It's official - Lyle is the softest, soppiest, scarediest cat of them all. To avoid the other cats of the neighbourhood coming in through the catflap we've had to make it one-way only so he can get out to do his business, but can't get back in. Except he got a bit fed-up of waiting for us to let him in so he found out a way of lifting the flap by digging his claws into the rubber seal round the flap and pulling it up enough to get his nose under, and then he pushes his way in. Oh he's clever, I'll give him that. The OH reckons that if he can learn that, then so can the other cats, but that's where he's wrong: Lyle has the advantage that we've held the flap up for him from the inside, so he's learned how to do it. Naturally, the other cats will push and push at the flap and it won't open inwards, so I hope they'll get bored and go away.
However, this hasn't stopped other cats coming into his territory. In particular a very sweet looking black and white cat. The first time I looked out and saw him (her?) staring straight at me through the window, I "shooed" and knocked on the glass and he didn't budge. I opened the window and waved my arms at him, still to no avail. I had to go out into the garden to shoo him away. Meanwhile, Lyle was sitting by the back door looking terrified.
Since then, it's happened time and time again. Lyle sits near the house, and B&W cat sits in the garden facing him. They have a staring competition - it's a stand-off. But Lyle doesn't chase him away, oh no. He holds his ground, but I reckon if B&W cat made a move, Lyle would come running back into the house full-tilt.
I even wondered if maybe B&W cat was trying to say "I want to play with Lyle", so I went out to see if I could interact with him. He gets wary when I come close, and runs away, so I'm no nearer finding out if my hunch is correct. He doesn't seem aggressive, as I would expect with a cat who wants to muscle in on someone else's territory. I reckon he knows there's lots of love and cuddles and food in this house, and he wants to join the party!
I'll get a photo up asap so you can see what I mean.....