Submissive Or Dominant?

[jamd1]

Hello! We've got 2 female cats, age 5 and age 11. They sometimes fight but mostly ignore each other. After some bad experiences we keep them separated when there is not someone home to monitor their behaviour.

The younger one often greets the older one by putting her nose beneath the other's chin, on the older one's neck, and holding it there for several seconds. I am curious if this is aggressive (going for the jugular!) or submissive (putting head / body lower). It is often followed by the older one hissing and swatting the younger one, then them walking in different directions. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[susanm9006]

I don’t see it as being either. To me it is a greeting and a request for attention. A cat friend would return the gesture by washing the younger but in your case the older cat is telling the younger to get away and that they aren’t friends yet.

 

[FeebysOwner]

The younger one wants the attention/approval of the older cat, and apparently is not getting it. How long have they been together? The time line plays a lot in how to read this interaction. If they haven't been together long, the interaction is hopeful, if they have been together for years, not much is going to change.

 

[1 bruce 1]

How old was the 5 year old when you got her and (if she was an adult) do you know her history?

 

[marmoset]

I'd need a picture or even better a video to say one way or the other. If the 5 year old is attempting to groom the older cat that is a submissive act. But if the 5 year old is showing any body language that is aggressive the older cat might pick up on it being a dominating gesture.

It could be the younger cat is sending mixed signals which is often the case when dealing with cats that aren't fully acclimated to each other. How long have you been separating them when no one is home? How long have you had both cats?

 

[danteshuman]

I could tell you more if there were pictures/videos.

My gut says that she is getting to much into your older cat’s personal space and your older cat is telling her to back off. What the younger cat is doing sounds very much like a greeting/request for snuggles.

 

[jamd1]

I'll try to get a pic at some point. They have a long complicated history. We got the 5 year old when she was just 5 months old - so it's been about 4 years now. She had apparently been abandoned - had a collar, but we spent a couple of months searching for her owner (signs, posts, etc) with no luck. Then we tried to find her a new home, since we already had our then 6 year old cat, but also with no luck, and finally decided to keep her. They did pretty well for a long time - older cat didn't love new cat, but tolerated, slept very close to each other, occasionally groomed each other.

But then about 2ish years ago we had issues. Younger cat had always been rather skittish (we wonder if she had a hard history before being abandoned - she often flinches away when you go to pet her) - but then one day out of the blue she saw another cat outside and suddenly really viciously attacked older cat - redirected aggression? This happened while we were also having issues with coyotes in our yard. (They are both indoor cats) This happened 2-3 times over several weeks. Then we had months of bad relations between them, so we kept them separate and SLOWLY reintroduced. I think we had to do that process at least twice.. Now, 2+ years later, they seem to tolerate each other - but we never leave them alone without someone else in the house. They will sleep in the same room and they mostly ignore each other - except for this frequent initial greeting that ends in a hiss and a swat.

I'll send a pic when I can - thanks!

 

[susanm9006]

So I think the younger has forgotten their squabble, but the older has not and probably won’t. That just always be their relationship. Coexisting and an occasional slap or hiss sounds like it is there to stay.

I did have two with a similar relationship, where the younger liked the older but the older rejected her. Everyday the younger would groom the older and then put her head down and wait for the reciprocal grooming that never never came. Instead the older would just walk way from her and it always made me sad. But as a cat parent there is only so much you can do and no way to fix some relationships.