We’ve all heard of alpha male cats. The male cat living either inside or outside who is a bit of a bully and appears to be in charge of the other cats. Does anyone have an alpha female?

9-year-old Lola

I used to be clueless and think the term alpha applied only to unneutered male cats. I’ve learned over the years that an alpha cat can be male or female, altered or intact. To me, the term is more a condition of the mindset of a cat and how it projects its personality on others rather than it’s physical attributes.

My old feral colony unaltered male named Old Gray was an alpha male and in charge until he was neutered. Neutering calmed him down within weeks, leaving another altered male named Brandy to take over the colony. What’s strange is even after Brandy was neutered he was still a big bully.

I had to guard the other cats during feeding time to ensure they ate. Except for Old Mama, the patriarch of the family who had been living on the property for over 12 years. The colony would move away from the plates of food as soon as she arrived each night. She was their queen.

Old Mama is 12+ years old

I’ve had the same situation with my home cats, although every cat has been neutered or spayed. I currently have two alpha males who live in separate parts of the house. Each thinks he’s the boss of everyone and I’m not quite sure how the position was earned. The two boys, Sammy and Renny, aren’t the largest or the toughest. The job of being alpha male just seemed to fall into place.

Should Sammy and Renny be in the same room together they have to have supervision to prevent a fight from breaking out. Neither cat has injured the other, but they can make some noise during their encounters and have to be watched.

Our queen is Lola, the first cat to join the home back in June 2009. We adopted her as a kitten and she was spayed at a young age, so she never had kittens of her own to boss around. Lola will go up to each cat and hiss and walk away. “I’m in charge and don’t you forget it,” she seems to say.

Lola isn’t the largest cat or a cat blessed with a bad temperament. She’s lived indoors since the day we brought her home. Lola is very good at putting the other cats, both male and female, in their ‘place.’

Over the years I have noticed calico and torti cats tend to have stronger and more dominant personalities.

Please share your alpha cat story in the comments. I doubt seriously I’m the only one with an alpha female cat in the home. Old Mama has since retired from colony life and has adjusted to an indoor home.

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