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individual social preferences and affiliations. The continued function of the group is highly dependent on whether present resources are plentiful enough to maintain the whole group without competition. Within domestic cat groups sharing a home it is possible to identify patterns of interaction by analysing greeting, affiliative and aggressive behaviour between cats ''[see example diagram].''
individual social preferences and affiliations. The continued function of the group is highly dependent on whether present resources are plentiful enough to maintain the whole group without competition. Within domestic cat groups sharing a home it is possible to identify patterns of interaction by analysing greeting, affiliative and aggressive behaviour between cats ''[see example diagram].''
SOCIAL GROUPS
SOCIAL GROUPS/STRUCTURE
Groups can contain several types of individuals and sub-groups:
Groups can contain several types of individuals and sub-groups:
'''Despots''': These individuals may deliberately monopolise resources and create opportunities to intimidate other cats in, and outside the home.
'''Despots''': These individuals may deliberately monopolise resources and create opportunities to intimidate other cats in, and outside the home.
Identifying the social structure of the group may give insights into why the relationship between resident cats has broken down. For example, the loss of a social facilitator cat may cause aggression to begin between factions because no other individual is maintaining the group odour. The same situation can occur when the owner goes away on holiday or when a social facilitator becomes ill or infirm. The role of a particular individual may change according to its health status. A pair or faction may break up if one cat suffers from pain, hyperaesthesia or some other condition that changes its acceptance of grooming or affiliative behaviour. It may change to become a satellite individual. A polyphagic hyperthyroid or diabetic cat may consume more food or despotically control access to it, leaving the rest of the group resource
deficient. Investigating and treating marking problems that relate to social difficulties between cats can be demanding.