Chris Demonstrates Dominance


I have been around cats long enough to be able to predict their behavior somewhat and not be surprised by behavior I didn’t predict. Of course, predicting behavior and understanding it are two different things and I sometimes think I will never understand why cats behave the way they do.

Chris, for example, will often straddle Puck and hold him down by the neck and then he will wash him like nothing ever happened. It seems like he’s showing his dominance but Puck never challenges Chris’s position so I don’t know why he feels compelled to do what he does. If anything, Frankie is the one that challenges Chris leadership but Chris doesn’t hold him down by the neck although he does whack him from time to time.

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23 thoughts on “Chris Demonstrates Dominance

  1. The Island Cats

    Ernie tries to dominate Wally by blocking him when they run down the hallway and stairs. Seriously, he will get in front of Wally and try to run him off the road, so to speak.

    Reply
    1. Charles Huss Post author

      I usually try to get him to stop without making a big fuss because I am not sure about the meaning of what Chris is doing. I know he loves Puck and I don’t think he is hurting him.

      Reply
    1. Charles Huss Post author

      I saw that once with two ducks in the mail was holding the female down like that by the neck. Since our cats are all males I knew that that couldn’t be what was going on.

      Reply
  2. The Swiss Cats

    Yes, that’s clearly dominance. Zorro tried this once with me, but I quickly showed him who was the boss despite my small size. Purrs, Pixie

    Reply
  3. CatLadyintheCanyon

    I think that mounting thing happens when one cat is not an alpha. Two Alpha already know their position with each other. I have two alphas, Bobcat and Topper and one who is just sweet and submissive, Lexington and Lex the one who always gets mounted by Bobcat. I’ve never seen Bobcat and Topper do that to each other.

    Reply
  4. kittiesblue

    Seems as if Puck is totally nonplussed by the whole affair. As Mom always says, “Cats are predictably unpredictable.” XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

    Reply
  5. Charles Huss Post author

    Reblogged this on Bad Cat Chris and commented:

    For Throwback Thursday, here is a post from late April 2016. It is Chris holding Puck by the neck. After we lost Puck he started doing that to Floki occasionally. I know some animals do this while mating but that is not what this is.

    Reply

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