The Visiting Cats were not untouched by the various ailments in the cat population, but adult cats were more able to fight off viruses than were kittens. And so the Visiting Cats continued to visit, although there were fewer new faces than there had been before, and not as many kittens. There were still a lot of black-and-white cats, although Izit was still a regular at the feeding bowls, flying the flag for peach-coloured cats and almost definitely the father of The Cat’s great-grand-kittens Pascal and Pascha; and Mr Bright and Thundercat were still out and about but there were not as many orange cats as there had been a few years ago when The Cat was courting.

Bala and Arash were Twilight’s sons; they were completely feral and very wary (and both black and white) Bala was probably the more dominant of the two and it looked probable that NVQ was his father as he would lie guarding Bala while he ate, something he would not have done for a random young male.

Surprisingly, Arash had struck up the most unlikely friendship with Tumbleweed who would sit and wait for him in the fields every afternoon before they pounced and tussled their way over to the food bowls in the drive for tea together. They were related in a complicated feline way as Arash’s mother, Twilight, was also Tumbleweed’s grandmother, despite Tumbleweed being older than Arash.

Izit continued to visit; he had decided not to return to wherever he had been based before the pandemic, preferring to lounge around in The Cat’s Garden and eat with the Visiting Cats. He remained feral and not in the slightest bit interested in becoming friendly with the humans (so long as the food kept coming, anyway).

Muffin was Phantom’s son, a very sleek black cat and the only survivor of her first litter, as we had already sadly lost his siblings Rocky and Crumpet on the road. He was a young adult with an independent streak, making his own way in the fields but still protective and respectful of his mother.

CoffeeCat enjoyed spending time in the garden and the drive despite remaining feral and completely averse to any human contact (as you can see from his expression). He seemed to have a sweet disposition and we never saw him display any aggression. He came and went as he pleased and was probably being fed somewhere else as well.

And neighbourhood alpha-male and all-round bad boy NVQ was still as much of a force to be reckoned with as ever (much to the disappointment of the wannabe alpha-males who would dearly have loved to knock him off his perch).

NVQ carried on regardless, bulldozing his way through the fields, fighting anyone who stood in his way, generally bullying the next generation, and striking fear into the heart of many a young male.