Friends

12 April 2018

VISITING STRANGER


Cat meets cat – in slow motion

There have been three strangers in the garden, never seen before but they must come from local homes. The first one came and went in a single move but the next one was more interesting.

He was a black and white moggy who looked as if he cold turn nasty. The first I saw of him was in a confrontation (I think) with my Charlie. It was fascinating to see.

Normally Charlie would chase off strange cats but this time the cats faced each other, standing about two feet apart. They looked like statues but then I noticed a slight movement. Charlie was moving a paw ever so slowly, bit at a time, almost as though he was trying not to show the move. I stood with binoculars, watching the slow-motion experience. The visiting cat didn’t move, well not that I could see.

I began to wish one of them would hurry up and make a proper move, at the same time worrying in case my Charlie got into a fight. The whole time Charlie’s slow-motion movement (almost invisible to the naked eye) continued, this time I noticed it was the other leg that was moving. Suddenly, black cat turned tail and walked off. Charlie didn’t follow, he just turned around and headed back to the house.  

That was then!

Yesterday the black cat was back. Nearer to the house so I didn’t need the binoculars. Charlie was crouching while the other cat did the slow-motion thing, I began to wish some rapid action would take place. After about 15 minutes, black cat very, very slowly turned – you could hardly see movement – and walked behind one of my bushes. Only then did Charlie make a move. Also very slowly he walked towards the bush, stopped, waited, then made his decision to return home. Obviously, the black cat had headed out of the garden, out of sight of Charlie and me. Only then did Charlie come into the house having decided the newcomer had gone for good. At least for now!

Since writing the above Charlie has been out in the garden a few times but only to see if Blackie was around. He comes in when there's no sign of the animal and spends a long time gazing out of the window. I think he really wants his friend to return. Aaaah! Maybe this is the start of a wonderful friendship.

 

29 comments:

  1. Valerie, aren't cats and their behavior utterly fascinating? I especially love how they respond to each other "as cats." Cat's are usually more cautious with each other, than they are with, say, dogs. I find that cats and dogs get a long very well, whereas two cats (especially when meeting for the first time), have a "wait and see" attitude. It's like they have to build a "trust" in each other before they can be friends.

    It's funny because I had two cats at one time - a mother cat and her son - and they would often have these horrible "cat fights" with each other in the middle of the night. They would roll around on the floor kicking each other with their back paws and hissing. OMG...it was both hilarious and disturbing because it was like they wanted to kill each other, but then it would suddenly be over as fast as it started.

    As strange as they are, I adore cats!

    Love the photos of Charlie. He's such a cutie!

    Have a fab day, my friend!

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  2. We had deer in the backyard this week and Miss Kitty sat in the window watching, lashing her tail about.

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  3. Ron, this is a new experience for me. Many moons ago we had a lovely cat but the garden was out of sight of the house so I missed an awful lot. Now, with a large garden right up to the window, I can see everything that goes on. It is very educational. I guess I will have to be patient and hope that Charlie's new friend returns.

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  4. Does anyone understand cats?

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  5. Janet, we have foxes in the garden, I would prefer deer and I think Charlie would too.

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  6. You have to make some following up posts!

    Our cat Scuba would face off through the sliding door window with his almost identical twin. They just sat there and stared at each other. The other "Scuba" would slowly walk away after a while. It happened only a few times.

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  7. I hope Charlie has found a new friend. My partner's first cat was called Blackie. Not the most original name ever for a black cat of course. :D

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  8. Cats are characters and very much individuals. We have a cat who spends his time sleeping and hunting. He's wild outside and it's cupboard love with us. He's very much his own cat.

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  9. Dave, your cat sounds like mean, although the need to explore seems to have diminished. Admittedly the weather hasn't been inviting but before that he didn't stray far. Charlie is a rescued cat and I believe he had a hard time before he came to me.

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  10. Joeh, I guess we're all trying to understand them... lol.

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  11. I often wonder what goes on in cats minds. We have a large open space behind us which contains many cats and they live their lives completely oblivious to the humans, stalking each other or even fighting, as if we were not there. Well, I suppose we do the same to them! :)

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  12. Loved the Bogart ending there! :-) Beautiful post. You have just the one cat. My friend has about 7 or 8 of them. :-)

    Greetings from London.

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  13. Best of luck to Charlie and his new friend. I am so glad to hear about Charlie and his adventures. Take care, Val.

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  14. I admit it – I don't understand cats.

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  15. A new friend in the making :) Charlie is such a pretty cat Linda. I enjoy your posts about him. Thank you my friend and happy weekend.

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  16. Hi Susan, I will report as and when... lol.

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  17. Joe, think of it this way, someone admiring your cat might be colour blind lol.

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  18. Dave, methinks cats will always be the boss.

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  19. Hi Denise, thanks for your comment but I have to confess that my name is Valerie, not Linda...lol.

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  20. Hi Cuban, Wow! I don't think I could cope with more than one, possibly two, cats.

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  21. Hello again Linda and yes I am joking ;) Hello Valerie. Big happy face here. Just put it down to the fact that I woke up early at 4:00 a.m. our time and started answering several comments, lol. Will try not to do that again. I probably called Linda Valerie! Will try not to do that again says I with a wink, nudge nudge and a chuckle.

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  22. I think Charlie is a "guard cat" zealously protecting you property...:)

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  23. Animals are so interesting to watch; they have their own language, even if it's just subtle movements that mean nothing to us.

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  24. TB, I also think that. At I write he is on guard having seen a mouse in the garden.

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  25. I agree with your connent, kden.

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  26. Last two comments were written on ipad instead of computer... please forgive the errors.
    Note to self: stick with the computer in future.

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  27. Oh Charlie, you rock!🐱🐱

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