Spying on the neighbors

A fluffy white cat and a short-haired striped red-and-white cat that I have seen before in the neighborhood are over by the aparment building across from me. They are having a Mexican stand-off at about 8 paces. The red cat approaches. The white cat stays put, but shows no aggression. They stay about 3 feet apart.

Two girls see the cats and approach them. The white cat turns towards them, lifts its tail and rubs against the lamp post in greeting, and one of the girls pets the cat. So that's who owns you, I think. Red cat approaches, too, but does not want to be petted. The girls ignore him.

The girls test a slippery patch of ice on the footpath. The white cat follows them and pretends to climb a tree. The owner's friend notices and the white cat comes over to the girls. The friend scratches the white cat's head and tries to pick the cat up. The cat stays heavy, signalling it doesn't want to be held and the girl leaves the cat alone.

The girls head off in the direction of the store. The white cat sits relaxed on the footpath, momentarily distracted by a magpie who lands in a tree. Behind is the red cat, meatloafing by a doorway. A man approaches on the road in front of my building. He is carrying four bulging shopping bags and he is walking towards the store, not coming from it.

The white cat can see the man from the footpath and crouches down, showing extreme caution. The man with the bulging bags comes closer. I wonder if the cat knows the man, or associates him with someone. The white cat backs up a bit to keep its distance to the man and crouches again. The man passes by both cat and me, and the clatter of refundable empty cans and bottles rises from the bulging bags.

I can only speculate on if it is the sound or something else that frightens the white cat. The man passes and the cat relaxes. I go to blog.