# hierarchy in your homes?



## 3felines (Jun 20, 2010)

Just a thought that crossed my mind and thought it'd make an interesting thread for any single or multi-cat home. Is there an obvious hierarchy between your cats and you? 

I have three cats which I have become accustomed to calling the queen, the princess, and the jester. Checkers is the queen, the oldest and the fluffiest and she knows it. She's always got the last say in everything and if any of the other cats try to play with her they get put in their place. She struts her stuff and is higher than any human entering her home. She is only to be patted when she wants to be and only to be cuddled when she comes to you. She has very strict orders in her palace. The princess, naughty and unruly as usual is Athena, the youngster. She is always pushing Checkers buttons, sneaking up on her to bat her head and then run away. She's always getting into something she isn't supposed to be and is always on high alert. She loves to talk and be the center of all attention, god forbid you shut her out of a room, you won't hear the end of it! The jester of course is Grady, the lone male in this herd. He is the goof, always putting a smile on everyone's face. He is always doing stupid/funny/strange things, like this morning he started chasing his tail.

So how does the hierarchy hold in your home? Where do you stand against your cats? :lol:


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## Coyote (Jan 16, 2011)

Sparky (or Grumpy Grandad as we know him) is the oldest cat at 11 years old. He's very much Alpha Cat  He regularly swipes at Eric and Ernie, my 8 month old Norwegians. Even though they are already twice his size, they never fight back. Ever. They'll take the swipe and wander off. 

And of course, the 'Wegians rank higher than the dogs. Or believe they do. They think nothing of inserting claws into the rumps of hounds, just to encourage them to move along and give up the warm spot on the sofa or bed. 

As for me... I think I'm at the beck and call of all of them


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

I'm definitely Queen Bee, both my girls follow me round, come running when I call and they battle to be closest to me at night time. Evie is my little Princess, she is a complete Mummy's Girl and is the boss of Mitzi Moo. Mitzi is a lovely cat, but as she's only one year old (and one stone! Not that that stops my little Evie being boss!) she looks as though she's learning from Evie a lot of the time, well Evie is a worldly-wise two year old cat, she has much experience to teach Mitzi about  Mitzi is also the kind of cat who will be cuddled when she wants to be... Although, we have a deal- she can wake Mummy up in the middle of the night for a cuddle, if Mummy can pick Mitzi up any time in the day for a snuggle! That's our deal


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## 3felines (Jun 20, 2010)

Coyote said:


> Sparky (or Grumpy Grandad as we know him) is the oldest cat at 11 years old. He's very much Alpha Cat  He regularly swipes at Eric and Ernie, my 8 month old Norwegians. Even though they are already twice his size, they never fight back. Ever. They'll take the swipe and wander off.
> 
> And of course, the 'Wegians rank higher than the dogs. Or believe they do. They think nothing of inserting claws into the rumps of hounds, just to encourage them to move along and give up the warm spot on the sofa or bed.
> 
> As for me... I think I'm at the beck and call of all of them


If a dog enters my home he is subject to Grady's wrath. My sister brought her boxer weimeraner mix pup here and he was a good fifty pounds, grady is half that, literally, and Grady squared himself, puffed his fur to the best of his ability and attacked. He full out attacked him and would not stop until I grabbed him and shut him in another room until my sister removed the dog from the household. I guess it's in his blood, I actually chose Grady from all the other kittens because he stood up to my other sister pomeranian when he was itty bitty while the others ran away. Grady is also the guard of the house, he is the first to investigate a newcomer and if he doesn't like you, he lets you know. Some people bug me and just reach right down to pat the cats because they think it's a cat so it must be nice but Grady is particular when it comes to who enters his house with his people. He's also so nosy that he often has to be shut in a room when someone comes to do repairs because he's always up in their business. He also despises my sister and her kids. They're to loud for him because our house is usually very quiet so when they come he hisses and will try to bite/scratch if they get in his face. He actually chased my sister out of the house one time, she kept running away and screaming and he kept going until she left, then he plopped down on the couch and curled up like his duty was done. She didn't come back inside and is still to this day afraid of him :lol: Much like you, my cats rule the roost, although Athena seems to be my little follower, wherever I go, she goes, I talk to her, she talks back, she's a funny kitty =)


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Like my signature says "Dogs have owners. Cats have staff". That should tell you something about where I stand on the hierarchy. :? As for my girls, Abby is a little Diva and likes to have her own way, whereas Muffs is very gentle and, for the most part, she lets Abby have what she wants. Although now and again, Muffs will put her foot down and I say, "Way to go Muffs"!


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## Kamie (Feb 12, 2011)

It went something like this:
I thought it went
Me 
Bob
Tahllula
My husband

Bob thought it went:
Bob
Bob 
Bob
Me
My husband
Tahllula

Tahllula thought it went:
Tahllula
Who are the rest of you, get out of my house before I call the cops.

My husband gave up trying to have an opinion and knew his place.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

3felines said:


> So how does the hierarchy hold in your home? Where do you stand against your cats? :lol:


Our multi-cat home (between 6-14 cats) is generally 'ruled' by one or more of the older former ferals, usually the girls. I think The Wanderer (former feral) and Mister (TW's son) are the only males that have 'ruled' in our multi-cat home. Previously, it was Silver (the oldest) and after Silver passed, it became Malibu and then it was co-shared with Pretty, w/ Mallie being slightly higher than Pretty. 

Generally all of the cats get along well. I feel lucky that with the number of animals in our home and moving through our home (fostering) that we've experienced few problems. I attribute that to ME being the Boss Cat in this house. The kitties also give way to my husband. 
Of course, they aren't above demanding food or attention from us, but if we say "move it" ... they move. If a few cats are having a disagreement, all I've got to do is speak a warning and they break it up. All-in-all, we keep a pretty respectfully harmonious cat-human home.


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## yellowdaisies (Jan 25, 2011)

I've been figuring out who is "alpha" out of our two (they're brother and sister) ever since we got them 7 weeks ago. I used to think it was Lily, and lately I've thought maybe it's Spencer...I just can't figure it out! Is it possible that kittens don't really have an "alpha" until they're a little older?


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## Coyote (Jan 16, 2011)

yellowdaisies said:


> I've been figuring out who is "alpha" out of our two (they're brother and sister) ever since we got them 7 weeks ago. I used to think it was Lily, and lately I've thought maybe it's Spencer...I just can't figure it out! Is it possible that kittens don't really have an "alpha" until they're a little older?



Of brother and sister,I'd place my bets on Lily  From what I remember of a multi-gendered cat house, the longest serving female would generally be the one in charge - they're not called Queens for nothing!


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## Coyote (Jan 16, 2011)

3felines said:


> If a dog enters my home he is subject to Grady's wrath. My sister brought her boxer weimeraner mix pup here and he was a good fifty pounds, grady is half that, literally, and Grady squared himself, puffed his fur to the best of his ability and attacked. He full out attacked him and would not stop until I grabbed him and shut him in another room until my sister removed the dog from the household. I guess it's in his blood, I actually chose Grady from all the other kittens because he stood up to my other sister pomeranian when he was itty bitty while the others ran away. Grady is also the guard of the house, he is the first to investigate a newcomer and if he doesn't like you, he lets you know. Some people bug me and just reach right down to pat the cats because they think it's a cat so it must be nice but Grady is particular when it comes to who enters his house with his people. He's also so nosy that he often has to be shut in a room when someone comes to do repairs because he's always up in their business. He also despises my sister and her kids. They're to loud for him because our house is usually very quiet so when they come he hisses and will try to bite/scratch if they get in his face. He actually chased my sister out of the house one time, she kept running away and screaming and he kept going until she left, then he plopped down on the couch and curled up like his duty was done. She didn't come back inside and is still to this day afraid of him :lol: Much like you, my cats rule the roost, although Athena seems to be my little follower, wherever I go, she goes, I talk to her, she talks back, she's a funny kitty =)


I LOVE Guard Cats - they're so unexpected


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

Samantha is Queen Bee in my home, followed by Alice, and then Rochelle. Samantha rules with a gentle paw (usually!), and Rochelle is happy being where she is (I don't think she'd know what to do with any power, hehe). Alice wants that dominant role, and there's a chance she'll take it at some point...she's just so pushy and bossy, and at times Samantha lets her gets away with it (but only for so long, before she puts the paw down!).


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

yellowdaisies said:


> I've been figuring out who is "alpha" out of our two (they're brother and sister) ever since we got them 7 weeks ago. I used to think it was Lily, and lately I've thought maybe it's Spencer...I just can't figure it out! Is it possible that kittens don't really have an "alpha" until they're a little older?


Yes, that is possible. A cat's territorial instincts aren't fully developed until they reach social maturity, which typically doesn't happen until the cat is at least 2 years old (although it can be a bit earlier or later). So, prior to that time, you won't notice too much "alpha" behavior. And even once they're older, identifying the alpha can often be difficult, since it's often a different cat depending on the time of day, the situation, etc.


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

Bentley is our alpha but Sasquatch will take over that role now that Bentley is starting to show his age & is now slower about reacting to squabbles between the other cats. None of our guys challenge Bentley; he just stomps up to the 2 who are hissling at each other, makes an odd grumph noise & they make tracks for different parts of the house. Tuffy the DERP did challenge a couple of times & got his ears handed back to him. Sasquatch is now settling the tiffs if they happen upstairs but is not the least challenging to Bentley. Methos & PuddyWow are in the middle, Pixel is low end of the hierarchy but is such a wuss is ignored most of the time. Tuffy is our troublemaker and constantly is challenging somebody even me. Hubby & Pixel hide out.


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## yellowdaisies (Jan 25, 2011)

Thank you Susan!! That makes much more sense! 

And Coyote - I've been betting on Lily, too, since her personality seems to be a better fit for it. Spencer is too happy-go-lucky and semi-clueless, it seems...but then he does a lot of things that seem to put Lily in her place - so I guess I will have to wait and see!


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## Treblyk (Feb 18, 2010)

Surprisingly the alpha cat in my household is in fact the youngest. I am Supreme OverLord, however. I have the cats trained to come when I snap my fingers. (Minus the deaf one..he's oblivious) But normally it goes 

Me
Fiance (he's the one who does the most disciplining of bad behaviours but the cats adore him and must be around him all the time)
Hades (youngest male, age 3)
Lily (Oldest female, age 10)
Hermes (male, age 8 )
Antigone (female, age 4)

I think it helps that Hades is a very big cat and he lived here first. He also has quite the mighty roar/hiss when annoyed. Lily is the next in order, mainly because she's the most crotchety and not afraid to slap the other cats. She also gets all the prime sleeping locations. Hermes really is the most oblivious creature I've ever met. He's deaf, so the others hissing doesn't affect him at all, but he defers to Lily and moves out of her sleeping spots, and he follows Hades everywhere. 

Poor poor Antigone gets the short end of the stick. The other cats are just not nice to her. She gets attacked, hissed at, etc all the time. I feel so bad for her. As the only cat with claws, you'd think she would show some guts, but she won't use them and just runs away and hides.


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## estelle58 (Feb 28, 2006)

Moogy is the queen here and she reminds her subjects of it every morning :wink but she will always let the others eat before she goes to the food :catmilk


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Well, I call MowMOw the po-po for a reason. He's the absolute LAW around here.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

In my house, I am at the top of the chain because I am the bringer of food and other good stuff (toys, snacks, etc.). I am also the one to dispense any type of discipline earning the cats' respect. After that, it is:

Azalia;
My oldest daughter;
Egypt;
My youngest daughter and Lacey seem to be on an even keel.


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## carnivorouszoo (Oct 29, 2010)

Well, lets see. . .Silver follows me around like a love sick pup when its quiet, when my husband is home he hides even though my husband wants him to love him so much, he allows the youngest to do just about anything to him while we teach her how to be nice to the kitty, the other two kids are wild but since my oldest began giving him breakfast he is warming to her. I think he is still feeling like a bit of an outsider, but is slowly accepting us as family, who knows what spot he will end up holding in our household. In the past he was protector and trainer of stray kittens Shawn would find dumped in the parking lot of his job. Its been made clear to us to not do that anymore since we got new landlords though and he is fine as a single cat as he is with others to tend to. I think he is a caretaker. I really do. Funny thing is I am the only one he comes to when called lol.


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