I am alpha cat!!!!

Cats are definitely hierarchical. My wife and I have two cats. Mao and Gracie are brother and sister from the same litter. Mao is a 15 pound behemoth and Gracie is a dainty little 10-pound cutie. For most of their 3 year life, Mao has been alpha cat and Gracie has been beta cat. That changes from time to time when Gracie gets sick of her big brother beating up on her. She'll go ape-shit all over him and he'll be beta cat for a day or two while she enjoys some time on top of the feline hierarchy.

Oddly enough, my wife and I often fit into the different levels of cat-ness. I usually slot in just below Mao, my wife goes back and forth between being just above or just below Gracie on the pecking order. (Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with the human hierarchy of the home. That is pretty well defined. My wife is in charge and I am a step down. I sometimes ignore what she says, but she's always on the top of the ladder.)

Last week all of this changed. The cats have their own ways of letting us know that it is time to wake up. Gracie is usually quite respectful and cute. Mao is often a bit more aggressive. As alpha cat, it is his right.

I was napping on the weekend and he decided to wake me up. He snuck a paw under the covers and extended his claws on my stomach. In my reaction to getting needled in the ribs, I moved to protect myself. I accidentally kinda whacked Mao on the side of the head. He went flying off the bed and ran away. He wasn't hurt at all, but he definitely changed his outlook on things.

Obviously I was now faster and more powerful than him, so I instantly became alpha cat. I can tell this because he now pays attention to what I tell him. He loves to play with the phone cord. Now when I tell him to stop, he stops and goes to do something else. That is one example. He really has changed his entire way that he deals with me.

The changes are not only in the dealings between Mao and me. Gracie treats me differently too. As charlie cat, she now works really hard to please the new, more affectionate alpha cat. With that in mind, she gets first pick of where to sleep on the bed when it is time to hit the hay. She chooses a prime spot up by our heads. Mao is relegated to the bottom of the bed. She also gets some respect when it is time to play. Usually Mao just takes over any game that Gracie and I are playing. Now he actually waits his turn until she's done.

My wife seems to jump between charlie cat and delta cat. That hasn't really changed with my ascention to alpha status.

I'm a benevolent and kind alpha cat. He still gets play time and lots of affection. At some point that will be seen as weakness by him and he'll try to assert his alpha status. I'm working on ways to keep alpha status without whacking him on the head. My guess is that a squirt bottle with water in it might be used. :D

Later.

Pete