New Visiting Cats continued to arrive. There was food and water available 24/7 in the garden, drive and path and there were probably night-time feline visitors of whom we knew nothing. But some cats came at feeding times – probably cats who were used to being fed by humans in other places, at set times.

Across the fields and from a distance, NotNVQ looked very like NVQ – a big, solid tuxedo male – hence his name. But in character, they were very different. NotNVQ was more interested finding his daily food and water than in being an alpha-male, and he fitted in well and caused no trouble. Thankfully, confrontation was not top of his list and that made for an easier life for everyone.

Ginger Nut was only spotted a couple of times in daylight. He was a feral, field cat and probably only came to eat when his usual food source was unavailable.

Ghost Cat came from the same garden across the fields as Visitor. Most of the cats who came from there had fine plumes of tails, they were healthy, and accustomed to being around humans, even if they weren’t friendly. Ghost’s number one priority (and numbers two and three) was her stomach – she ate as much as she could, and then left. And she could be forceful, pushing in at the food bowls in her eagerness to eat, which could be quite off-putting to the more shy feral cats.

And from the same direction as Ghost came BBC (Big Black Cat), again with a huge, fluffy tail. He was sociable and, although he would defend himself if needs be, not looking for a fight. Like NotNVQ, BBC slotted in easily to the group of Visiting Cats who ate in the garden; he was well-mannered with the other cats, and patient with the kittens and juniors.

The Cat was getting older and less inclined to chase unwelcome visitors, so she was happy to watch the comings and goings of the Visiting Cats.