The last heatwave of the summer had been and gone and life in the garden was settling down, albeit without The Cat, and also without a fair number of its previous residents.

But, despite the hardships of the summer, there still remained the happy memories, among them photographic reminders of funny moments captured, cats and kittens playing, adults snapped unawares, and many reminders that doing your best to be positive and smile is an important part of looking after any animals, especially when the saddest moments are due to matters which are completely out of your control.

So here are some more comical moments which made us smile.

…the joys of weaning kittens. Sometimes it’s a bed. Sometimes it’s a boxing ring. And sometimes (if you can get past your brother), it’s a bowl of food for a hungry kitten.

…it turned out that the shade cloth we put up to keep the sun off the garden path and feeding station was more useful that we could have imagined. Here, Raven puts it to good use as a hammock with added ventilation for his legs and tail. Funnily, his sister Linnet also used it in exactly the same way!

…a sight which will be familiar to many cat feeders – the Great Ascent of The Human’s Leg. It’s one of those notable events in the life of a kitten.

…vying for sole occupancy of a plant ledge in the afternoon sun. Mini was wondering how much longer Shady was going to be – Mini had booked her slot and was determined to maximise her time in the sun.

…fancy waking from a perfectly good nap and being confronted by a human with a camera! No wonder Shady looked a tad startled.

…compliments to the chef – you don’t mind if I stand in the food bowl do you? Sherpa doing his best to grow big and strong.

…Swift napping. These fence posts were supposed to provide a sloping link between the feeding station and the top of the water tank to help less able and older cats access the water tank without having to climb up the olive tree. But more often than not, passage was blocked by a slumbering feline who had decided that this was the best possible spot for an after-dinner nap.

…no one says no to some help with washing and drying the cats’ dishes, and Linnet was more than happy to assist. Somehow, it took even longer to wash up than usual, but she had great fun (and so did we). Linnet is also pictured in the header photo.

…cat logic. No further explanation is necessary.