Does anybody know if cats that live together in the home (I think they call this a 'social group'), will help each other in a fight or dispute with other cats when the are outside?

Or, is it every cat for him/herself?

Thanks.

Mine tolerate each other. They don't cuddle or anything.

One day in the garden a neighbours cat came in and a little squabble him and one of mine. My other cat started growling and zoomed across the garden to help out. They both chased him away then went about their own business again.

My indoor cat (who died this week) was very insular and grumpy, and wasn't at all keen on my outdoor cat, although she mostly tolerated him, just growled and waved a paw at him from time to time. However, on the rare occasions when she went outside, if the nasty wicked cat from across the road came up to them, they would both gang up to chase it away together.

Sorry to hear your cat died Elanor. Hope you're ok.

Thanks. I'm ok, I just miss her a lot. She was a bit of a grumpyboots but she was my baby. She was poorly for a while though, and was getting on a bit, so I was kind of expecting it.

My Bernard and late Tabitha were out in the garden once, I was watching through the kitchen window, when another cat appeared in the garden and was about to pounce on Tabitha, who didn't appear to have noticed him. Bernard, who is normally very mild mannered, ran over to the cat and chased him away - in quite an aggressive manner. I noticed that Bernard and Tabitha always joined forces when faced with any common threat though they were never particularly close otherwise. Bernard did look for her a lot after she died and he was lovely to me when he saw me grieving and upset.

My 3 current cats stick up for each other outside. One of them (Lucy) doesn't like strange cats so Bernard, who used to be very friendly with those same cats, has taken to growling at them

I believe cats from the same social group definitely help each other out if necessary and cats are not the selfish creatures they're sometimes portrayed as. Well, not completely selfish anyway.

Two sister cats used to feed off each other's confidences - exploring new places together, the cautious one reigning the more adventurous (stupid) one in a little. Was quite cute to watch.

Cautious died (kidney issues), and was replaced with a kitten; Kitten got stalked by neighbourhood Tom, elder cat saw this and just stomped over, flurry of paws and lots of white Tom fur floating in the air. Elder cat hated the kitten, but stuck up / protected her. Kitten (MC) is now a big cat and is pretty much neighbourhood queen, Tom now runs away from her

did she have a nail varnish problem too?

I'm not sure how to take that post? Is it meant to be a joke?

I have used to have a mother daughter pair of cats sadly the mother died last year , she was quite bossy so always got any cats she didn't like to leave the garden however her daughter just watched and hissed.
We got a kitten earlier this year and it took time for the kitten and the other cat to bond but recently we moved home and there are quite a few cats in the area some seem like strays. There was a big cat that came into garden at least twice the size of kitten. This cat was trying to fight my older cat after a loud meow out of no where came my kitten fought the cat and chased it out , anytime he hears my older cat in trouble he comes and defends her which I think is so sweet
Only issue I have is he thinks he is bigger than he is so even trys to take on next doors dog lol

My outdoor cat seems to be pining for my old lady cat, even though she was never friendly with him. He keeps looking for her, and won't even attempt to chase off intruder cats. He just mopes around and sleeps.

Yeah... I'm still not sure what you meant by this to be honest. Maybe you were trying to be funny.

My Bernard was like this when Tabitha died but he perked up a lot when I adopted 2 young female cats - all cats neutered. He's still very lazy but he does love them and he plays with them when he gets sudden spurts of energy. I'm sorry for your loss, my Tabitha was nearly 16 when she died last year and I still really miss her.

As for the remark on nail varnish from the other poster, I don't think American 'humour' always translates that well over here. Likewise, my rather pragmatic posts on another thread have been misinterpreted as rudeness by her. I just ignore her posts now.......

my Murphy is twice the size of Milley and I'ed like to think he would go to her defence if she was being attacked by another cat. But I suspect his going to her aid would be more to do with another cat being on his terrortry rather than any real desire to defend Milley.

Thanks! Yes, I think although the two cats never spent much time together, and my indoor cat certainly never liked the outdoor cat (she was 15 and very quiet, he is very young and boisterous), I think he is missing her.

I'm sure I will adopt another cat at some point. I'd like a nice quiet indoor lady who's happy to be left alone inside all day while I'm at work.

Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences of this.

It seems that cats DO tend to look out for each other from the same social group, even if they don't ordinarily get on.

It seems that cats can also miss other cats, even if they didn't get on. To me that shows that there was some underlying affection for the cat, even if this was never made public

absolutely,I've seen my 3 ,mum and daughters surround a strange cat and chase it away.

As far as other cats go The Beast for all his general gitness is a bit of a wuss.

He did used to have a friend cat opposite us. A rather gay looking ginger cat we named Stanford (Sex and the City reference, the OH's idea not mine)

They used to run about together and Stanford would sometimes come through the flap and eat his food, no real bother.

But generally he seems to either annoy, or not get on with other cats, and comes off second best.

Many is the time he has battered through the flap to safety, and come home with bite marks, wanting a hug.

We had a spell where another, bigger, black cat, which we named 'gangster cat' (we are a bit sad, and give random cats names) would hassle the Beast, and he would hide in the bush out front, and a few times the OH would go out and shoo the cat away.

I blame the OH, she molly coddles him, when I try to discuss with the Beast his wussness, and that he needs to buck his ideas up, I'm told I'm being horrible

My cats definately look after each other in the garden, Leto is smaller than Apollo they are sister and brother the same age now 17 months old, Leto is more adventurous Apollo more aid back but if either of them has a problem the other quickly comes and chases off another cat.

That being said ... On Sunday our two cats were in our front garden, by what we call Charle's tree (named after our first cat) we wondered why they weren't going up the tree like normal then noticed it was already occupied by two other cats! They then started meowing and climbed the tree, four cats, one tree! Whilst this is going on another cat wandered into the garden from next door and a sixth peered it's head round the side of the wall - we just watched thinking any minute now there is going to be a fight and wondering if we should go out there but no they just hung out for about ten minutes then one by one drifted away it was very bizarre.

Mine do. My oldest cat will jump right in front of my youngest cat to defend him.

Do males tend to protect females?

I wonder because I've just taken in a 6 month old big male, he is a lot bigger than my three year old female cat!

After only living with us for a week or so, when a threatening cat sound was heard, he ran and sat straight by her side 💕

Also, does anybody know what age cats stop growing?

At six months my kitten is huge- bigger than the average adult cat.

It's not obesity, obviously I don't want him to become overweight, but as a (larger than normal) growing kitten, I don't want to underfeed him either

Richard - you can check if your cat is overweight by feeling him. You should be able to feel his ribs and spine but not see them. He should have a bit of a belly and from above a waist should be evident.
Your cat food should give a guide as to how much to feed him - the larger the cat, the more food. But young cats don't tend to overeat - just make sure its good quality without too much fat or cereal in it.

Many thanks- I'll use this method to check

The adult cat has Whiskas in cans, so I've been feeding the kitten Whiskas kitten pouches.

These work out to be terribly expensive, so I've started using Sainsbury's own brand kitten pouches.

I must admit that I used to think that special wet food for kittens was a marketing money making ploy, but my research has shown that kittens should eat kitten food to help them grow and that it's not very good for adult cats. Conversely, food intended for adult cats is not very good for kittens.

The problem I have is that the adult and kitten eat each other's food, I hope this isn't harming them.

We are having problems with a stray cat in our garden( big ginger tom) , there is a ritual among my own three cats.

Alfie the big tabby goes out first
Harvey the smaller tabby then goes out to back Alfie up
Maisie the torty stays in the kitchen and lets the boys get on with it.

However when we had problems with a female cat it was Maisie who went on the offensive and chased her off (with some very unladylike swearing and hissing).

And they all gang up on my 2 Pugs

My boys look out for each other outside, but are not always nice to each other indoors