The alpha female also provides the scent marker for the group to identify each other, so she has to put up with a lot of ‘cheek rubbing’.
]]>Pavarotti is an apt choice, as toms tend to be tenors, or even countertenors in some cases. Dot had a much lower range than Sox. I assume it has a purpose in these contests, as in giving some advantage to toms with a higher range. It might be perceived as louder and/or more threatening. They certainly give it their all during a ‘performance’.
]]>ROTFL! I’ve heard toms that truly sounded as if they were vying for the role of understudy for the late great Pavarotti…
]]>While the alpha female is expected to maintain discipline, she can’t function without support. No single female can’t win against a group, and female cats, unlike toms, will hunt and fight as a group.
The alpha tom by contrast is decided by individual ‘combat’, although the actual fighting involved is normally a very brief battle after an extended exchange of ‘arias’ explaining how tough the tom ‘singing’ is. It is misleading to characterize two women fighting as a ‘cat fight’, as cat fights are almost always between toms or kittens.
]]>😈 indeed
]]>@hipparchia: 😈 … if only humans showed similar wisdom…
]]>then again, maybe they’re all just superstitious about that little lightning-strike-shaped mark on her forehead.
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