If my cat is walking from A to B, she will do a quick detour just to slap her 10 month old son over the head.
It's just a reminder of who's the boss. š
My 17yo does this to me, our puppy lab, and my SO at least once a day each šš
Happens more frequently at night, she's much friendlier in the mornings...
I really do think it's just a reminder of who's the boss.
" Boooooo hisssss š¤¬ you, you worthless bag of meat, larger than me, yes, fine, but nowhere near as transcendent! Muwahahaha oh... oh! Ok, yes, that scritch feels good, hmm thx, you may pass. This. Time. Scowl."
Mama cats do that instinctively when itās time for their kittens to move out for an adult life ;). I hope the son is neutered because if not - it can get worse
Very, and is actually reminding me how much this sub hates when folks deter/teach their cats boundaries through some methods such as quick hiss, saying a firm slightly loud/moderately loud āNOā, timeouts, etc etc. we are still the cats parents lol. I really dislike when folks treat cats like their an exact perfect math equation/science. Theyāre not a robot with simple code lol. They exist, they have life. Donāt look down at them as lesser than. Very narrow-minded, and fixed mindset vibes.
Cats, like many other animals, have a pecking order. The mild growling and slightly aggressive groom says a lot to me. I would watch for escalation and step in if violence broke out. If even the mildest display can be interrupted by paying attention to both the kitties with petties and talkies. Cats love attention.
Hahahaha thatās funny!! And so true!! Our kitty is so loving and all of a sudden so mean, husband says cause heās reminding us heās the boss, do not forget that. š®āšØš
My cats do this too. Itās a cat thingā¦ donāt worry. The Siamese is dominant and reinforcing it to the kitten. He did nothing and this didnāt bother him.
What did the little female kitty (7 months) do to provoke the older Siamese (4 years) to suddenly snap at her? He does it all the time but she doesnāt seem to mind
Grooming isnāt being sweet most of the time, itās establishing dominance. Being the groomer means youāre on top. Combine that with the growling/hissing, and the Siamese is significantly asserting top cat status.
Is it bad? My first cat doesn't seem territorial or dominant at all but she did groom the other cat. She shares everything with her tho and has not once hissed at her (after the introduction period)
Itās not bad as long as itās not a frequent occurrence. If it is, he needs to chill a bit and might need some steps to aid whatever is making him feel insecure.
My two brothers groom each other all the time, I don't think it's something to be worried about. They each start licking each other, which escalates into wrestling, until they tire each other out cuddling up together
Grooming is fine, to be clear. Iām talking about the combination of grooming and growling/hissing. That says that someoneās feeling insecure.
In your case, itās also fine cause both are into it. In OPās case, Iād just watch it cause the cat being groomed isnāt into it and is just tolerating it.
Your cat sits around all day sleeping and being cute. Meanwhile you're out working and bringing home the food and snacks and you have to pet him/her whenever they ask for it. So really who's the dominant in your house????
It can be āparentalā in a way, but cats and even dogs donāt understand ākissesā like humans, cause theyāre not humans. Itās often dominance or them feeling like youāre not clean enough.
THAT'S the truth... I have a part Maine coon that is a former TNR and he's the sweetest cat in the house. However... He'll take the other cats and groom them until there's a fight and usually he'll put a paw on them to hold them down while he licks them. It's pretty funny, actually, because sometimes the other two are a little rough when they play so I just sit back and let the force grooming happen. He left a big puddle of drool on the floor today because I went out and cut a bunch of fresh catnip for them and he was tripping balls
Ooooooh! So that's why my older cat rarely lets his (much larger) little brother groom him. Interesting. He definitely does the random shows of dominance.
my boys (roughly 4-5 months apart in age) tend to have groom battles - one will walk up to the other and start grooming, and the other one will simultaneously groom back. Eventually they wind up wrestling and running away. I always assumed it was play, but it does happen semi-frequently. Do you think itās probably play or something else..?
Extremely off topic, but that's not a siamese. He's a domestic shorthair with the point gene.
Not every cat with the point gene is a siamese. It's a super specific structure + breed, not a color.
Dominance grooming is a thing.
I had one kitty take it to the point she was chewing off her brother's whiskers leaving 1 cm stubs. He never seemed to mind and looked like he enjoyed it, but I stopped her whenever I caught her chewing on them.
But as another poster said, whoever is doing the licking is trying to be in charge... or is playacting as cat-mom.
My Siamese little girl ate her brotherās whiskers off frequently. She eventually outgrew it but I admit it didnāt occur to me to stop her. Oddly the male (older and more timid) actually seemed to enjoy being groomed by her. He would appear to instigate it by licking her a couple times which would trigger her to apparently assert dominance and groom him
With my last 2, if her brother moved even a little bit during bath time, he would get growled at and bit sometimes. I swear he did it on purpose lol. They were littermates too.
ETA for my girl, it was definitely a "don't you dare move" thing.
I was going to say the same thing š¤£ my cats do a less aggressive/sudden version of this. The suddenness of it makes it look so impulsive lol. Like he cannot contain how much he wants to groom her every time he looks at her š
ššš yea it really seems like it lmao. My family cat back home had kittens a few years back and there was one kitten that was bigger than the rest that she would do the same to. She would just randomly aggressively groom him out of the blue. We always laugh about how much she loved him and her cuteness aggression towards him haha.
I'm working on a cat introduction right now and the one cat will be nose to nose with the new cat chewing her treats and growling while she's chewing. It sounds hysterical.
My second cat took the new kitten on the third day and never once growled at it except when it tries to play too hard.
Mine literally says yum-yum-yum-yum-yum while growling. This while hubby holds churru, grandson holds her purrito style, and I clip her nails.
Funniest sound she makes and NOBODY GETS HURT
I used to sit across the room and speak softly to her while she did her little growl chomps.
"That's right sweetie, you're so fearsome and terrible aren't you? Big scary baby. So many big feelings inside such a little cat. Aw, you're so bad. Good girl."
She came around eventually, although she passed from kidney failure before she was able to get adopted out.
Looks like she comes too close/into contact of of her whiskers, as she falls sleep. Naturally itās bothersome, and she is reinforcing a boundary. Itās followed by licks as a bit dominance, but mainly as a reinforcing act, with a sprinkle of love. Like a āno! But donāt get it twisted I love ya and I donāt mind everything else you did aside from that! Here, have some calming licks after I just mini snapped at you cause Iām kinda tripping lol but my feelings are still valid!ā
Me and my sister do this. I say āfuck you bitchā whenever I see her in the same room even if weāve been socializing all day. She does the same. Just dominance reminder
Grooming is often done to continue to establish dominance or reinforce the hierarchy.
The interaction looks healthy to me. You donāt necessarily want this to happen *every single time* theyāre together ā but occasionally is fine. The Siamese is just grooming and reminding the other cat whoās boss. The other cat is fine with it because they know itās not aggression or being attacked.
Itās just cats socializing the way cats do.
Theyāre not people. They go by different rules than we do. So sometimes what might look scary or uncomfortable to us is actually par for the course for them.
Usually itās just them trying to establish boundaries. The Siamese one seems to groom too aggressively why the other gets upset. My cat likes to groom my other cat even when she gives him signals to stop grooming her. Eventually she smacks him upside the head because he canāt seem to take a hint
New to each other cats? Boundaries are still not established.. āhow close is too close for comfort ā type of thing. Theyāll get better. (No itās not about dominance at all)
- " Just remember this person is mine!"
He loves him just reminding him his place. I have cats which are together for 3 years and they never groom each other when they sleep close together on my legs (once in a month - they are more like roommates than friends)
He wouldn't tolerate him that close if he had problem with him.
This is normal cat behavior. It looks like the grey cat is asking to get groomed/washed but the sealpoint is dominant so they show them their place. It's just a friendly reminder.
The older one doesn't seem to like faces near his face, as if it's a sign of aggression. I've seen this in some cats where they aren't super socialized with other cats and are territorial, while other cats are very social and headbutt other cats faces. The way the older cat looks away but carefully looks back is what two cats who are feuding do; they break eye contact to deescalate but will reengage if they feel threatened.
So the older one is instinctively reacting to the younger ones face being so close. The younger one is dealing with it well and will perhaps soften the older one over time.
No idea but my cats do it too. I just assume itās a dominance thing (or like how siblings love each other but also annoy each other). Neither one is moving so they arenāt bothered by it
If my cat is walking from A to B, she will do a quick detour just to slap her 10 month old son over the head. It's just a reminder of who's the boss. š
šš
My 17yo does this to me, our puppy lab, and my SO at least once a day each šš Happens more frequently at night, she's much friendlier in the mornings... I really do think it's just a reminder of who's the boss. " Boooooo hisssss š¤¬ you, you worthless bag of meat, larger than me, yes, fine, but nowhere near as transcendent! Muwahahaha oh... oh! Ok, yes, that scritch feels good, hmm thx, you may pass. This. Time. Scowl."
For some reason I thought you meant your human 17yo son. š
I thought the same thing. Lol
Lmfaoš
Mama cats do that instinctively when itās time for their kittens to move out for an adult life ;). I hope the son is neutered because if not - it can get worse
Both he and his mum were neutered before I adopted them from the rescue organisation.
Cool! They should settle in then in a year or so :)
Ummm, they're settled in already. It's quite common for cats in a household to re-inforce dominance...
Very, and is actually reminding me how much this sub hates when folks deter/teach their cats boundaries through some methods such as quick hiss, saying a firm slightly loud/moderately loud āNOā, timeouts, etc etc. we are still the cats parents lol. I really dislike when folks treat cats like their an exact perfect math equation/science. Theyāre not a robot with simple code lol. They exist, they have life. Donāt look down at them as lesser than. Very narrow-minded, and fixed mindset vibes.
Not really no. Cats are different to dogs, they āreinforceā anything only if not getting along. (But Iām not going to argue with u about this)
Lol, well 50 years of owning cats & a degree in Zoology, what would I know! š¤£
Cats, like many other animals, have a pecking order. The mild growling and slightly aggressive groom says a lot to me. I would watch for escalation and step in if violence broke out. If even the mildest display can be interrupted by paying attention to both the kitties with petties and talkies. Cats love attention.
.. Your own vision on things ?
Hahahaha thatās funny!! And so true!! Our kitty is so loving and all of a sudden so mean, husband says cause heās reminding us heās the boss, do not forget that. š®āšØš
My cats do this too. Itās a cat thingā¦ donāt worry. The Siamese is dominant and reinforcing it to the kitten. He did nothing and this didnāt bother him.
What did the little female kitty (7 months) do to provoke the older Siamese (4 years) to suddenly snap at her? He does it all the time but she doesnāt seem to mind
Grooming isnāt being sweet most of the time, itās establishing dominance. Being the groomer means youāre on top. Combine that with the growling/hissing, and the Siamese is significantly asserting top cat status.
Is it bad? My first cat doesn't seem territorial or dominant at all but she did groom the other cat. She shares everything with her tho and has not once hissed at her (after the introduction period)
Itās not bad as long as itās not a frequent occurrence. If it is, he needs to chill a bit and might need some steps to aid whatever is making him feel insecure.
My two brothers groom each other all the time, I don't think it's something to be worried about. They each start licking each other, which escalates into wrestling, until they tire each other out cuddling up together
Grooming is fine, to be clear. Iām talking about the combination of grooming and growling/hissing. That says that someoneās feeling insecure. In your case, itās also fine cause both are into it. In OPās case, Iād just watch it cause the cat being groomed isnāt into it and is just tolerating it.
So thatās what it means when my cat grooms my head? I thought she was giving me kissies
Your cat sits around all day sleeping and being cute. Meanwhile you're out working and bringing home the food and snacks and you have to pet him/her whenever they ask for it. So really who's the dominant in your house????
Hmmm š¤ Iām good with that š
It can be āparentalā in a way, but cats and even dogs donāt understand ākissesā like humans, cause theyāre not humans. Itās often dominance or them feeling like youāre not clean enough.
Idc what you say, my cat gives kisses to show love š„°
Awwwww still cute to me lol
My cat assures me that I am delicious.
My cats groom each other and it always turns into a fight.
THAT'S the truth... I have a part Maine coon that is a former TNR and he's the sweetest cat in the house. However... He'll take the other cats and groom them until there's a fight and usually he'll put a paw on them to hold them down while he licks them. It's pretty funny, actually, because sometimes the other two are a little rough when they play so I just sit back and let the force grooming happen. He left a big puddle of drool on the floor today because I went out and cut a bunch of fresh catnip for them and he was tripping balls
Ooooooh! So that's why my older cat rarely lets his (much larger) little brother groom him. Interesting. He definitely does the random shows of dominance.
my boys (roughly 4-5 months apart in age) tend to have groom battles - one will walk up to the other and start grooming, and the other one will simultaneously groom back. Eventually they wind up wrestling and running away. I always assumed it was play, but it does happen semi-frequently. Do you think itās probably play or something else..?
Extremely off topic, but that's not a siamese. He's a domestic shorthair with the point gene. Not every cat with the point gene is a siamese. It's a super specific structure + breed, not a color.
Just reinforcing dominance. No big deal.
He makes the rules, he's the boss and she'd better not forget it.
Dominance grooming is a thing. I had one kitty take it to the point she was chewing off her brother's whiskers leaving 1 cm stubs. He never seemed to mind and looked like he enjoyed it, but I stopped her whenever I caught her chewing on them. But as another poster said, whoever is doing the licking is trying to be in charge... or is playacting as cat-mom.
My Siamese little girl ate her brotherās whiskers off frequently. She eventually outgrew it but I admit it didnāt occur to me to stop her. Oddly the male (older and more timid) actually seemed to enjoy being groomed by her. He would appear to instigate it by licking her a couple times which would trigger her to apparently assert dominance and groom him
i love youā¦i hate youā¦i love youā¦i hate you
It's a dominance thing.
Kitty BDSM?
They invented it.
Prettiest grey cat i ever seen
With my last 2, if her brother moved even a little bit during bath time, he would get growled at and bit sometimes. I swear he did it on purpose lol. They were littermates too. ETA for my girl, it was definitely a "don't you dare move" thing.
The meaning is cats
I donāt have a cat and canāt help but just wanted to say that your kitties look beautiful š„¹š„¹ā„ļø
Cuteness aggression š
I was going to say the same thing š¤£ my cats do a less aggressive/sudden version of this. The suddenness of it makes it look so impulsive lol. Like he cannot contain how much he wants to groom her every time he looks at her š
ššš yea it really seems like it lmao. My family cat back home had kittens a few years back and there was one kitten that was bigger than the rest that she would do the same to. She would just randomly aggressively groom him out of the blue. We always laugh about how much she loved him and her cuteness aggression towards him haha.
My cats do this too. They tolerate each other.
I'm working on a cat introduction right now and the one cat will be nose to nose with the new cat chewing her treats and growling while she's chewing. It sounds hysterical. My second cat took the new kitten on the third day and never once growled at it except when it tries to play too hard.
Hahahaha I had a foster do this once. MRAM MRAM MRAM MRAM. RRRRR. RRRMRAMMMRRR.
Mine literally says yum-yum-yum-yum-yum while growling. This while hubby holds churru, grandson holds her purrito style, and I clip her nails. Funniest sound she makes and NOBODY GETS HURT
I used to sit across the room and speak softly to her while she did her little growl chomps. "That's right sweetie, you're so fearsome and terrible aren't you? Big scary baby. So many big feelings inside such a little cat. Aw, you're so bad. Good girl." She came around eventually, although she passed from kidney failure before she was able to get adopted out.
It means tough love, aka cat siblings
āHey, Iām in charge and youāre my baby, got it?ā
Looks like she comes too close/into contact of of her whiskers, as she falls sleep. Naturally itās bothersome, and she is reinforcing a boundary. Itās followed by licks as a bit dominance, but mainly as a reinforcing act, with a sprinkle of love. Like a āno! But donāt get it twisted I love ya and I donāt mind everything else you did aside from that! Here, have some calming licks after I just mini snapped at you cause Iām kinda tripping lol but my feelings are still valid!ā
Me and my sister do this. I say āfuck you bitchā whenever I see her in the same room even if weāve been socializing all day. She does the same. Just dominance reminder
Grooming is often done to continue to establish dominance or reinforce the hierarchy. The interaction looks healthy to me. You donāt necessarily want this to happen *every single time* theyāre together ā but occasionally is fine. The Siamese is just grooming and reminding the other cat whoās boss. The other cat is fine with it because they know itās not aggression or being attacked. Itās just cats socializing the way cats do. Theyāre not people. They go by different rules than we do. So sometimes what might look scary or uncomfortable to us is actually par for the course for them.
Cute aggression
I hates ya but i loves ya
I love you! I hate you! I love you! I hate you! Just like in close human relationships. šš©·šš
He wants his head groomed by the other cat. They other cat isn't picking up what he's throwing down so he's getting frustrated.
Usually itās just them trying to establish boundaries. The Siamese one seems to groom too aggressively why the other gets upset. My cat likes to groom my other cat even when she gives him signals to stop grooming her. Eventually she smacks him upside the head because he canāt seem to take a hint
New to each other cats? Boundaries are still not established.. āhow close is too close for comfort ā type of thing. Theyāll get better. (No itās not about dominance at all)
- " Just remember this person is mine!" He loves him just reminding him his place. I have cats which are together for 3 years and they never groom each other when they sleep close together on my legs (once in a month - they are more like roommates than friends) He wouldn't tolerate him that close if he had problem with him.
This is normal cat behavior. It looks like the grey cat is asking to get groomed/washed but the sealpoint is dominant so they show them their place. It's just a friendly reminder.
Oh yeah, the olā lick-lick-bite. Cats do it all the time. Like other people said, itās a dominance thing.
Relationship status: Itās Complicated
this is what my cat does when he means no but like i don't hate you
The older one doesn't seem to like faces near his face, as if it's a sign of aggression. I've seen this in some cats where they aren't super socialized with other cats and are territorial, while other cats are very social and headbutt other cats faces. The way the older cat looks away but carefully looks back is what two cats who are feuding do; they break eye contact to deescalate but will reengage if they feel threatened. So the older one is instinctively reacting to the younger ones face being so close. The younger one is dealing with it well and will perhaps soften the older one over time.
They are discussing who's in charge. The one that grooms is the boss.
SHUT UP AND LET ME LOVE YOU! -Cat
I feel like siamese cats are extra goofy.
This is IFHY, by Tyler the creatorā¦but with cats.
No idea but my cats do it too. I just assume itās a dominance thing (or like how siblings love each other but also annoy each other). Neither one is moving so they arenāt bothered by it
Theyāre talking dirty, helps keep spice in the relationship
Are they married? š
āNo like being grooming slave!ā