Dominant cat behaviour

Sam used to be an "only" cat. He is a big placid slow boy, loves sitting on people's laps, loves sleeping on the bed. (the people bed, that is, in addition to his)

Bailey, the new cat, is very easy going too, friendly, loves being patted and carried, but is a lot more nervous than Sam. There were some jealousy issues when she arrived, and I was careful to feed Sam first, to play with him alone a lot, and to try to let him know that he was still in charge. They get along really well.

However, as Bailey has gained confidence, she is learning from Sam what to do that is fun. Sit on his cat tree, sleep on his spot on the bed, lie on his pillow under the window, and so on. He is starting to get upset with her, and last night, I heard loud meowing, went to investigate and found that she was on his condo platform, and he was very upset with her. He eventually chased her out of the room.

So no fights at all, but I can see some jockeying for position. However, when Sam is not around, she still likes to do all of the stuff that makes him upset. It is really funny to see him sniff with great suspicion whenever she has been in one of his favourite spots.

So do I just leave them be, to work this out, or should I be fussing over Sam to give them both the message that he is still top cat in the house.

You leave them be. Sounds like Sam has to learn to be assertive or his top spot will be taken from him. I see this all the time here, and interestingly enough, out of all the cats that come here, one always manages to remain in charge. She is my smallest cat too! LOL It is funny to see her run off the new bigger models when they arrive, but she does it.

Don't be surprised if Bailey takes over though, sounds to me like that is what is going to happen if Sam doesn't watch out.

I was thinking the same thing, that Bailey may end up being in charge. So I will still feed Sam first and see what happens with everything else.

The other day, while he was eating, she climbed up on his little table to stand between him and his bowl so she could eat some of his kibble. This may be the sign of things to come.

Yea, let things take their course.

Niko was my dominant. Big beautiful Niko and all her glory would not let her littler sister have an ounce of room in Niko territory. Then along came Isis who either is fearless or full of kitten splendor and just doesn't jump like Mischief when Niko makes a move. As Isis grows Niko is finding that hanging onto alpha position is tougher and tougher. Niko will still smack her down if Isis tries battling her, but Niko has learned that Isis has claimed several spots that used to be Niko's as hers. So far Isis is small enough that they can share, but that won't last forever.