Alpha kitty?

[big buddy]

I have 2 cats, both of which have their own spot in my bed (that they chose). I'll climb into bed, then Lil'Buddy will cuddle with me while I give him love (he is spoiled though he acts like he's ignored!) after a few minutes, my youngest, Jack, will jump up into the bed, and curl up on my ankles. When Jack arrives, Lil'Buddy will climb to the otherside of the bed, on the pillow that is now above my girlfriend (before we put "his" pillow where it is now, he would lay on my gf's hair/head). I've tried moving Lil'Buddy's "pillow" to various spots on the bed, but no matter where it is, he insists on sleeping above my gf's head, never mine (I'm not complaining!)

I can't help but think this is some showing that he is the "alpha kitty" in our house. Neither of them ever hiss or show any signs of aggression, towards each other, other cats or any guests. They spend the day sleeping, playing and cleaning together.

Is this an attempt of Lil'Buddy to show that he is the alpha kitty?

Oh, and here is a pic of his "pillow"; my mom made the pillowcase.

 

[brooklet425]

I'm no expert and someone else can probably weigh in with a more educated opinion, but i've done a lot of reading over the years about cats and have always read that cats don't function like dogs...i.e. there's no "pack" and therefore no alpha. Everything I have read says that cats function on an individual mentality and not a pack mentality. And while that might be true, as far as obeying the alpha, in my house there is a VERY clear "Queen" aka Alpha cat of the house. I actually 4 very dominant cats. One currently sits in the highest "rank" of the house, but 2 others very obviously try to compete for that spot. I now have a younger cat - our newest one - who seems to have taken it upon herself to also compete for that top spot. I have 11 cats and while they all tolerate each other, they don't all get along. I'd say that the 7 non-alphas have absolutely no problem with any of the cats, and get along fine with everyone. The 4 that compete constantly for that top spot spend a lot of time growling and hissing at each other when they are near each other, but otherwise, do their best to stay out of each others way. They have no problem with the 7 non-dominant cats. So while I don't know if there is actually an alpha cat in the actual meaning of that term, I do believe that there is a top cat in the house if you have multiple cats.

 

[rarepuss]

Not sure that's alpha behavior, to sleep by her head. I have two siblings, boy is clearly Alpha. He loves his sister but for example will bump her from his favorite spots when he wants them, etc. Does Jack care for the 'head' spot?