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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / October 2004alpha cats
how is the most dominant cat determined? we had three adult cats, clearly one was the most dominant (male), but he was nice, he usually let his brother push him out of the way of his food, and take his toys, so he's pretty laid back, but when he gets pissed, he turns loud and aggressive and EVERYONE runs (including us sometimes :)). now we have a new female kitten. all the other cats let her push them out of their food bowls. my wife says she is the new alpha. i say no way, the other cats are just being nice. she says it doesn't matter that she's just a kitten, the alpha status is purely determined by smell (she's going by what she learned at the local wolf rescue place). i'm sure if she pissed off our laid back dominant male, she'd run faster than the rest of them ... well... perhaps not. she annoys him by pouncing on him and chasing his wagging tail, he swats her, she just backs off for a second then charges him again. eventually he gets fed up and leaves while she chases him into the other room. still, he'd beat her little butt if he got mad. > how is the most dominant cat determined? [snip] Rob, From what I've read, cats don't have the same type of "alpha" order like dogs do. With dogs, there's clearly a number 1 animal who eats first, etc. Cats divide territory by location and even by the time of day. I've noticed this myself. For instance, Benny sleeps on my bed during the day, but at night only Tucker sleeps with me. Rene >> how is the most dominant cat determined? [snip] > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Rene thanks, i came across some interesting reading here http://www.perfectpaws.com/help2.html " > thanks, i came across some interesting reading here > > http://www.perfectpaws.com/help2.html I couldn't get the link to work. :( BTW, Rob, how are your cats doing on the canned food? Is everyone adjusting ok? Rene > " >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Rene eh, not yet really. im trying the mixing and sprinkling of their old dry food in with the wellness. i still have one cat that refuses to eat (she doesn't seem like she's starving so maybe she eats when nobody is watching). the other two males do eat, but not enough, so i've been feeding them a few times a day maybe a 1/6th of a can each time. they still dont eat all of it in each sitting, though at least their bowls were empty this morning. it's very frustrating, i'm worried and just want to give them a big bowl of their old food to make sure they eat enough, but i dont want to confuse them either. i at least see them drinking, though that's hard to monitor too since the kitten thinks the waterbowl is her personal swimming pool and loves to dig in it and spray it everywhere. my wife keeps equating it to putting me on a diet of pure brussel sprouts and says the cat food must be gross and i'd starve too. >> " >>> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > of pure brussel sprouts and says the cat food must be gross and i'd > starve too. Rob, It does take awhile...when I "converted" my twosome from dry (free-fed) to Wellness and Felidae canned (on a schedule), I started just as you described. I wasn't really successful until I completely withdrew the dry food. Even to this day, mine do not eat all of their food within the first 15 or 20 minutes, which is the recommended or "optimum" timeframe. However, I do *not* add additional feedings throughout the day. Instead, I leave their wet food out for a longer time -- and it all disappears, but not in one "sitting." Duffy, in particular, will eat a small amount, leave, then reappear and eat a little more, etc. Both have adjusted well to this procedure, and I stick to a 12-hour schedule for the times when I put out fresh bowls. Of course, you would not want to leave moist food out all day long, but I have found that I must give mine more than 20 minutes. MaryL >>> " >>>> [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > MaryL I had been on the 12 hours schedule giving them each an appropriate amount for their weight (which works out to almost 3 cans a day for 3 cats), but I was throwing out a lot of food. They are probably only eating 1 can a day at this point. zuzu22 has been helping me with their diet and suggested mixing in the dry or sprinkling it on top so they would at least get enough caloric intake and perhaps be more interested in the wellness. They are eating more food when I give them fresh food a few times a day in smaller portions than if I give them large portions that sit and get all gross after a few hours. Ideally I'm trying to get them to 12 hour shifts but it's more important that they eat enough right now during the transition. Our 19 lb cat lost around 1.5 lbs give or take in the first week which is just way too much (our Tanita scale only does .5 lb increments). The two males are doing better this week, I just need to get the female adult to eat. The kitten will eat anything, she loves the Wellness, she loves her Iams kitten wet and dry, she loves the adults Purina One Weight Control (which is what the adults ate before trying to get them off of dry). >>>> " >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 67 lines] > and dry, she loves the adults Purina One Weight Control (which is what the > adults ate before trying to get them off of dry). Thanks for the additional information. I can see you are on the right track. Incidentally, Megan (zuzu22) also helped me when I started through this process, and she is an excellent source of information. You could not do better! MaryL BUSTED!!!! Well, I found out why one of the adults seems not to be eating much of his own food. Wife just called me downstairs saying "you're not going to believe this". We have a box in the bathroom with a tiny door in the front for the kitten. In the box I put the dry and wet food for the kitten. Well, it wasn't the only thing in the box when I went downstairs. One of the adult cats managed to squeeze himself through the tiny door and was happily eating away until he heard me coming (I guess he's not afraid of being caught by the wife since I'm "the food guy"). He tried to back out the door quickly when he heard me coming, so I just sat there and watched the guilty look on his face when he finally managed to get himself out. To think, I was worried the door might be getting too small for the kitten. > Rob, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > MaryL I have to agree with Mary. When you think about it, you're completely adjusting their schedules from eating tons of little meals throughout the day to two meals per day. Maybe Mary has a point about removing the dry food so they won't "hold out" for the crunchies. About the 20 minute time limit: when I first started Tucker, I wasn't sure how I'd "train" him to eat it all in that timeframe. But, as it turns out, he's doing it himself. At first, he would eat a tiny bit, then come back later, eat a little more, etc. Now he eats the entire portion within 45-60 minutes. Keep at it! I'm rooting for you! Rene > my wife says she is the new alpha. Cats don't have alphas - they reach a sort of timesharing agreement. > > my wife says she is the new alpha. > > Cats don't have alphas - they reach a sort of timesharing agreement. I think my cat sleeps on my bed when I am at work for hours on end, whereas at bedtime (for me) she'll spend two hours tops. (Just to keep me happy). ~Melanie "Melanie's Phony Email Address for NGs" <princessinthengtower@yahoo.ca> wrote in message news:5c69097f.0410082116.60ac46d2@posting.google.com... > > > my wife says she is the new alpha. > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > whereas at bedtime (for me) she'll spend two hours tops. (Just to keep > me happy). How many times have you woken up with a backache or cramped leg or sore shoulder or were forced to watch those horrible late night infomercials because you didn't want to move and disturb your cats' sleep? I lost track! LOL! Phil > "Melanie's Phony Email Address for NGs" <princessinthengtower@yahoo.ca> > wrote in message news:5c69097f.0410082116.60ac46d2@posting.google.com... [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Phil This happened too many times when my Siamese was with me (RB). This is how I solved the problem: I bought a small Parsons table and put a heated cat cushion on it then placed it by the side of my bed. I carried her in and showed her the setup and explained that "this is Princess's bed". Being a smart kitty, she understood and that is where she slept from then on. Worked out great for several years. > > "Melanie's Phony Email Address for NGs" <princessinthengtower@yahoo.ca> > > wrote in message news:5c69097f.0410082116.60ac46d2@posting.google.com... [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > she understood and that is where she slept from then on. Worked out great > for several years. I even tried getting a bigger bed - went from a queen to a king but the cats still boxed me in. I draw the line when it comes to going to the bathroom! LOL! Phil |
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