Are Cats Sexist?

[OrdinaryTa]

Well, lions are sexist. The head of the pride is invariably a male. But when smaller cats are in a group, they sometimes arrange themselves in a hierarchy, one of them being Top Cat. Among smaller cats, is the dominant cat always male? I've met some pretty bossy female cats.

I remember seeing in the zoo a group of Jungle Cats who were very hierarchical. When the food was served, they ate one at a time in order of rank. When the Top Cat walked away from the dish, the second one could eat, but not before.


Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)

[ZenLefty]

1. Well, there certainly seems to be a difference

I know that male housecats can have a wider range of exploring than females do. Females tend to stay near the home, males tend to wander a few yards over.

Pecking order at the food dish is a good litmus test. Generally, in houses with male and female housecats, the males get first dibs, probably because they're bigger.

Off subject here - we have two cats, both male. One is about twice the mass of the other. He's grumpy and pushy, and the other is docile and meek. But, the smaller one eats first. That's because I serve him first, and I don't let Elwood (the fat cat) eat until Midnight starts eating.

It's not that Elwood is intimidated by Midnight at all. It's just that ZenLefty is the biggest cat in the house. And in Elwood's mind, if I feed Midnight first, then he eats first, by golly. Elwood knows he'll get in trouble with *me* if he pushes Midnight away from the food.

[AnnabelLee]

2. LOL

We've got a female kitty named Petra who will box the ears of anybody who gets in her way at the food dish, male or female.:D

[MrScorpio]

4. Mr Scorpio piping in from Chicagoland

I'm here in Il, visiting my niece and I just met her kitties.

She tells me that the older female cat always has first dibs at the food dish.

[REP]

3. Depends Upon the Cat

Currently the alpha cat here is 12 year old Tessa depsite the presence of two bigger and younger toms. Lily was alpha for years before she died, but she took turns with Tessa. The toms don't seem to care who is alpha as long as they get fed and petted. Each cat has his or her own dish here, and alpha is determined by things like who gets to sleep where, play with what, etc.

[quinnox]

5. One observation

This is on a slightly different topic than the original post. I noticed female cats seem to be more affectionate and form closer ties to me than male cats. I am a male. I wonder if cats have a preference for their opposite gender in human owners.

[REP]

7. Not That I've Noticed

My Loved One didn't think female cats were affectionate untl he met mine.

My male and female cats seem to love me equally, but there seems to be a different 'flavor' to it, but not in its intensity. I can't really articulate it, and I definitely don't have a favorite!

[Moosenose]

6. Nope...

at least in my house, the male cats SEEM to be on the top of the food chain, but that's ONLY because the female cats LET them.

It's a VERY foolish male cat that gets in the way of a pissed off Momma cat, at least in my house. The males play at being "all big and bad", but when push comes to shove, the males hightail it out of the way of the girl kitties.

[REP]

8. Off This Topic, But

I want a Felis Chaus now! What a beautiful cat!

[VOX]

9. Don't think that there are any specific patterns...

Our 6-year-old female, Rosie, a very petite bluepoint Siamese, pretty much rules the roost. Our 3-year-old male snowshoe, Dobbs, usually has to play second fiddle. Although he's very boisterous and knockabout, which she tolerates well.

They mix it up every now and then, but they are usually very affectionate with each other.

Rosie is usually velcroed to my wife -- she is just somehow oriented to human females -- who knows why? Dobbs is an equal-opportunity lover.

They are both terrific beasties.