News of free food travelled fast in the feral cat community, but on the other hand, news of The Cat’s matriarchal reputation travelled even faster, which might have explained why this fine tabby only visited a handful of times, and always while The Cat was out of the garden.

The Cat was not averse to defending her territory tooth and claw if need be, but now that Number One Son had earned his place as alpha-male of The Cat’s Garden, the job of defending her realm would fall to him.

The Cat was pleased with the new arrangement. It appeared that offspring could be useful as well as handsome.