is this aggressive behavior?

Hi -

I have 2 cats - one 9 years old, one 2.5 years old.  They don't get along that well, though they are currently tolerating each other.

Often the younger cat will come up to the older one, and put her nose to the older one's neck, under her chin.  Then freeze there.  Not biting, just frozen with her head below the other one's head.  

The older cat will often respond after a second by chewing on the little one's ear, then swatting at her, then finally hissing.

Is the first move by the little cat an aggression / dominant move?  Or just  trying to play?

Thank you!

From what I have heard, cats show disrespect by sniffing another cats side or pushing their nose into their side. They show respect when greeting with a touch of the nose. Your younger cat is doing neither, so she may just be trying to play or get attention and the older cat simply doesn't want to interact at the time. Does she look like she is smelling the other one? She could just be curious. If she were being dominant I would think she wouldn't have her head lower than the other cat.

I'm not a cat behavior expert, but if I were to guess I doubt the little one is being aggressive, though possibly pushing her limits because she likes getting a reaction (some kittens like that).

I suspect your younger girl is pushing her boundaries a little though, as gitabooks says, it doesn't sound like actively/aggressively dominant behaviour. She may also be trying to get your older girl to accept her more. Two girls will usually have a harder time getting along than two boys (or a boy and a girl), but that doesn't mean that it isn't possible. For some, though, tolerance is the best you can expect.

What are their interactions like the rest of the time? It's very hard to give an opinion based off a single, out of context behaviour