Frankie and I went for a walk Saturday. We made it to the other side of our next-door neighbor’s house when Frankie spotted a stray.
I have seen this stray many times in the past but not recently. I wasn’t even sure if he or she was still around until my catnip plant was destroyed.
Frankie ran toward the cat but ran out of leash and stopped. That scared the stray who ran to the left toward our house. Soon Frankie lost interest and became interested in a nearby bush. That is when the stray walked by unnoticed.
A little while later we came upon another stray cat that had no fear of Frankie or me being so close.
They howled at each other for a while. I was a little worried a fight might start so I took a step forward and caused the stray to run away. He or she ran under a nearby vehicle and the whole thing started over.
I assume the cat is a female or there would have been fighting sooner, but I don’t know. What do you think?
Update: I was wrong. Frankie did meet strays before. Here are two examples.
Bad Cat Chris 
I’ve been meaning to ask what happens when you meet other cats on your walks!
This is the first time it happened that I remember.
Wow, really? You must have been on a zillion walks and you’ve never met other cats? Maybe they’re all scared of your gang and they scarper when they see you?
It is amazing we don’t have more encounters but also my memory is flawed. Here is another encounter https://badcatchris.com/2020/10/17/frankies-walk-goes-awry/
and another
https://badcatchris.com/2020/04/29/frankies-chance-encounter/
Goodness me, I can’t imagine having to walk home with a fighty, writhing cat!
Most of the time I have to carry Frankie home. He usually hisses at me then struggles to get free.
It is so difficult to understand how cats react, but a fight is always possible.
Just a little turf battle negotiation going on I think.
At least it didn’t come to blows.
I hope someone is feeding the poor stray.
The first one I have seen for a couple of years or more so I think so,
Oh boy, look at Frankie’s puffed up tail. We have a neighborhood cat that comes up the stairs to the screen door to the catio, and that’s how Cooper sounds and looks when he discovers it is there. We know you’re happy no fight broke out. XOCK, angel Lily Olivia, angel Mauricio, Misty May, angel Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy, Sawyer, Kizmet, Audrey & Raleigh
We had the same thing at our WV house.
Hard to tell with some cats.
I’m not sure, but around here, most cats are locals and we get lots of wide berths and polite conversations and glares. Unless it’s with the locally bully cat, and then all help breaks loose.
ERin
Teddy always comes to tell me when a stray cat is on our front porch wanting a snack……but when we’re outside we NEVER see another cat. I think they wait to approach our house when THE BIG GINGER CAT is behind the door! Smart kitties.
Hugs, Pam
I think most probably want to avoid confrontation.
Love your blog, have visited for a long time. This is first time to comment tho, as “google blogspot” wouldn’t permit it before (???) so we signed up with WP to allow commenting on WP blogs. First, you are a great storyteller, and second you have fun and interesting photos … always a treat to visit! Ann and JUNE from Zoolatry
Thank you for that very nice comment.
Both cats are probably a little more chill otherwise I think there could have been fighting no matter what.
I guess we were lucky nothing happened.
I imagine most encounters are accidental and that the potential bad encounter with a fight is limited by the intruder running away to avoid the fight. When I walked Louie the ginger cat, too, he onetime encountered Taco the tuxedo kitty boy, his nemesis on the corner of the block. The corner was recognized by both as the edge of both their territorial claims (based on my observation of the two over months). Instead of the usual chase and fight if one or the other caught up with the intruder cat of the moment, they just looked at each other and actually touched noses. It was a tense moment just the same, but detente between cats seems possible.
That was good. I suppose it might have been worse if you were deep in Taco’s territory.
Louie scared Taco a lot because Taco was a much smaller kitty.
I think a lot of times animals don’t seem to notice their own size.
How true! Taco was a dominate force most of his life, though he was a petite kitty
My parents came to visit one year and I was walking their greyhound, We walked past a yard where a small dog was barking through the fence and this big greyhound switched sides with me so I was between the two dogs.
Good grief! I had a similar situation once when I was a kid, and it was frightening since the two dogs were just short of a fight.
I was glad there was a fence.
Whew! No kidding. Breaking up a cat fight isn’t for the fainthearted!
just stopped bye two say HI guyz and hope yur mew yeerz been grate sew far, still on data time funkee heer, canna watch yur moovee til we get two a wi fi spot, but wanted two say heerz two a grate week 🐟‼️
Thanks. To you too.
How nice. You have a protector. 🙂