How Can I Tell Which Cat Is The Dominant One (if There's One)?

[Melorin]

Hello,
it's not all that important question, but I thought it might be interesting to know. We've got 4 cats and 1 dog. They're all indoor cats. All neutered, all boys. The dog's also a boy. Every time I read something about two or more cats living together there's always something about one of them being the dominant one. Our dog is the oldest, 6 years old but still acts like a puppy and pretty much all of them are friends. They all share sleeping spots, hiding spots, it's pretty usual for all of them to sleep in my bed at the same time, they come to cuddle with me at the same time in pretty much every combination and when we feed them we put the food on one single plate since they don't mind eating together. Even when it's a small bowl they switch so everyone can eat. The oldest one doesn't like the second youngest one, because he's still a pretty wild kitten and the oldest one is a very calm and old soul but even they can eat beside each other and even groom each other, if the oldest one is in the mood of course. That's pretty much the only conflict here. They like and respect the dog, but also sleep in his spots and if he's bothering them too much they don't mind slapping him.
They're just not territorial at all. They were not bothered even when we brought some strays into our home, only curious. No aggression, no stress. So, how does their social structure work exactly? I'm just curious.

 

[rubysmama]

I've only ever had one cat at a time, so I've not witnessed territorial/dominant cat behaviour, but from all the threads that get started here at TCS, I think it's obvious when it exists. Things like inappropriate peeing around the house and aggression towards another cat or cats. It sounds like all your fur babies have learned to get along with each other, and that no one has taken on the dominant role.

 

[Hellenww]

The most we ever had were 4. 2 males, Slippy & Rusty. 2 females Snicky and Mawkin. It was always interesting to watch their little community. Snicky was definately the boss. She was the oldest and smallest but everybody showed her respect. They let her eat first and nobody slept in her bed. They shared all the other beds. Mawkin loved only people, hissing at all the other cats but allowed Rusty (youngest and biggest) to defend her when she annoyed the others too much and they'd try to swat her. Rusty was the peace keeper and stood between any 2 that looked like they wanted to fight but he never started a fight himself. Rusty also escorted Mawkin around the yard and brought her back in each morning. Slippy mostly kept to himself but him and Rusty seemed to work toghether to mark the whole yard each day. It didn't look like they mark over each others markings. I also saw them squirrel hunting toghether by circling the squirrel and making the circle smaller. The squirrel always got away.

I was newly disabled while we had this gang and their antics really kept my spirits up.

 

[Purr-fect]

"How does their social structure work?"

In your case, perfectly!

I think most groups of cats have a pecking order. It can range from subtle to outright fighting and bullying.

Arnold dominates greg. He never starts a fight, all he has to do is stare and Greg will walk away.

It is quite an imposing stare.

The first time my wife and I met greg and arnold, greg walked across the room and went straight to my wife. Arnold sat on a chair in the corner and glared at me. The message was clear........ "keep your distance". At the time he was 19 lbs........ i gave him his space. And now we are best buddies.

 

[pearl99]

Sounds like multiple cat heaven to me! Sounds they all don't need to be dominant.

 

[maggie101]

I have 3 cats. Their personalities are very different. I consider Peaches the dominant cat. She plays with my other cats but only when she wants to play. Peaches will try to eat everyone's food. I cannot pat her when she is above me or she will bite. She decides when she's had enough patting. Peaches will bite me if she wants something like play or attention. At night she will growl if I squirm in bed. Otherwise, she is a very sweet loving cat

 

[DreamerRose]

Mingo is my dominant cat. He bullies Lily and can be very aggressive to her, but she does stand up for herself. A day or so ago, she was sitting on a small perch and Mingo was trying to attack her. He will just up and bite her. She told him in no uncertain terms to keep his distance with a throaty Wow, wow, wow. She almost sounded like a dog.

Yours sound like a perfect group of animals. Don't mess with it if it ain't broken!

 

[KarenKat]

So we had two cats and later adopted a third: Trin, Gohan and later Olive. We always mocked Trin: he’s lying in the middle of the floor! He’s so clumsy and he’s a goofy cat that greeted people at the door!

After we lost him last year we realized that he was our alpha. He was the first to explore a new house, he always ran forward to meet new people and he was the rock that calmed the others during stressful times. He challenged Olive while Gohan hid in the bushes. Yes he was clumsy and awkward but he had a lions heart.

Sometimes the alpha is really subtle, but he leaves a large whole when he’s gone.

 

[Kflowers]

The dominate cat will be the one who goes first to check out things that might be dangerous - the unknown unexpected sound, the stranger in the house. The dominate in any group is the one who leads, and who is ready to take a hit for the group.