Cat behavior question

I have two cats: Alpha Cat is a 13 yo male who was the sole cat for 7 years until I brought home Beta Cat, who is now a 10 yo male. Alpha is alpha in all areas, except food. Alpha lets Beta eat first and only comes to eat when Beta is done.

Why is that?

He's checking to make sure that the food isn't poisoned.

our more dominant cat is super-respectful of the less dominant one at meal times, too. in fact, the more closely i watch them, the more complicated their power dynamic seems. my best guess is that much of our casual understanding of how animal hierarchies work is based on canines, and cats are not dogs.

...it may also have something to do with our beta cat weighing 23 pounds. maybe the alpha knows there isn't a whole lot that can come between the beta and his food.