It was a busy time with newcomers in The Cat’s Garden. Some of the new faces were feral field cats, and some were roaming local cats (with and without homes) who also ate in other gardens. The Cat tolerated most, enjoyed the company of some (male), and deeply disliked a few (female).

Among those she disliked was Supervisor Cat who initially seemed oblivious of this, and carried on regardless although she did initially synchronise her visits to the garden to coincide with The Cat’s siesta, which was a wise move.

As Supervisor became bolder, The Cat became less tolerant. Wishing to exercise her authority while not expending unnecessary energy, The Cat decided to make her presence felt by supervising Supervisor Cat (who took the hint and started eating on top of the wall).

Then there was Sultan, a feral field cat who only used to come to eat on Sunday lunchtimes, probably because the farmers who usually fed him were not in their fields every Sunday. He was always on high alert and most definitely completely feral and came only to the front path so never crossed paths with The Cat.

And last but not least, Sniffly Cat, a sweet and mild-mannered calico who came from the same garden across the fields as Visitor Cat. She wasn’t friendly, but on the other hand she didn’t seem frightened of humans in the same way as some other cats, like Sultan.

The Cat seemed indifferent to Sniffly Cat, neither seeking her out for company nor chasing her out of the garden, so Sniffly came and went as she pleased, without hindrance.

It looked as though The Cat was beginning to enjoy the power which went with being the matriarch of her garden.