Most of the new feral Visiting Cats were loners, cats from the fields who had somehow found the feeding bowls, maybe by scent, maybe by good fortune. Most of them remained loners, but occasionally friendships blossomed, and, among feral cats, that was a rare and lovely thing.

A good example was three of the Visiting Cats who formed a bond – Kiwi, Phantom and Gypsy.

Kiwi was a CH cat and one of our first long-standing Visiting Cats. She was adult when she arrived and probably older than we realised. She was black with a little white bib and bikini patch and, over the years, had broken a lot of her teeth as she was unable to control her jumps and often banged her chin on the ground.

Phantom was brought to the field by her mother as a feral kitten. She decided to make her home on the far side of the fields opposite and would trek twice a day (sometimes with kittens in tow) to the food bowls in the front path and drive.

Gypsy arrived during the pandemic. She had definitely been either a pet or a garden cat as she had been neutered and was used to humans. She also knew the purpose of a front door and spent hours sitting on the step. She had lost a lot of her tail in an accident soon after she arrived and, like Kiwi, was probably older than we first thought.

All three were feisty ladies with very different personalities, living independent lives in different parts of the fields, yet somehow they enjoyed each other’s company, ate together, napped together, and generally found comfort in each other’s company when they were in the drive and path.

Back in the fields, it was business as usual – it seemed that their friendship was particular to the path and drive.

And Gypsy went one step further when we spotted her sharing a box in the drive with none other than The Cat herself.