Do cats naturally have "pals"?

eknuds

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Two doors down there are two older cats and it appears that they and my youngster are becoming ... friends?
Their own came over last weekend and said our male youngster (seven months) has been over there, sometimes looking inside their house. I'm guessing now that he was wondering where his playmates are? He said that our cat has been getting more accepted as time goes on.
Then today one of their cats came over and started meowing at our windows after I called our cat in.
Strange. I always thought they were too territorial for this kind of thing.
Or, should I be more concerned?
 

cat52

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Absolutely cats can have pals! My neighbor's cat is one of my cat's best friends - whenever Nubbin (neighbor) is outside, Myrtle (now an indoors cat) gets to the window and Nubbin jumps on the heat pump cover and the two have long conversations and rub cheeks through the screen. They are both neutered, so it is definitely pals, not...ahem!
 

jennyr

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CAts are like people - they have friends and foes among their own families and their neighbours. Some bond totally and are inseparable, others like to see each other for short periods of play and grooming and some never learn to like each other. Years ago I had a cat, Oscar, who became friends with a cat two doors down and each night the two chose which house they would eat and sleep in, curled up together. Fortunately my neighbour and I didn't mind - it was like children, as long as we knew where they were it was fine.
 

eggytoast

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Just because cats are solitary hunters doesn't mean they're antisocial
 

saya

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my mom's cat Pita is very social. she has a whole group of friends she has taught how to use the cat door and will come inside w her. she grooms them and lets them eat her food.
...she also has a few that she chases off though too...
 

callista

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Oh, yes--even ferals. Given a lot of square miles, cats will be generally solitary; but in the city, where the space is smaller, they usually develop "clans"--usually with Mom and her female (grown) kittens at the core. Males are more solitary, since for them every other male is a threat--but even they have been known to form attachments, usually to females.

Cats aren't completely introverted--they do enjoy friends, though often in small doses.

Remember that for a cat, being friends with another cat can be expressed as casually as lying nearby; they don't make eye contact and talk to each other the way human friends do.
 

EnzoLeya

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I hear they get so attached that it's just horrible when one of the friends dies.... I'm so worried for the day that happens!
 

catcaregiver

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Two of the ferals I feed always show up as a pair. They are neutered males. It's interesting to watch them interact. I feed them on my driveway and talk to them through the window in my door. Sometimes when I talk to Boots he'll start walking over towards the door and Little Orange Boy will cut him off as if to say "don't go over there, it's dangerous!". They're best buds.
 

judi

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Originally Posted by catcaregiver

Two of the ferals I feed always show up as a pair. They are neutered males. It's interesting to watch them interact. I feed them on my driveway and talk to them through the window in my door. Sometimes when I talk to Boots he'll start walking over towards the door and Little Orange Boy will cut him off as if to say "don't go over there, it's dangerous!". They're best buds.
play together.
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Callista

Oh, yes--even ferals. Given a lot of square miles, cats will be generally solitary; but in the city, where the space is smaller, they usually develop "clans"--usually with Mom and her female (grown) kittens at the core. Males are more solitary, since for them every other male is a threat--but even they have been known to form attachments, usually to females.
This isn't limited to the city. The ferals that I've cared for in the country usually form the all female bonds or the all male bonds. Females form prides and males form coalitions. A male coalition usually consists of no more than 2-3 individuals unless they are related, in which case they can consist of upwards of 10 individuals. Female prides usually consist of related females and their offspring.

Yes, I'm describing lion behaviors, but the same thing happens with domestic cats.
 
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