First Heat?

My 4-month old (could be as old as 6 months), Minnosh has been trying to dominate Bailey lately. She jumps on his back and hangs on while he cries out in annoyance. I found a little cut near his neck that I am certain is from her. She doesn't try to dominate any of the other cats, just him, and while she's not being agressive I know Bailey does not like it.
She also does not cover up anything in the litterbox -- another dominant behavior.
Minnosh is a very friendly cat. I took her to a show two weekends ago so she could "test the waters" and she was very relaxed. Because of this, my mentor thinks she will be our first female to go into heat.
I've never lived with a cat that has gone into heat before, are these displays of dominance part of the cycle? Or are they signs of something deeper that I need to be concerned about?

IMO it's just dominance issues - a play for alpha cat status...although from my research of T Vans (your fault that! ) early heats are not uncommon. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Best suggestion would be for you to email her breeder and ask if it's common for their cats to do that.

My "girls" - Reecie and Bulan get into squabbles over alpha status which includes uncovered "gifts".

I think that entire females do tend to be more dominate when first coming into heat. Then they pester the heck out of any cat (with butt in their faces) when in full heat for mating.

Hopefully she will not be too dominate for long. You might consider a separate room when she's in heat for the time you are not there to supervise.

Congrats on the first show for her

LOL, she's a first-generation T-Van, so I'm in uncharted territory here I'll be keeping careful notes on this one! For some reason, she has no desire to dominate the other cats, just the Mau. He's by no means Alpha cat, in fact, he's a pretty passive guy. . . perhaps that makes him an easy target?

If it turns our that she's coming into heat, I've got a room ready for her.

Thanks!

You said you have a room ready...And ear plugs for you Maybe some meds as well.
When your cat comes into heat, you WILL most likely know. Beyond a doubt.
My cat first came into heat much older, but also really never went out, just took short breaks. She is a noisy cat to begin with, but the long frequent heats were just horrible. I felt bad for her, bad for my other animals, and felt sorry for us!

Originally Posted by FerrisCat

He's by no means Alpha cat, in fact, he's a pretty passive guy. . . perhaps that makes him an easy target?

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Definitely! Some submissive cats just seem to have a 'kick me' sign stuck on them and more dominant cats seem to be drawn to them to remind them who's in charge - much like the shy bookish kid (talking from personal past experience here!) who draws every playground bully to them like a magnet.

I don't think there will be much room for doubt when she does go into heat, I don't know the normal/average age for Vans so can't help on that score.