As soon as he's back she pretends not to have missed him, and smacks him around a bit (but I know secretly she missed him terribly!!).

I have no idea what would happen if I added some more kitties. Whenever I've had foster kittens Lucky had to prove who's boss and Rambo is just curious and wants to play. But when i had other males of the same size as Rambo, he would be more aggressive and in one case actually went after one of the fosters to prove dominance. I think that was Rambo's first and last fight! LOL (he's a lover not a fighter that's for sure!)

Scarlett is queen. She has been since she opened her eyes for the first time and saw my husband (he's such a sucker for her). She was also orphaned and bottle fed. If I were to pick a single alpha cat, it would be Scarlett, but we view her as something beyond alpha. She's the smallest cat in the house by far but doesn't take anything off of anyone. She sets the terms for any interaction in the house, and that includes the cats, dogs and us.

I've just had the male alpha crown passed from Stumpy to Spanky. Stumpy is a senior and has been ill for over a year now. I think he was just tired of his reign. The transfer was done at the urging of Stumpy.

Spanky loves everybody and is clearly the house ambassador. I'm sure that is why Stumpy allowed him to take over - he knew he would always have an allie in Spanky. Spanky spends his days snuggling and grooming all of the other cats. They all like him and it makes for the most peaceful alpha reign that I've ever experienced (woohoo).

Dakota wanted to be alpha and was antagonizing Stumpy until Stumpy gave it over to Spanky. Dakota gets frustrated at times but hangs with his littermate brother Sage. Sage is just a **** cat. Minds his own business as long as you love on him once in a while.

Muddy was very much the loner until recently. His littermate sister Koko used to antagonize him (she does not know how to play gently) but of late he has been snuggly with Spanky. Muddy and Koko were bottle fed orphans and Muddy prefers to hang with people over other cats.

Koko is a complete wacko and plays with anyone who will tolerate it and even plays with those that can't tolerate her antics.

Pinky has idolized Stumpy for his entire life. He still tries to nurse from Stumpy and once in a while Stumpy lets him (Pinky is 7). He loves Spanky, but hasn't yet transferred his devotion over to him.

Eightball and Oscar and both very shy and because of this, they will never come close to an alpha role.

Then there is the outside cat dynamics. Bob was the outside alpha for many years until just recently when Lucky took it over. Bob is aging (9) and Lucky (age 4) has grown to a whopping 18 pounds. Both come inside but recognize that they lose their alpha status as they enter the door. I think that is why they prefer the outdoors.

Oh, Buffy is definitely the Alpha. The other two don't do anything if Buffy deems it unsuitable. If Buffy wants something (like the window seat), she'll slap the other two to make them scram. If the other two want the window seat, they don't DARE slap Buffy (if they do, she'll just slap back and she'll give the evil eye for the rest of the day). Buffy's just a mean little lady, lol (she's the type who plays if SHE wants to play; if she wants to play with Willow and Willow doesn't want to, Buffy will play anyways, sending Willow screaming; if Willow wants to play and Buffy doesn't, Willow will get a smack (well, not really; Willow is practically Buffy's mom, so Buffy just lays back or wanders away to tell Willow she has no interest in playing).

As for the other two, Molly is above Willow, just barely. The two seem to be on level playing fields, but once in a while you'll see that Molly is indeed higher ranking than Willow. Molly will slap Willow every now and then when she wants something, she'll try to force Willow to play (fortunately Molly is more laid-back than Buffy, because if Willow doesn't want to play, Molly just begs (pawing at Willow's retreating feet) instead of demanding, lol). When the two are eating their meals, if Molly finishes first, she'll stalk over to Willow's bowl and begin helping herself (and Willow will let her, not even looking at all worried). But when Willow finishes first, she doesn't go to Molly to help herself, she waits until Molly is done before she gets started on the bowl (once in a blue moon, Molly will have left something, but mostly there's nothing left except a smidge of blood). And if Buffy finishes first, she goes to both to help herself, lol (she starts with Willow first, though; she hates Molly and would prefer to pretend she doesn't exist for as long as she can, lol)

I'll do my 2 outside groups because inside is just that bad. LOL

Strays:
Kit-kit is queen ruler of all. She will smack everyone into next week if they get in her way. She's about 6 but bends to Girl who is 10. We don't see Girl that much but when she comes around Kit-Kit goes into hiding. Girl will make Kit bleed if she gets too near. Eek is ruling King only because he's mean. He smacks everyone but Kit. Kit smacks him back and he doesn't like it. Eek will also take on girl when she's seen but he doesn't do it often. Peaches, Sugar, and Skittles are all middle (wo)men. They do whatever but stay out of Kit-Kits way. Goldie, though, is the lowest man on the totem pole. As Mike puts it "Goldie is everyone's punching bag."

Now the ferals:
Small Fry rules. That's all anyone needs to know. The crown was passed onto her by her mother before she passed away. Sweetheart is next in line, then the Favorite 5 (kittens), then poor Punk is last on the list. Even stray Big Tom is above Punk and Punk is family.

oh boy....well I have a few cats that think they are in charge....however I think Bentley is alpha and he was the first one here. Cesar tries to be, he like to bully jenny. Jenny is the princess & Nuit is queen of damn over here. As far as she's concerned, everything is hers & things are only on her terms. She was an only cat before we got her though. Zoey...she's just accepting, everyone can do what they want as long as they are nice to her! Bentley, Cesar & zoey are the family trio. Jenny only likes Bentley but can be tolerant of the the girls if she's left alone.

I currently have 3 cats but started out with 2.

When he was alive, Sphinx was the Alpha cat and also the oldest.

Currently though, Kuce is the Alpha cat (I think) and is also our eldest. She keeps our boy in line but she is being tested by Lil' Jag (our youngest girl). She eats and drinks first and goes outside first only when the weather is warm. She and Luvbug are always wanting the most cuddle time and Lil' Jag finds that annoying.

Luvbug is the Beta cat and the only boy right now. He is in charge (by decree of Kuce) to keep Lil' Jag in line at all times. He does a good job too. He eats second to Kuce and goes outside first no matter the weather.

Lil' Jag is our "In-Training" and possible next Alpha cat but we will see as she gets older. Right now she is in her terrible "Two's" and going on three in August.