This is Stanley. He is NOT our cat.
He comes around every day, using a variety of routes to get into our supposedly catproof garden.
This is Chester. He IS our cat.
He is the reason we catproofed our garden, to stop him escaping (again....)
Chester and Stanley have a strange relationship. Stanley keeps coming over; I think he is desperate for a cat friend. Chester gets all territorial, growling and hissing at Stanley, and even lashing out at him. This is despite Chester normally being a cute little bundle of fluffy love.
Stanley's actually a really lovely cat as well, even though he can get a bit spiky and defensive when he feels nervous. He lives all the way down at the bottom of the road, so has to travel quite a way to get to us, but still makes the effort.
I think Chester actually looks forward to Stanley coming over, because it means he can show off to me to prove how tough he is (or at least thinks he is).
This is the strange sight I saw yesterday morning. Chester likes to sit in the shed at the end of the garden, with the door wedged open. It's that cat thing of "indoors-outdoors". But somehow Stanley got onto the roof of the shed. I guess he climbed up the back, which is a bit lower, or jumped onto the back fence and from there onto the shed roof.
It was fun - Chester didn't quite know what to make of it. But at that distance, where each couldn't have a go at the other, they seemed to tolerate each other quite well. Not quite a breakthrough, but I do really hope they can end up as friends eventually !
All photos by me