After the sad loss of Swallow, the remaining three of Dawn’s kittens were doing well. Dawn had been on edge and very anxious while her kittens were out in the fields, but now with them in the garden she was much more relaxed.

Linnet and Cetti continued to be treated for the lasting eye problems brought on by the virus; neither of them would ever have perfect sight, but they could see well enough to be an active part of the Garden Family. Linnet’s sight was a lot worse than Cetti’s but the chances were she would remain in or around the garden in any case, whereas Cetti (who had been the dominant male from a very young age) would probably leave the garden and roam the fields, so it was likely that they would both live full lives despite their visual impairments.

Raven did not seem affected by the virus – there really was no rhyme or reason to the viruses which were hitting the cat population that year. He was a playful kitten with a sweet character, and happy for his brother Cetti to take on the alpha role in their little family.

The weeks passed and the kittens were growing nicely and becoming more independent. They were weaning well, which was a big help for Dawn as it was a particularly hot summer. It looked as though Cetti was going to be a big cat; he had long legs and big paws and a lot of determination (especially when it came to evading his twice-daily eyedrops).

Linnet was a sweet girl; she didn’t like being medicated either, but was happy to make it into a game with the humans following her round the garden and trying (unsuccessfully) to catch her, until she graciously gave in and flopped into her back to have her tummy wobbled and be picked up for the dreaded eyedrops.

And Raven – well, Raven was busy doing Raven things. His father, BBC, was a regular visitor and it was clear that Raven was growing into a mini-BBC with a plume of a tail and a medium black coat.

And the Cat’s Garden was home to two more new families.

Visitor’s daughter Cracker had brought her family from the fields for weaning. It was the first time that there had been a tabby kitten in the garden and Mr T (as we called him) must have been the son of il-Ħadd.

Cracker was an excellent mother, highly intelligent and empathetic and she knew that Mr T’s best chance of survival would be in the garden, and not in the fields. So, during one evening feeding, the garden gate was left open for her and she brought him in. She really was an especially clever cat.

And Mini was the proud mother of her first litter, born late that spring, who she also brought to the garden when they were a few weeks old. Mini remained staunchly feral and totally averse to human intervention but realised that being in the garden would give her new family (none of whom were strong) the best chance.

Unfortunately, we were unable to help them with antibiotics or eye treatments as Mini defended them ferociously.

But they had fun exploring and Mini was happy; we named them Bubble, Squeak and Diablo.