Our 5 year olds, an athletic dominant girl & a submissive smallboy, both fixed since they came to us as strays ~age of 1-2 were carefully introduced to the kitten who came to us stray a week ago, esp. the dominant girl as she's jealous of everything & everyone that I give attention to (even lately my wife - definitely a daddy's girl). There was the typical spatting and hissing and batting beneath the door , we did everything over that first week that the websites and books said to do. We were doing great. The submissive boy and the kitten became friends and my daughter didn't seem interested at all in tearing it (the girl kitten) to shreds. Just hissing and a few bats. But then the kitten came up to the dominant female & when she batted at the kitten, the kitten stood her ground & actually batted back which completely shocked my daughter. They are many times larger than kitten they already show signs up submission to her. are my cats just curious still or is it power shift already?
2007-11-07 17:21:25 · 4 answers · asked by Yumaarizona 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
The kitten may be the most dominant of the group and it probably will stay that way. Some cats are just more dominant than others. If the other cats don't seem to mind, then that's all right. The problem occurs when one cat tries to dominate the others and it causes a personality clash with one of the other cats. That's because it often ends up with the loser cat leaving home for good. My parents had this happen with one of their cats. He got into a power play with another cat they had recently brought into the household. He started disappearing for a day or two and then coming back but then he disappeared for good. It's been over 20 years now and he hasn't been seen since.
2007-11-07 18:28:33 · answer #1 · answered by RoVale 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your older female is being very tolerant, as she could put the kitten in her place if she wanted to. I don't know what you are classing as signs of submission, but bear in mind that unlike dogs, when a cat rolls onto it's back, it's actually a sign of aggression. It means, "here I am, all 4 paws and teeth ready to fight you".
It's good that your kitten is so confident, as this will help her settle in quickly.
It sounds like things are going well so far, so no need to worry.
2007-11-08 01:21:24 · answer #2 · answered by Michele the Louis Wain cat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably bonding with new family member, a lot of females are like that when it comes to kittens but after they come around they start mothering the kitten (i.e. bathing, playing, sharing I even had one that was fixed never had a litter of kittens, but she'd let my kitten nurse from her, I thought it odd but according to the vet it was her mothering instinct).
2007-11-07 19:47:04 · answer #3 · answered by ♫♪ Ŝħàřòñà ♪♫ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the first few weeks the cats will try and assert their power this new little kitten may just be trying o assert his/her place in the family, eventually after a few weeks it should sort itself out
2007-11-07 17:29:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋