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Loading...Is Your Cat a Bully?
- Cherise Udell
- February 15, 2013
- 7:09 am
- 132 comments
America’s schools are all abuzz with bully abatement, but did you know that cats can be bullies too? Here are the red flag warnings that your sweet little kitty is really a big bully to the other cats in your household or neighborhood.
1. Staring
2. Pouncing on another cat while that cat is sleeping or resting
3. Blocking thoroughfares such as in the middle of a hallway or in front of the cat flap to deny exit or entry
4. Attacking, growling and hissing at another cat without apparent provocation
5. Blocking access to indoor litter box
6. Forcing another cat away from food bowl
7. Claiming resting areas and/or access to human by physically pushing other cat away
Cats are territorial by nature and in territories where there is more than one cat (indoors and out) a hierarchy is likely to develop. The biggest cat often, but not always, will dominate the top rung of the ladder. If you do observe the above listed behaviors in one or more of your cats, and it lasts for more than a couple of weeks, then you likely need to intervene.
The first step is to assess whether your dominate cat (the one being the bully) is getting the respect he/she deserves. This situation happened in our household. Sushi, our Maine Coon, who weighs about 24 pounds is the undisputed top cat in the household. However, he is not the family favorite as he doesn’t like to cuddle and he is quick to use his claws. The family favorite is Mittens, our skinny little polydactyl cat that has an amazing personality, loves to cuddle, and is light enough for the children to pick-up (which he completely tolerates). Riki Tiki Tabby is also well-loved, but since he doesn’t like to sit on laps or be held, he takes second place to Mittens. The result is everyone in our household greets Mittens first, plays with him first, rubs his belly first and gives him lots of treats. It got to the point where Sushi was almost being ignored. I guess Sushi said to himself, enough is enough, because suddenly one day, he started attacking Mittens quite aggressively. I was actually shocked as it seemed to come out of nowhere.
This went on for a few weeks and it was causing our household significant strife. Mittens was a nervous wreck and developed chin acne ( a sure sign of stress). My husband was finally astute enough to suggest that maybe Sushi was jealous and that he (Sushi) felt he was not getting the respect he deserved as top cat. So, we started greeting Sushi first when we came home, giving him lots of chin rubs, and making sure he was the first to get a treat, the first to get brushed and the first to be fed. Like magic, Sushi suddenly stopped bothering Mittens!
Other issues that can stimulate bullying behavior in cats include having too many cats in too small of a territory and/or having too few resources. Most cat experts will say that you should have at least one bowl of food, one bowl of water and one litter box for each cat. Some vets suggest even having one extra, especially in the case of litter boxes. Cats that have not been spayed/neutered or were fixed later in life, tend to be more naturally aggressive and territorial.
Read more: Anxiety, Behavior & Communication, Caregiving, Cats, Do Good, Environment, Everyday Pet Care, Family, Feline Muse, Life, Make a Difference, Mental Wellness, Nature, Peace, Pet Health, Pets, Remedies & Treatments, Self-Help, Spirit, Stress, cat aggression towards other cats, Cat bully, cat bullying another cat, cat fights, cat jealousy, cat territorial dispute, cats can be bullies too, introducing new cats
Cherise Udell
Cherise Udell is a mom, clean air advocate, anthropologist and feline aficionado with the nomadic habit of taking spontaneous sojourns to unusual destinations. Before her adventures in motherhood, she was an intrepid Amazon jungle guide equipped with a pair of sturdy wellingtons and a 24-inch machete, as well as a volunteer at a rainforest animal rescue center.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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132 comments
+ add your owngreat article, i have a cat that shows all of those signs. maybe it's that she's just not getting enough attention. thanks for the insight!
my kittens do a lot of the stuff listed above but they are only playing with each other
thank you for sharing
thanks for sharing :)
My kitten bullies my oldest cat. They're really noisey at night when they fight and they tear up the carpets fighting one and other
My cat is a bully to me too, when we got a new kitten we had to give it back!
One of my cats Daisy has always bullied my other cats throughout the years, but yet gets on with my latest kitty a ginger tom kitten
nooo..my cat is so sweet
Thankfully we do not have any bosses or bullies in the present gang of 6, but we have had bullying situations in the past. One cat we had would express his angst at being brought in for the evening on whoever was closest at the door, including me. We also took in a beautiful, pure white, cobalt-blue eyed kitty who promptly began to pee in spots where one of the other cats liked to rest. We found out he'd been used to bullying the other cat he'd lived with. He tried being boss and got many solid thunks to the head by the other cats. Finally, we found him a home where he could be only cat.
Never had a problem with a bully cat.
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