Torties - natural bullies?

[hersheys mom]

Does anyone know or has anyone with more than one cat (including a Tortie) know if that breed has a tendency to bully other cats? My Torties harasses my Burmese constantly, my sister-in-law's Torties constantly harasses her other cat, and my doctor's nurse has 4 ferals and tells me the Tortie bullies the other three constantly. Anyone else notice this trend?

Lei-Ann

 

[txcatmom]

I have one tortie and she is the least likely to bully anyone in our four cat family.  There is a perception out there that torties are strong willed and a bit bossy, but that could be a gender difference since 99% of them are female.  And I think it is hard to say how true some of those color/personality links are.  I do think there are some general personality tendencies for each gender.   Anyways, I've never heard the tortie as bully label until now. 

I was just thinking....IF there is any truth to the perception that torties are a bit bossy and strong willed, I suppose that that could translate into bullying in certain situations.

 

[missymotus]

(including a Tortie) know if that breed has a tendency

Tortie is a colour, not a breed. Torties have a rep for being "naughty torties" but it's extremely general and refers to mischief more than bullying.

 

[rosiemac]

My Rosie isn't a bully either. She's a diva if anything and knows how to show you what the meaning of "Tortitude" is all about 

 

[jessy]

We have a Tortie, Roxy, and we also have Molly, a little black and white cat, if anything, Molly bullies Roxy!

 

[jessy]

My Rosie isn't a bully either. She's a diva if anything and knows how to show you what the meaning of "Tortitude" is all about 

Roxy is definately a diva too!

 

[stephanietx]

I have a tortie and the only time she's a bully is when it's feeding time and some other kitty is getting in the way of her food.  Other than that she's very mild mannered.
 

 

[hersheys mom]

Tortie is a colour, not a breed. Torties have a rep for being "naughty torties" but it's extremely general and refers to mischief more than bullying.

I suppose this is the closest definition of her personality so far. She gets into everything, and is full of mischief. Perhaps her deliberately standing outside HRs door and hissing and growling is more to annoy her than to start a fight, but it sometimes ends up getting physical. It seems she just can't walk by her room without stopping and giving HR a piece of her mind. One of these days, HR is going to knock her on her butt, but right now she is still a feral-in-training and tries to avoid confrontations. But when she is ready, Minja better watch out as HR is only 12 months old and growing bigger every week! And thank you, I obviously need to study up on cat breeds, I really thought Tortie was a breed!

Lei-Ann

 

[aharris]

The only way in which our tortie displays "tortitude" is with what we call her "Rules." There are definite rules for how you interact with her, so long as you know her rules and follow them, everyone escapes unscathed

. Really, it's basically a matter of knowing her habits and body language. However, if you break her rules, she's liable to turn around and charge your ankles, and if you move her when she doesn't want to be moved, she'll wrap herself around your hand and arm and act like she's about to rip you wide open (she never does). We call that behavior "grinching" because she grumble-growls like she's just about to lay into you. It's extremely disconcerting until you get used to it and her.

However, with other cats, she's the one who gets pushed around.

 

[jlc20m]

I hope it's okay for me to chime in because my 6-month-old Bella is a diluted calico not a tortie. If I must compare her to my other kitties, she's strong willed and gutsy but not a bully. She's very sweet, loving, and affectionate.

jlc20m

 

[hersheys mom]

Oriental Slave: So in short, you got Minja (the tortie), then you got HR.  Both are rescues.  You kept them separate while HR settled in, then you opened the door and Minja doesn't like HR one little bit.

It strikes me you needed to go far more gradually from separate to together and it's been too much for Minja.  In effect you've dong from 0mph to 100 mph in one fell swoop.

Actually, they were "talking" through the door for 6 weeks, and Minja was sticking her long legs under the door for HR to smell. There was no friction. When I opened HRs door, Minja started in, probably trying to establish pecking order. Then she just went to straight bullying. She goes out of her way to sit in front of the door threshold so HR can't get out, and hisses and growls. This has been going on for several weeks, and is slowly declining. They have actually shared the bedroom and living room for an hour before starting chasing each other again. Last night there was peace all night long. I think maybe we are getting somewhere. Slowly but surely. I will read the article you suggested, too much knowledge can't hurt. Thanks,

Lei-Ann

Update: Sunday Jan 20 - Minja and Hershey Rose have both been in the living room together several times now. One will usually start hissing and I will try to calm them, but the one being hissed at usually runs away. At least HR is coming out of her room and there are no more slapping incidents. Minja usually starts the hissing, it has become obvious it is a jealousy thing at this point, she doesn't want to share me and doesn't like it when I give equal attention to HR. But HR is feral and the one-on-one attention is absolutely necessary, something Minja can't understand. But she is getting better at it.