Now it’s kitten season once again and as new lives begin in the feral feline world, it’s time to take stock of the annual coming and goings.

Sadly, looking through the list of names of visiting cats over the past year or so, there are quite a few missing faces. There are quite a few new ones too, but although they replace the missing felines at the feeding bowls, they don’t replace them in your thoughts.

We miss Bodkins, an occasional visitor to the back garden wall and subsequently a visitor to the front door feeding bowl. G4/Durante, one of the orange gentlemen, hasn’t been seen for some months. He was in the ‘up-and-coming’ bracket of younger males, ready to fight for their place in the heirarchy. G5 and G7 (possibly the same cat – there were a lot of orange cats over the past few years!) have been absent for a few months. G7 became quite friendly which is never a good sign for a feral, usually heralding the beginning of the end. Towards the end of his visits he enjoyed human company, chatted away and courted affection and interaction as well as food. Kbir disappeared only a few months ago, last seen pursuing a female through the fields. Mystery Cat hasn’t been seen since the culvert was cleared out so she may have moved to the fields on the other side. Pikabu disappeared last year; he was a friendly boy who just couldn’t suppress his urge to fight. Our beautiful Quink passed away in the next field earlier this year. She fought hard but her illness was too much for her. Again she became more sociable for a couple of weeks which wasn’t a good sign. Saturday and Sunday are both notable by their absence and the younger cats, the next generation of males, are moving up to fill the gaps their absence has created. Finally, Supervisor Cat hasn’t been spotted for several months.

As feeders of community and neighbourhood, stray and feral cats, we know that some of the cats we feed have homes to go to and that, just because you don’t see a cat for some time, it doesn’t automatically mean that anything untoward has befallen them. So, while being realistic, we still hope that some of the names and faces we haven’t spotted for a while might be going strong, feeding at someone else’s bowls, enjoying good hunting in the the fields, or relaxing in a courtyard or on a lap somewhere.

And one day maybe we’ll spot them, strolling across the fields, lazing in the sun, rolling in the soil, having a good scratch behind the ear. Until then, our lovely feline friends, stay safe.

(pictured are Quink and G7)