Hi All,

   Back in the seventies, I witnessed a cat behavior that I had never
seen before or have seen since.  My partner, Scuzzy, and I were using
ladder trucks to work on a telephone cable in Port Washington, New
York.  The street was a cul-de-sac so there was almost no traffic.
    Down one side of the street on the sidewalk came a gang of about
five cats walking a few feet behind the 'leader'.  We thought this odd
and stopped to look at them.  They continued on their way past us and
some motion on the other side of the street caught my eye.  On the
opposite sidewalk, in the other direction came another gang of cats
following their leader.
    When the two gangs got opposite each other they stopped.  The
leaders then began to yowl at each other, going through all the
vocalizations of cats getting ready to fight.  Finally the two leaders
advanced into the street, the ears went back and the yowling got
louder.  Finally the two leaders got into it.  They fought for a few
seconds, and then stopped.  Then, as if on cue, everybody scattered.  
    Scuzzy was a good partner and a cat person too.  He was the first
person I knew who got a pet door.  One day he came home from work to
find a cat party in his kitchen.  His cat and five others were just
sitting in a circle in the kitchen.  When he stopped laughing, he
opened the door and shooed the five strangers out.

Regards and Purrs,
O J