ICAWC 2013 Barcelona, Spain - Nicky Trevorrow & Penny Alborough's presentation on Top Cat, Alpha Cat, Boss Cat

1. Top Cat, Alpha Cat, Boss Cat
The Dominance Myth in Cats
Nicky Trevorrow and Penny Alborough
Cats Protection

2. What does ‘dominance’ mean?
“My cat
is ‘top cat’
over my other
cat”
“I need to show
my rabbit that I
am the ‘boss’”
“I need to be the
‘pack leader’ with my
animals”
“If my dog eats before
me, they will think
they are ‘top dog’”

3. What does ‘dominance’ mean?
Definition:
‘An individual’s ability to maintain or
regulate access to some resources’
Dominance can also be described as a
‘relationship between a pair of individuals’
It is not to do with aggression or status,
nor is it a characteristic or trait of an
individual animal

4. Where did it come from?
Originally from early
studies on wolves
However these were
captive wolves

5. Where did it come from?
Often formed of
unnatural groups
Unable to escape one
another

6. Where did it come from?
Alpha pair
Old ideas for the formation of a wolf pack

7. Where did it come from?
More recent studies from wild wolves showed the
pack consists of a family group

8. Where did it come from?
Parents
Family groups made up of
parents and their offspring

9. Do cats have hierarchies?

10. Is there a ‘Top Cat’?

11. Where do we feature?

12. Where do we feature?

13. Why is this important to animal welfare?
• Leads to misunderstanding species-specific needs
• May be used to ‘justify’ using out-dated aversive
training methods
• Can lead to behavioural problems
• Reduces the human-animal bond
• In extreme cases, can inflict abuse on the animal
and risk health and safety of the person

14. Let’s look at the cat’s origins…

15. The solitary hunter
• Highly territorial
• Prey sparsely distributed over environment
• Does not co-operatively hunt with others

16. The importance of scent

17. Avoid stress and conflict
•
•
•
•
Can be predated upon by other animals
Survival of the fittest
Prefer to run away, hide and climb
Aggression is a last resort

18. How does this relate to feral colonies?
It’s all about the
clumped food
resource

19. How would cats prefer to eat?
In a large group?
Separately?
Neighbour’s cat
Using one food bowl?

20. How do cats use space?

21. What happens when one cat dies?

22. So if you have more than two cats…
Ensure there
are plenty of
resources for
all the cats
Appropriately
spaced out

23. In summary
• ‘Dominance’ is not a useful term for looking at
groups of cats
• As owners, cats are part of our ‘social unit’
• Important to understand and meet cats’ needs in
order to improve welfare

24. Thank you for listening