This starts out with an explanation of what was. Up to a week or so ago, we had two German Shepherds, and three cats. The five of them got along well. Then we take in a German Shepherd puppy...Heidi. Here's her pic.
Well, up to Heidi's arrival, our oldest cat Sam (female), kept pretty much to herself. It seems that Heidi showed some interest in Casper (male). Now, it could be that Heidi has never seen a cat before, but her interest was only in Casper. Sam started to protect Casper from Heidi. It gets to the point of her standing in between them, or her fuzzing out twice as large, and chasing Heidi away. It's a riot to watch.
When all that started, Sam started to sleep next to Casper, and licking him all over. None of our cats ever reacted with each other that way. It seems that Sam has declared an affinity for Casper and will defend and protect him no matter what. She has turned into the alpha animal of the house.
For those of you with multiple animals, has one singled out themselves as an alpha animal?
Well, up to Heidi's arrival, our oldest cat Sam (female), kept pretty much to herself. It seems that Heidi showed some interest in Casper (male). Now, it could be that Heidi has never seen a cat before, but her interest was only in Casper. Sam started to protect Casper from Heidi. It gets to the point of her standing in between them, or her fuzzing out twice as large, and chasing Heidi away. It's a riot to watch.
When all that started, Sam started to sleep next to Casper, and licking him all over. None of our cats ever reacted with each other that way. It seems that Sam has declared an affinity for Casper and will defend and protect him no matter what. She has turned into the alpha animal of the house.
For those of you with multiple animals, has one singled out themselves as an alpha animal?