Why does my cat pin his 'brother' down to clean him?

Question

I have two cats: Shady, 8yrs (male-neutered) and Neo, 4 yrs (male un-neutered). They have absolutely no linked parentage, but have always referred to them as brothers.

Shady has always 'ruled the roost', despite Neo being a 'Tom', this may be because he is simply bigger built than Neo.

Shady has always cleaned Neo (much to Neo's disagreement- usually he used to wriggle, but Shady would pin him down to do it).

Last year Neo went missing, after we moved a few streets away, temporarily while our house was renovated, we have now returned and so has Neo. Shady seemed to miss Neo, although was not 'crippled' by his absence. He has now welcomed Neo back as if he'd never been away, but seems to think he can still just pin Neo down to wash him.

This morning my husband and I came downstairs to find Shady pinning Neo down with all his might (Neo is almost as big as Shady now) and cleaning him. Neo was growling and 'swearing' at Shady (but not fighting him off, just struggling lots!) As soon as I appeared I told Shady to leave him alone and he left him.

I am fascinated by this behaviour and am completely baffled as to why Shady does this to Neo as I have never seen it before and my mum and dad have 9 cats, I used to be a veterinary nurse too- is it a paternal thing? or is it something else?

Answer 1

It could be to establish dominance or that the cat doesn't know his own strength.  Neo will get his point across in his own way sometime soon and Shady may have to make a few adjustments.  This could get interesting but I doubt anyone will get hurt.

Answer 2

Personality of the Cat by Brandt Aymar (Photographer) (Used, New, Out ...

Greet book about cats.

Answer 3

It's not a paternal thing at all, but the 'law of the wild.'  Cats, although long domesticated, are still wild animals at heart, and when Shady 'pins' Neo down for a good washing, he's simply proving to Neo that he's the Alpha Cat in your household.  As Shady gets older, he'll be able to pin Neo less often, and eventually Neo will pin Shady and give him a bath.  I'll take bets that Shady was a Tom until he was over a year old, and that his 'pinning' Neo is because, although he's now neutered, he still thinks he's a Tom with a younger male to 'show who's the boss.'  It's very natural, but the reason your parents haven't seen it is because they have so many cats, and as a veterinary nurse, you don't see any cats 'playing Alpha' because they do that at home, not at the vet's office.  It's perfectly normal ... and will still be perfectly normal even if Neo 'wins' and pins Shady ... and that should go back and forth between them for a long time (years), and is a good thing because it will help both cats act younger than their real ages.  Competition is good for children in school, and it's also good for cats.