Looking after the cats was hard and intensive work. There would be periods when the Garden Family was doing well but maybe some of the Visiting Cats required extra help, and then the situation might be reversed. For sure, there was never a time when the humans could relax, but in the middle of the ongoing feline mayhem and the sorrow surrounding illness and death, there were plenty of comical moments too.

…like the time we saw two eyes looking at us out of the prickly pear bush and then realised it was Muffin, Phantom’s young son…

…and the distinguished-looking fluffy tuxedo gentleman who sat on the terrace for a few hours one day and then disappeared, never to be seen again. Where did he come from? How did he find his way onto the terrace? Was he a long-lost (and not very welcome) uncle of NotNVQ?…

…and Mini and Sundown hiding under a crate while the grass was being trimmed, spotted only because there was one paw hanging down…

…and the time we wondered whether Mini and Whitefur had taken up modelling for cat food companies becoming media starlets and famous throughout the feline world…

…and Pippin sharpening her teeth on the parasol base when she thought no one was watching…

…and the way Clover slept upside down on the terrace, so relaxed and carefree with his feet against the wall…

…and Kiwi sitting in the plant pots in the path (she always chose the cushiest plants, preferably ones which had just been nursed back from the brink after being sat in by her last season)…

No, there was never a dull moment 🐾