‘Do cats have any friends?’

[Icepops]

Asks 5 year old dd. We have own cat she she’s worried he doesn’t have any cat friends (!) I told her he does but we don’t see them s they only meet in the fields

But it got me thinking, do cats socialize with other cats in the neighborhood at all? I have no idea where ours goes but I wondered if cats do socialize or if they just spend time outside alone?

My cat has no friends but many enemies.

Our lovely cat died earlier this year and I swear our neighbour's cat came looking for him, I'd catch him looking through the glass door. Dh always said they were
friends!

My previous cat used to sunbathe and snooze in the garden with another cat from my street.

Two old boys together, just hanging out and putting the world to rights

We had a house cat. Our neighbour had two cats and both would leave her dead things/gifts at the window, kind of like an offering to the gods. They’d spend ages waiting for her to appear and would then just gaze up in wonderment at her for as long as she’d tolerate them.
Another neighbour had a cat that would visit and they’d spar through the glass, settling either side of the window sill before launching another attack.
We’d often arrive home to find a random cat or two leaving the vicinity of our house - it was a running joke with our small children that the cat had a better social life than us!

I miss her.

I quite often go for early morning walk. There are 3 main groups of cats who have meetings at around 6/7 am. Always separate. But they all look at me like I’m a councilor about to demolish their houses! I’m embarrassed to say one of the chiefs is my cat. He has never made eye contact when he’s with his gang!!

This is not my cat but regularly hangs about our garden in the hope we'll leave the door open and he can steal my 2 cats' food (that they have turned their noses up at usually!)

Socially distanced cats! 2 are mine

Yes. I have five cats. They call out to each other, play together and sleep together. Then again, sometimes they like to be alone.
The feral cats seem to have their favourite mates too.

Have loved reading all of these replies! 🐱

Love this thread.
First we had cat 1 - who didn't like cats - or dogs

Then we had puppy who loved cat 1.
Cat 1 tolerated, now big dog and sometimes played (stuck clause in dog) And bossed dog about.
Then cat 2 moved in ,who liked cats not dogs.
So dog would chase cat 2 to play who would run away chasing cat 1, to play , who would run away - around our 'fairly' big house , on a loop - through the lounge, into the hall, then the kitchen which led back to the lounge, and round they'd go.
Drive my dad mad.

I think you know the answer really is to get a second cat

What a great thread. So many beautiful cats. A late, huge bastard tabby boy of mine (total alley cat) used to trot up the road in companionable fashion with a fox. He also took a young neutered male black cat, about a quarter of his size, from the next road down under his wing. I would often see them hanging out on the corner together, looking for trouble, or to be charitable, adventures.
I like the sound of the OP's daughter.

Where I lived before, one of my cats had a little cat friend. They used to walk up and down the road side by side with their tails entwined!

Current neighbours have hens which roam about their garden and another of my cats visits their hens and sits with them under a tree in the summer time.

Our cat has some cat friends- though they seem more enthusiastic than him to be fair. They search each other out, lie in each other's Gardens together, and scamper about with one another. Occasionally they come in our house - our cat is not totally on board with this, but will tolerate them (I usually eject them if I see them though).
They will scrap together occasionally but not in a serious way.

Another cat is our cat's sworn enemy. They make horrible yowling noises at one another and will fight very fiercely. We keep our cat in at certain times of day so they don't cross paths.

My cat moved in with his friends. They chase each other around the garden, touch noses and sleep together. If that's not friendship I don't know what is.

Fat Boi doesn't have friends, he has hench-cats.
Tabitha has a boyfriend (who is also Fat Boi's chief hench-cat because the Tank multi-tasks.)

My cat is picky about who she socialises with. She does have a boyfriend (neutered) who comes round looking for her and meows till he sees her. Then they go into the garden and make eyes at each other. It’s nice.

My girl cat hates all cats, she acts like she hates the dog too though but I often find them sleeping together. She'll hiss at anything that comes in the garden.

My 2 boy cats seem to get on. They aren't litter mates but are about the same age. They often groom each other and have never had a fight.

Girl cat is definitely in charge of all the other animals though. She often swipes at any of them who she deems to be getting to close to her

My cat mostly just fights with the neighbours’ cats, but there is a fluffy white one who he seems fond of and allows in his garden. He initiates play by smacking her in the face and bouncing off - unsurprisingly, she doesn’t return his affections.

Mil's cat has a friend. Both male, neutered. They hang out on the back gardens together. I've seen them miaow at the back door if one isn't out early enough.
They also share food quite happily and will often both end up with two meals, one in each house!
Our cat is a loner. She likes noone at all, not even me, her devoted human servant-.

I recently discovered a cat who I see a lot of does have a friend! Saw massive ginger cat and went out to rescue ‘Bobby’ (name changed to protect his pride obvs) but stopped and just looked out of window ready to spring to action. They sat forever watching each other. Then some slow sitting in each other’s spots. No one appeared to be being submissive etc. Ginger cat has become a daily visitor and they appear to tolerate each other completely ! Better than many a human friendship I know !

Some cats have friends and some don't. My current cat despises other cats and goes nuts when she sees one, my old cat Tom used to make friends all over the neighbourhood.

One of mine seems to be kind of friendly with some of the other neighbourhood cats. He's very self sufficient and calm. His brother on the other hand would fight with his shadow, he has no social skills with other cats. He will chat/shout at humans though for hours and will cuddle like a dog. They're brothers from the same litter and inseparable when it comes to each other. My dd asks lots of questions like the OP's. She would like to be a cat psychologist apparently 🤔