Next door's cat and my boy!

[Sunshine49]

Hi everyone! My cats went outside into the garden for the first time yesterday. I was really nervous to let them out, but all seemed to go fine - they had a great time sniffing round all the flower beds and the ginger boy has been chasing flies up and down the lawn! They also came back inside with no problems when I shook the Dreamies packet.

However, since they went out, next door's older tom cat has been hanging round a lot in our garden, peering through the catflap (which is a microchip one, so he can't get in!) and miaowing to come in. He could care less about my girl, but seems to have taken a real shining to my boy!

My boy is now outside again and is lying under a bush with next door's cat. They've been lying opposite each other for the past 15 minutes or so. There hasn't been any aggressive behaviour as far as I can tell (tail swishing, hissing etc) - they've just been sitting quietly and both seem pretty relaxed.

Do you think I have anything to worry about here? I'm hoping my boy has just made a lovely new friend, but I'm not sure whether cats do that or not really. I'm just a bit concerned as I obviously don't want him getting into a fight! Should I try to call him in or just leave them be?

Thanks!

Sounds like a bromance. Our cat was slavishly devoted to a massive black cat. He followed him around like a groupie.

Thanks Fluffy! I've since heard from another neighbour that this cat has a reputation as a bit of a bully, so I think I'll keep an eye on them!

That's so funny! A bromance between cats!

My mainecoon had a little ginger friend before he was housebound!

At first we thought it was his girlfriend but it turned out "she" was actually a he!

As a retired vet I can say that you may have a lot to worry about. The other cat's behaviour seems indicative of predatory and territorial based aggression and could potentially pose a large threat to your own feline, especially likely as he has shown interest in the male, out of the two of your cats. It's important you distance your cat from this other feline as much as possible and when possible assert your dominance in front of the cat in question, as a method of protecting your own.

Regards.