It was three years after we met The Cat that she first permitted human touch. She was never destined to be a ‘cuddly’ cat, but she enjoyed being stroked. She never rolled over, and we never attempted to lift her up – that would have risked destroying the trust that she was learning to place in us.

The Cat was always a feral cat at heart, a loner, self-sufficient and capable. It appeared she needed no one, neither humans nor cats, so it was remarkable when she allowed close contact with another feline (obviously apart from kittens).

Her first close companion was her son, Ana Half-Tail, Warrior Cat, King of the Culvert. Not only was Ana her Number One Son, but he was an orange cat, and The Cat was exceptionally partial to orange gentlemen. As far as The Cat was concerned, it was a win-win situation.

They were content in each other’s company in the early years, and she would actively seek him out for a nap, waiting for him to return from his patrol of the field and neighbourhood before settling down together in the garden.

When Ana disappeared, The Cat was left without a special friend until the following year when she and her daughter Sprocket had their litters a few days apart and combined their kittens into one big colony. Sprocket did most of the physical work; it was her first litter and she was young and keen. The Cat was instrumental in bringing the runts and weaker kittens through their first few weeks, and spent most of that time confined to their nest, nursing the smallest kittens, while Sprocket helped the stronger ones through their first wobbly steps in the outside world.

Even after the kittens were weaned and their mothers’ hormones had subsided, The Cat and Sprocket continued to spend time together, enjoying each other’s company and taking siestas together. Sprocket always deferred to her mother, treating her with the utmost respect. They enjoyed allogrooming and would eat and nap together.

When we lost Sprocket on the road, The Cat was desolate and grieved for a considerable time, and it was some years before we saw her choosing to be close to another member of her family, this time her adult daughter Whitefur. By then, The Cat was in her later years and feeling more vulnerable, and Whitefur was a strong and determined girl who her mother could lean on (literally!).

Cats are complicated creatures, and The Cat, despite her occasional displays of affection and dependence, remained feral through and through for her entire life, which was why these displays of affection on her part were all the more surprising.