And sadly on May 4th 2021, The Cat’s long reign came to an end when we found her on the road at breakfast time.

We thought she was spending her time relaxing in the garden. We thought she had given up roaming and adventuring, but no – she continued to surprise us right until her last breath, living the life of the independent feral cat she had always been, going out and about.

We had known her for ten years and a few days. When we had first met her, she was a leggy young adult with a family of her own, not friendly, living in the garden and providing rodent control services, and roaming in the fields. This is one of the first photos we have of her.

She soon became used to regular food and spent longer in the garden, although she was still not friendly. During her second year, she started to mature and fill out.

It was three years before The Cat allowed a human to touch her. She had held out, maintaining what to her was a safe distance, while taking advantage of the food and water which were on offer. She was never going to be an overtly affectionate cat, but this was a big step for her.

And once she developed a thicker coat, her appearance changed. She looked mature and confident, as befitted the matriarch of the garden. She was enjoying her status and life was good.

For the first time, The Cat have birth to a litter in the garden. Despite her feral roots, she must have trusted the humans (not that she might have admitted it!).

Her full title was ‘Queen of the Garden and Empress of all She Surveys’.

But the years were passing and she was getting older, although no one knew exactly how old she was. She suffered from mange which robbed her of a lot of her energy, and developed FOPS (feline orofacial pain syndrome) which, although not serious, was inconvenient and annoying. Her older bones liked the sunshine and she spent a lot of time napping.

During her last year she became more grumpy and irritable, although she was still the matriarch and beloved of her family. Her coat was still good and she enjoyed her food (especially her favourite, rabbit and duck) but under that fur there was less cat than there had been.

Despite everything, she still wanted to be in the middle of everything. She came to every feeding, never missing a meal. She watched the comings and goings, enjoyed being close to her daughters Whitefur and Flora and Flora’s families. She allowed Lychee and Oregano (who were both very unwell) to cuddle up with her – something that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.

She was the matriarch to her last breath, living life the way she wanted. Maybe she was a little deaf; maybe she didn’t hear the traffic approaching, but then again plenty of younger cats had lost their lives on the road too.

Over the coming days and weeks we hoped for a sign from her, something to let us know that she had reached her destination, some sort of closure. But nothing came.

And so we realised that The Cat hadn’t gone anywhere at all. She was still with us, lying just out of sight in her garden in the long grass under one of the trees, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her fur.

And six months to the day after she left us, she sent us a pawprint in the clouds.

She would always be wherever we were. She was still with us ❤️