Harmless scuffles are part of life with cats, but sometimes the behavior turns violent. When peaceful play suddenly turns brutal and serious, owners should actively combat bullying among cats and break the habit of dominance behavior.

Living together with cats is sometimes not as peaceful as one would wish.

Instead of loving kitties who play and cuddle together, there is sometimes bullying between the house cats.

In a multi-cat household, it can happen that one cat becomes the victim of bullying and withdraws fearfully while another blocks the litter box, prevents it from eating, or hisses in defense of its territory.

Cats Cat owner asks Reddit for advice, but commenters are instantly horrified: "The fear I felt seeing this"

Dominance behavior can be a major challenge in cat training that must be overcome if you don't want to give up a cat.

TAG24 explains what you can do if a cat is too dominant.

Cats are not pack animals that establish a hierarchy among themselves where the highest-ranking animal sets the tone. However, there are certain situations in which cats show dominance over their fellows.

In most cases, cats fight over limited resources. This can be observed in multi-cat households in particular. It is possible that a dominant cat will prevent other cats from accessing resources for fear of not getting enough themselves.

Important resources for cats:

• Food
• Litter box
• Sleeping places
• Toys
• Attention from caregivers

However, this type of hierarchy is not fixed and can change at any time, e.g. due to changes in hormone levels or a new cat.

Minor scuffles between cats are completely normal.

As long as the cats are still cuddling and playing with each other, small fights are no cause for concern.

It is important that house cats appear healthy and happy.

Sometimes it is not easy to recognize that one cat is being excluded from the other(s).

You should observe your cat closely in order to correctly classify possible signs.

If a cat becomes a victim of bullying, it is constantly attacked, pushed into a corner, locked up somewhere, or even followed around.

If it tries to fend off other cats by growling and hissing, it is always ignored. It is denied access to food or other resources and can no longer move around freely.

To solve the problem, it is important to find out which cat is the victim and which is the perpetrator in a bullying situation.

If a cat suppresses others, it is because it feels threatened in its territory. You should find out which cat is showing dominance behavior and take their perspective to find a solution.

Characteristics of a dominant cat:

• Tense posture
• Stares at the other cats
• Marks with its own urine
• Rapid flapping of the tail
• Threatening, growling, baring teeth
• Blocks others' access to food, drink, litter box, etc.
• Ignores threatening gestures from other cats
• Runs after other cats or locks them up

If there are more than two cats in the household, one cat may be excluded from the group.

You can tell whether a cat is suffering in some way by the sudden change in its behavior. If a cat is oppressed by others, it behaves differently.

Recognize victims of bullying:

• Cat becomes unclean
• Cat hides
• Eating behavior changes
• Stressful cleaning
• Restlessness

There can be many reasons why a cat withdraws. You can read more under: Cat hiding. You should also check whether the cat has any health problems.

It is natural for cats to establish a hierarchy among themselves in certain situations. Cat parents should respect this hierarchy to a certain extent, but guide it in such a way that none of the animals suffer permanent harm.

When training cats, the basic rule is that a cat's environment must be adapted to its needs. You should not try to adapt the cat.

If possible, a cat's behavior should not be corrected by punishment.

If a cat is being bullied, you should find out why. There can be various reasons why a cat is too dominant.

To find out what these are, you should observe cats in different situations. If the animals are always tense, then it is a fundamental problem. If the cats sometimes play, cuddle, and relax with each other or touch each other with their noses, then the dominant behavior is situational.

It can be helpful to briefly record all observations in a diary in order to identify a pattern. If you are at a loss, you can discuss the matter with your vet or with a cat behavior consultant.

If cats only clash in certain situations, such as feeding, you should reconsider these moments and take appropriate measures.

Tip: If you want to bring a new cat into your household, you should know how to bring cats together.

If you want cats to get along well and live together peacefully, you should make sure that all the needs of each individual cat are adequately met.

Possible measures against bullying among cats:

• Place at least one more litter box than there are cats in the household.
• Set up enough sleeping areas in different places.
• Create plenty of retreats so that cats can avoid each other.
• Cats should have the opportunity to escape in any situation.
• Offer several feeding places with sufficient distance between them.
• Feed cats separately if necessary.
• Make the home varied and exciting for all cats.
• Give each cat the attention it needs.

If a dominant cat's needs are met, it has no reason to be jealous of other cats.

Tip: A neutered male cat is usually calmer and less prone to dominant behavior, but this should not be the only reason for neutering.

If a cat attacks, provokes, or ignores you for no reason, you might think it is dominant, but in most cases, the cat's behavior has nothing to do with dominance.

The cat's behavior shows what needs it has. It may not be fully occupied and wants to play. If a house cat suddenly reacts irritably, it may have health problems.

Major changes in the recent past play a major role for cats, such as a move, a new partner, a baby, or a new daily routine. Some cats then react with stress, fear, and aggression.

Anyone who believes that a cat may have an anxiety or other emotional problem should seek advice from a vet.

It is important to prevent bullying between cats in order to promote peaceful coexistence. If the individual needs of each cat are taken into account by providing sufficient litter boxes, food, retreats, activity, and attention, dominant behavior will soon no longer be an issue.