This year, The Cat became a grandmother for the second time when Flora gave birth to a litter in the garden.

Souci was now a young adult and had always wanted a little brother or sister called Pippin, so when Flora’s kittens (named The Florettes) came out of the nest and started exploring the garden, we chose the strongest of the six (a determined little dilute calico) and named her Pippin.

The others we named Black Tulip (a fluffy black-and-white boy with a lovely black mask and tail)…

…Brunel (a grey/taupe mix), Mango (who was mostly orange), Calypso (mostly white with a few orange splashes, and, like her namesake the Greek nymph Calypso, a keen and persistent singer)…

…and Vi. Vi (named because she was number six (VI in Roma numerals) of the litter) was the runt, the smallest and weakest, but brimming with determination to keep up with her brothers and sisters.

Unfortunately, there were several viruses in the cat population that summer (such as those Rummien and Lychee had) and Flora’s kittens were not as strong as we would have hoped, but they were a happy bunch and Flora was a content mother.