Put away your guns, boys.

Burmese are darlings, but they're devils to fight.

My suggestion is this: your friend should go to her neighbour bearing a cake and a letter from her vet detailing her cat's injuries and how much they've cost to cure.

She should invite the neighbour in and share the cake, and explain that the adorable, affectionate, cuddly purrer at home turns into Mike Tyson when out.

And then she should make a deal with the neighbour on timing. Perhaps the neighbour can let his cat out in the morning and she can let hers out in the afternoon, or vice versa.

Cats normally sort these things out for themselves, and learn to time their rounds so that they can avoid each other. For some reason, these two cats haven't managed this, so the humans need to do it for them.

If the neighbour doesn't keep to the deal, she should perhaps ask him to share the vet's bill for the injuries caused to her cat (though to do so, she'll need to have proof that it's the Burmese).

But most neighbours are all right about doing this.

I had a cat myself some years ago, and a neighbour brought him home to me in her arms and explained that she'd found him beating up her cat. She demanded that I keep him in at all times, which I certainly wasn't going to do. But if she'd suggested that I let him out at a specific time, I would have been fine with that. It's what I do with my (Burmese) cat now.