Watch who sleeps in the best spots... and who makes others move out of a sleeping spot. That, along with eating order, tells alot. eating order can (like everything else inthe cat world) be unique to the colony's culture. Sometimes a dominent cat will let a favored friend eat first. Sometimes the whole group will nurture a baby or a sick one or an oldster...an sometimes they will drive a sick one away... it depends on a lot of things in the group.

If you lost your main cat and the next in line is not doing a good job of taking over, it is likely things are still not settled and you may get mixed signals.

A group that has been together a long time will show less strict heirachery than a new group or one in transitition.

Good luck with your group.