Similar situation with us. We have two males, Cosmo and Luther (alpha). They are unrelated, but the same age (6) and grew up together...they bonded and are very close. They are also 15 and 17 pounds, respectively.

A year ago we adopted Bunny, a stray female, who is about 3-4 years old. The boys accepted her pretty well into the family and she settled down in no time.

But she bullies Cosmo and will, on a regular basis, just get him in her crosshairs and go after him. If he would stand his ground, or return fire, she might back off. But he cowers and cries and is clearly intimidated by her. We intervene with water squirts, etc. when we're around, but during the day, they're on their own.

Luther won't take any crap from Bunny. While he doesn't pick on her, he will not back down if she should have the poor judgment to go after him (which she does).

The rest of the time, everyone's getting along. Bunny and Cosmo might share the bed at night, as if they had no differences.

Bunny is a tortie. Whenever I describe how bossy and aggressive she is, many people say, well, she's a tortie.



[This message has been edited by Linelle (edited January 27, 2001).]