Katy Perry Parties with John Mayer (and an Alligator)

Caught in the Act

By Jennifer Garcia and Alison Schwartz

08/07/2012 at 12:00 PM EDT

Katy Perry and John Mayer

Rachpoot-Brett/XPosure

Are Katy Perry and John Mayer wild for each other or are they just having a good time hanging with wild animals?

The duo attended a weekend bash at Hollywood talent agent Michael Kives's house, where they were greeted by several special guests: animals from a conservation (including an alligator and a kangaroo!).

"They were really cute," an attendee tells PEOPLE. "They were standing near each other most of the night, playing with the animals outside."

When they weren't checking out the nonhuman partygoers, Perry, 27, and Mayer, 34, "definitely enjoyed each other's company."

"They almost acted like they've been a couple for a long time," adds the source. "It definitely didn't seem like a new relationship."

Rumors of a romance first swirled when they were spotted last week leaving a dinner date in Los Angeles.

Perry who split from husband Russell Brand last year and was last linked to Florence + the Machine guitarist Robert Ackroyd told Elle in its September issue that she is "a woman who likes to be courted strongly."