cat approaching another cat and yowling

hello,

i have a cat named 'Pepto'. she's an indoor/outdoor cat. Pepto spends her time in the surrounding back gardens. when in my garden a couple of years ago i befriended another cat whom i call 'Animal.' Pepto and Animal get on well.

today whilst Pepto and Animal were in my garden i noticed another Grey Cat at the back! Animal and Pepto noticed too. Pepto ran up to it, but squatted herself 3-4 metres away from the Grey Cat. Animal squatted herself 6-7 metres away from Grey Cat. They sat there staring at each other for 5 minutes- Animal was emitting small moans.

Pepto got moved away and ran back to me. I was behind Animal. At this point something most bizarre happened:

Animal started doing a VERY slow walk to Grey Cat. Her back was arched and she was giving very very strange loud meows, at each meow her head would bend sideways and backwards- a very odd angle. It was like a bizarre slow dance. Her meows sounded quite human- like she was speaking a different language. Her tail wasn't fluffy, but was down. Grey Cat also gave some meows but they were quieter and Grey Cat didn't move, she just squatted. Animal continued to approach Grey Cat with this slow, yowling dance. Grey Cat suddenly got more interested in Pepto who was crawling under some nearby bushes and started to run up to her. At this point Animal launched at Grey Cat and chased her- Pepto trailing on behind.

My question is what was Animal saying to the Grey Cat? Was she being confrontational or scared? Do you think she was protecting Pepto? Do cats work as a team to keep outsiders away, even though they aren't from the same household?

:shock:

 

if the grey cat was squatting w/ his tail low and close, ears pricked, mouth open..he was being aggressive....
if the grey cat was squatting w/ tail thumping, ears flattened back, whiskers flattened...he was being submissive..

it sounds like animal was being defensive..traits of that are...arched back, body turned sideways, fur bristled along back, mouth open showing teethe yowling and making hissing or spitting noises, ears flattened...

this is per my understanding your cat book