Sometimes, when two or more cats live in the same home, conflicts or fights occur between them. At the time this occurs, many guardians attribute the most aggressive behavior of one of the cats to a dominant character and are concerned that they do not know how to correct these behaviors. But the truth is that, most of the time, the concept of dominance is used in an erroneous way and there is a tendency to consider as "dominant" some behaviors that, in In reality, they have little or nothing to do with order or social hierarchy.
In this article on our site we explain what feline dominance is and how a dominant cat behaves. Keep reading!
What is feline dominance?
In the 1970s, the American biologist David Mech first spoke of the dominance theory after studying the behavior social of a group of wolves in captivity. Since then, this term has been used countless times to explain the relationships established between animals and has been extrapolated to a large number of species, including the domestic cat.
Today, thanks to scientific advances in the field of ethology, we know that many of the assumptions of this theory of dominance do not correspond to the real behavior of social animals and, therefore, In fact, the Mech himself admitted that he was wrong on several counts. However, most people continue to understand and use the concept of dominance in an erroneous way, equating it with aggressive behavior and considering it as a fixed and immutable personality trait, when this is not the case. Next, we explain how dominance manifests itself and how useful it is in cats.
The social hierarchy in the domestic cat
As we all know, domestic cats are more independent and territorial animals than dogs, but this does not mean that they are social beings perfectly capable of living in groups and enjoying the company of other cats in their environment. In this sense, the so-called 'dominance hierarchy' refers to the organization established between individuals of the same species that coexist in a stable social group, in order to avoid conflicts, for example, when accessing a limited and valuable resource.
Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, the role of dominant cat is not fixed and can change depending on the context. That is to say, a cat is not born dominant nor is it by nature, it may adopt this role in its usual environment but go on to occupy a lower position in the hierarchy if some change occurs, for example, the entry or exit of any member of the group or a variation in the hormonal or he alth status of any of them.
How to identify a dominant cat?
The first thing to keep in mind is that this type of hierarchy is not established between individuals of species as different as a cat and a human being, which means your cat has no interest in dominating you or making you feel inferior to him. If your furry companion scratches or bites you, jumps on you or snags on your clothes, relieves himself out of his litter box or sprays the house with urine, growls when you approach, climbs on furniture, rests on you or carries out any other behavior that could be misunderstood as a "desire for leadership", it is best to consult an ethologist specializing in feline behavior, as there are many factors that can trigger these behaviors, from a simple desire to play to the presence of any disease or stress in the animal.
Now, if you live with several cats and you would like to know the roles of each one of them within the group, you only have to observe them carefully in different contexts. The specific behaviors associated with the dominant rank do not manifest continuously, in fact, only usually appear when a resource appears on the scene that all cats find valuable, such as a specific location where to rest. If two or more cats want to access that resource, the one with the higher "status" can perform the following behaviors:
- adopt a tense body posture
- keep your eyes fixed on your peers
- spray the area with urine
- make quick movements with the tail
- give some threatening signals (such as growling or showing teeth)
If the rest of the animals understand and respect this language, no conflict will be triggered, but if this does not happen, the cats could claw at each other or even bite each other, although this is not the most frequent.
Dominance and aggressiveness are not the same
It is important not to confuse dominance with aggressive behavior, as they are two completely different concepts. The dominance hierarchy is the natural way that cats have, in this case, of organizing themselves within a group and, although on specific occasions some violent behavior may be triggered, it does not necessarily imply that there is any problem with the animals or with their environment. However, if two or more cats that live together attack each other systematically or too frequently and do so in different contexts, it is most likely that there is a physical or emotional problem that we are not knowing how to manage.
On the other hand, if our cat goes outside and tends to fight with other cats that are outside his social group (that is, with whom he does not live), it may be as a result of a socialization deficit or the territorial temperament that characterizes many felines and that leads them to defend your environment from any possible threat.
The ideal in any of these cases is to have the help of both a veterinarian who rules out he alth problems in the animals and an ethologist who analyzes our situation and provides us with guidelines for action and a protocol of behavioral modification. In addition, in this video we talk about the coexistence between cats and we share our tips:
Should I correct my cat if he behaves in a dominant way?
The behaviors emitted by a dominant cat should not be punished, first of all, because they are part of the normal communication of the species and, secondly, because scolding or intimidating our cat can cause him frustration and stress, and this will make his behavior worse.
If what we want is to reduce the frequency with which our cats threaten or fight, the best thing we can do is modify the environment in which they live and adapt it as best as possible to their needs, so that none of the animals have to conflict with the others to access a resource or space. In this sense, some things we can do are:
- Make sure we have at least a litter box for each cat we have at home (although the ideal is to also have one extra).
- Feed cats in separate rooms or keep several bowls full and away from each other. In this way, all the animals can eat at the same time if they wish and they will not disturb each other.
- Provide cats with sufficient spaces to rest without being interrupted or where to hide if they feel threatened. Ideally, these should be located in high areas from where they can control the environment and feel safe.
Although domestic cats are generally sociable animals, this does not mean that they always have to tolerate sharing their home with other individuals of their species. Introducing a new feline companion at home can be very stressful for the resident cat or cats, so another fundamental aspect to take into account to achieve a peaceful coexistence is make a very good presentationand leave time for the cats to get used to the new situation at their own pace. To find out how to do this correctly, we recommend reading this other article: "How to make one cat accept another?"
Now that you know that the concept of the dominant cat applied to its relationship with human beings is totally wrong, be sure to pay attention to the general behavior of your feline to try to find out what exactly happens to him in case having detected something abnormal. Similarly, if you are wondering how to correct a dominant cat because you live with more than one and there are coexistence problems between them, remember that this behavior should not be corrected, the important thing is to identify why they are not tolerated and see what you can do to solve it..
