Wandering Cat

Question
HI. I have a neutered female cat who is 8-10 years old.  She is very shy,
attention needy and up to now has been a real homebody.  There is a feral cat
who frequents our neighborhood and he takes a particular interest in her.  I
always thought that she was distressed by his presence.
About one month ago she disappeared for three days.  When I checked with
my neighbor I found out that she was spending time in their yard.  After
coming back she seemed very content.   That is, until 10 days ago when she
disappeared again.  Yesterday my neighbor told me she had definitely seen
my cat two days prior and that she crossed through her yard and was
accompanied by the feral cat!  This really surprised my as we have observed
that she doesn't enjoy being around other cats, not even ours.    I wonder if
they just saw the feral cat chasing her off?
I've been trying to coax her back home since she left by calling her and using
food, but she isn't responding.  I'm perplexed about her behavior.  Do you
think this is temporary or has she decided to become a feral cat?  Thanks for
your help.

Answer
Hi
well this is a difficult question to answer as all cats are different and what makes one cat decide to behave in one way will be different to another. You could be right and she is just enjoying being outside more, the fact that the feral cat is around may have affected her but again this difficult to say.
All i can say is that as long as you keep calling her leaving food for her then at least she has the option to come home again.

It is unusual i must admit and i have not come across this situation before. Lets just hope that it is a temporary exploration and that she will come home when she misses her home comforts.

best wishes
Kate