It seemed that Visitor’s bloodline would be continued when her daughter She-ba gave birth to her first litter of kittens in the fields. When was time for weaning, She-ba introduced her little family to the food bowls in the front path. There were three kittens – Mini (named because she was so like her mother from whom she was inseparable), Rummien (a tortoiseshell girl who sadly was very unwell and passed away), and Lychee (a weak, ginger kitten who was closely bonded with Rummien).

While Mini was thriving, sadly Lychee was struggling. At this point in a failing feral kitten’s life, most would be left behind, unable to keep up with their siblings, so it was with credit to She-ba that, one evening, we found Lychee had been brought into the garden and passed over into the care of the humans. On day one, Lychee weighed less than the average weight of a one-month-old kitten, despite being nearly four months old.

She-ba’s actions were only just in time to save Lychee, but luckily Lychee (who we now knew was a she and not a he, as we had originally assumed being an orange kitten) had such strong survival instincts that she somehow pulled through her first battle with the help of medication and protected feeding times.

She-ba herself visited the garden every day to eat but took no notice of her daughter so it was heartening that soon after, Lychee’s sister Mini started to visit her sister in the garden and made it her base.

As the weeks and months passed, it turned out that She-ba’s maternal instincts had been sound and Lychee would never be fully well, remaining small in size and weight, and spending a lot of her life being treated for one infection after another.

Lychee had a sweet and loving disposition and wanted to be everyone’s friend – The Cat allowed Lychee to snuggle in with her for comfort (something usually reserved for family only), and Visiting Cat Gypsy was happy to kitten-sit (see photo at top). They recognised that Lychee needed extra help, and they were glad to give it.