Periodically lately we have been hearing this cat talk/howl outside at night. Well last night we were watching tv and had our back door open b/c it was nice out. It has a glass "screen" door with about 4-5 inches at the bottom being screen. We look over and Nora is puffed up about 3x her normal size, frozen stiff staring out the screen. There is an orange tabby (assuming male b/c it just looked male, if that makes sense, though I didn't get a change to look at his bits) sitting on our back deck!! Then we hear what we initially thought was Nora growling, but we realized it was the other cat "talking" to Nora. Nora was a little more aggressive, probably b/c this is "her" territory, but the other cat never showed any signs of aggression at all. He sat calm and casual, never had his fur raised, and his ears were always in a normal position. He just wanted someone to talk to I guess. lol He was VERY chatty, talked to us the entire time, and even when hubby and I went over and sat next to the door he stayed there and responded every time we talked to him.
He was VERY skittish though. Every single noise or movement made him jump back, but he always came right back. He's a bit smaller than Nora, and somewhat thin. Nora is a healthy thin one year old cat, and he was skinnier than she is. I didn't know any better (now I do after reading threads in this section) but I fed him and he gobbled up 1/2c food right away. That's more than Nora eats throughout a typical day. He sat there and talked to us for probably a half an hour. He and Nora sniffed each other through the door and after a while Nora calmed down and seemed for the most part at ease.
I then put Nora in her room and decided to see what our new friend would do if I went outside. I sat on the deck and he stayed but sat quite a ways away in the yard just staring at me. He would respond with a meow when I would talk to him. He would sit way on my right, then walk way to my left and sit for a bit. Then he would walk back to my right again but sit a bit closer. He did this back and forth getting gradually closer until he was about 5 feet away from me. Then he washed his face. He wouldn't get any closer than that to me, though. Eventually, probably 15-30 minutes after I went outside, he walked away and went around the side of the house and never returned.
For the most part he seemed fairly healthy, even if he was a bit thin. I didn't get close enough to him to see if he had fleas (plus it was dark, as it was close to midnight when this all happened) or anything like that. He didn't have a collar on, but that doesn't mean anything to me b/c my parents' cats always were indoor/outdoor and never wore collars. We only hear/see him at night.
Is there anything I should/shouldn't do? Do you think he's a stray? He was friendly enough and very curious, but very skittish. I took a really cute video of him on my cell phone, and every time Nora hears him talking she runs over to the back door to see him. It's really cute! lol
Here's a bad cell phone picture of them sniffing each other through the screen.
If you can't tell, they are nose to nose.
He was VERY skittish though. Every single noise or movement made him jump back, but he always came right back. He's a bit smaller than Nora, and somewhat thin. Nora is a healthy thin one year old cat, and he was skinnier than she is. I didn't know any better (now I do after reading threads in this section) but I fed him and he gobbled up 1/2c food right away. That's more than Nora eats throughout a typical day. He sat there and talked to us for probably a half an hour. He and Nora sniffed each other through the door and after a while Nora calmed down and seemed for the most part at ease.
I then put Nora in her room and decided to see what our new friend would do if I went outside. I sat on the deck and he stayed but sat quite a ways away in the yard just staring at me. He would respond with a meow when I would talk to him. He would sit way on my right, then walk way to my left and sit for a bit. Then he would walk back to my right again but sit a bit closer. He did this back and forth getting gradually closer until he was about 5 feet away from me. Then he washed his face. He wouldn't get any closer than that to me, though. Eventually, probably 15-30 minutes after I went outside, he walked away and went around the side of the house and never returned.
For the most part he seemed fairly healthy, even if he was a bit thin. I didn't get close enough to him to see if he had fleas (plus it was dark, as it was close to midnight when this all happened) or anything like that. He didn't have a collar on, but that doesn't mean anything to me b/c my parents' cats always were indoor/outdoor and never wore collars. We only hear/see him at night.
Is there anything I should/shouldn't do? Do you think he's a stray? He was friendly enough and very curious, but very skittish. I took a really cute video of him on my cell phone, and every time Nora hears him talking she runs over to the back door to see him. It's really cute! lol
Here's a bad cell phone picture of them sniffing each other through the screen.
