Despite any individual health problems which they might have been suffering, the younger generations of The Cat’s family (now headed up by her daughter Flora) continued to enjoy life (with the exception of the part involving medications and eyedrops, which they disliked intensely and intended to make as tortuous for all concerned as possible).

Flora’s oldest daughter Souci spent a lot of time in the garden. Souci had been the only remaining kitten of her mother’s first litter and had embraced the world around her with gusto. She had been close to her grandmother, The Cat, and, since she was brought up by Cracker from the age of 12 weeks, had repaid any debt she might have had by teaming up with Cracker’s twin sister Cheese to help nurse Cheese’s kittens.

Flora’s younger daughter Pippin now had her own family, Pascal and Pascha (The Cat’s great-grandsons). She was an excellent first-time mother and was enjoying her new role. Unfortunately, her kittens had suffered with the viruses that spring and it seemed that Pascal and Pascha would both be left partially-sighted.

Of course, Pascal (peach coat) and Pascha (peach and white) were none the wiser regarding their impaired vision and were as happy as any of the kittens in the garden, although unimpressed by the twice-daily eyedrops routine which they were quickly becoming adept at evading.

And Flora had her own new family – Swift, Buffy, Dandy Grey, Checkers and Satsuma – who spent their time between the garden and the drive.

Swift was a dilute calico girl, very like her mother in character and wary of humans.

Buffy was the most feral of the litter. He was averse to any human interaction and preferred to stay as far away from them as possible, preferably in the drive, eyeing them with suspicion.

Dandy Grey was named in memory of Dandelion, one of Cracker’s kittens, who had passed away. They had similar markings and a white dab on their back. Dandy had a lovely personality; he was easy going and friendly.

Checkers’ character fell between Dandy and Buffy’s. He was tolerant of humans but had strict boundaries; he was prepared to be close to humans, so long as no one moved towards him or tried to touch him. As he grew, he developed a medium coat and a plume for a tail, giving us a clue that BBC was probably his father.

And then there was Satsuma, the runt of the litter. She had a stump for a tail, not due to any misfortune, but from birth, and she was by far the smallest. It was many months before she caught up with her siblings in terms of size and weight, and she remained a small cat all her life. She was a sweet and patient girl and surprisingly independent for someone so small.

Technically, Flora’s kittens were Pascal and Pascha’s uncles and aunts despite being only two weeks older than them. Of course, the kittens were none the wiser about any of these relationships and were happy to be one big happy family, playing, eating and napping together.