How do i know who the top cat is?

Hi...
we've recently beeen having some top cat issues...

we have 3 cats and one of them is a bit of bully... Mimi is the bully
but my husband does not think that she is the top cat
he seems to think that while she may be the smartest, she is not the top cat
she's more like deputy top cat
and she sometimes picks on Bo. Bo is definetly not top cat.

Husband seems to think that Zazi is the top cat... his rationale is that she always wins in a fight and she's the biggest. And she does most of the chasing too however... she's generally a very placid cat and she is not a bully at all. And she's also the most maternal of the 3 and very often spends a lot of time grooming Mimi and Bo.

Mimi on the other hand is the smartest... and the bravest... that's why we always thought that she was the top cat.

how do we know which cat is the top cat?

I don`t think it matters so much that YOU know.....THEY know and will usually work out thier differences of opinion.
Our Toby is the alpha (top cat) ....and Tedy accepts that with no problem....EXCEPT when it comes to "Kitty-Pot" (catnip) Then Tedy i(who is usually very passive) s the one who is more aggressive, slapping Toby away from "HIS STUFF"....and Toby just lets him.( I guess he just somehow knows that it is more important to Tedy than it is to him) He just walks away and lets him have it all.

In my house its wierd....

Emmet is like a figue head Alpha Cat....the other cats tip toe by him...and always respect his space....but he very very rarely asserts his power....

but mab who is the baby...runs the house like she is the alpha cat....no kit does anything without her permission...other wise they get thier butts kicked....

alpha cats are just a natural thing that occures....they always figure it out

Hmmmm

i guess that's true

it seems to be that way for us too

seems like we have top cats for different things

one top cat for food
one top cat for cat nip
one top cat for walks....



two lowly pathetic human beings to cater to their every whim and fancy...

At home Montgomery is the top cat for food and the top of the china cabinet. Maximo is the top cat for my bed and the water bowl. They fight and they kick each others' butt equally. Maximo knows that Montgomery gets petted before him, even though I have tried to change that pattern. It is what it is, right!

meow to that!

Cats don't have a really clear hierarchy. Rather, one will be dominant in one area, and one in another. You might have one who is dominant when it comes to the food bowl, for instance, while another is self-appointed King/Queen of the Bed.

actually now that we are looking at it from a different angle... as in there are top cats for different areas it's all starting to make sense... MiMi is queen of the bedroom.... Zazi is the topcat where catnip toys and the game of chase and any wrestling is concerned... and bo is the queen of my husband ....

hmmm

interesting....

i wish i knew of few good cat psychology books