Alpha changes?

Ellie has always been our alpha cat. But I have noticed that since her encounter with the dogs she has lost some of her aggressive alpha behaviour. She lets the others eat first, does not fight them off chairs, and engages in more mutual grooming than she used to. Is this normal, should I do anything to restore her self-esteem and confidence, or should I just let them find a new pecking order? I must say it is a relief not to have her jostling the others out of position all the time, but I don't want her to be unhappy.

IMO, it is the natural order of things and just let them be.

If she was not the most assertive when an outside threat was introduced into their lives, then she naturally loses her place (or some of her status) in the pecking order. At least until the next situation where she might regain he full status or even lose additional ground.

Originally Posted by Nano

If she was not the most assertive when an outside threat was introduced into their lives, then she naturally loses her place (or some of her status) in the pecking order. At least until the next situation where she might regain he full status or even lose additional ground.

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Wow, I never thought of that, but it makes so much sense!

I only hope that anyone who has a cat, is thinking of a cat, or ever had a cat finds this site. There are so many knowledgeable people as well as people with just plain good common animal sense.

I say it again and again, this site ROCKS!

Interesting. Our alpha cat Stumpy also rules the dogs in our house. As puppies, he put fear in them so they would listen to him. The other cats learned how to do it from him. Now that they are adults (at 70 & 80 pounds), they still listen to Stumpy, but also play with him. I suspect that if he couldn't control the dogs, he would lose his rank in the house.

I never intervene with the alpha role, but am forced to intervene with the pecking order below that from time to time. The 2 highest ranking cats vie for my husband's attention. The 11 lower ranking cats vie for mine. If they start fighting over who gets to snuggle with mom, I have to resort to discipline (a hiss, a shout or an ignore). I have too many cats to allow that behavior in my house.