Twilight continued visiting the food bowls in the drive and path, which were closer to the fields where she spent her time. She always disappeared back into the fields, in the direction of the culvert which separated the two villages.

But then, less than twenty-four hours after The Cat’s son Furrileesa passed away, we spotted Twilight in the next field with her young kittens, en route to the feeding bowls in the drive. It seemed strangely coincidental to lose Furrileesa one day and for a new family arrive the following day, so the kittens were given the family name of The Furriquins, in his honour.

There were five kittens to begin with, but sadly the road soon claimed Cloud. The other grey-and-white kitten was Mist, who was quite a dominant kitten, determined and confident.

Then there was one very shy, completely grey kitten who we named Storm. She reminded us of Kiwi’s kittens Stardust and Ariel and we wondered whether this could be Stardust’s daughter – we had seen no other grey cats in the area, after all.

Twilight’s calico daughter was a confident and independent girl, and we named her Dawn. She was clever, although she could be headstrong and unpredictable – yes, she was a typical calico cat and brimming with attitude, even at this young age.

And last but not least, there was Dusk. Dusk was a brindle tortoiseshell, just one shade lighter than her mother – a proper mini-me for Twilight. She was also the runt of the litter and remained smaller than her littermates.

None of the kittens were comfortable around humans, but Twilight was an excellent mother and, despite not being friendly herself, she taught Mist, Storm, Dawn and Dusk that the drive was a safe place, a place they could play, eat, sleep and relax as a family.