For a busy cat like The Cat (and not only ‘a’ busy cat, but ‘the’ busy cat), naps were imperative.

The Cat followed feral protocol when it came to napping. She would sleep in the same spot for not more than four days (usually three), before moving somewhere different. These places were relatively safe, being mostly in the garden, but, all the same, her feral instincts told her that she needed to keep moving around, just like the other cats out in the fields.

Her coat may have thickened up and grown considerably longer over the years, but that didn’t stop her enjoying the hot summers (after a good moult in the spring, of course). She avoided direct sun on her head, but enjoyed it on her body – maybe she was older than we realised and liked the warmth on her bones. Whatever the reason, she took the seasons in her stride and her napping places, according to the seasons, were always well thought-out – under the citrus trees in the summer (enjoying the mix of sun and shade), and on the verandah in the winter (choosing a spot out of the wind and rain).

The garden was the only place where she would lie in the open (preferably in the long grass) as she usually preferred to have something solid on one side of her (a wall, tree trunk etc), once again following her feral instincts. These photos (one per year from 2011-2021) show The Cat’s favourite napping places.

During our first summer, The Cat sought the company of her son Ana Half-Tail and they would take their siesta together in the garden, under the citrus trees.

The Cat was an exceptionally long cat, and her colours blended so well with the dried olive leaves which she liked to lie on in the garden.

Classic behaviour from The Cat, as Ana used to like to nap in this trough. Of course, that made it even more attractive to her and she would while the afternoons away napping while Ana stood over her, wishing that staring would make her move so he could occupy it. Needless to say the plants had died long ago.

An afternoon nap on the windowsill in the drive. Other cats might have pushed the plant pots around to make more room, but not The Cat who was slender enough to lie in front of them with her legs hanging precariously over the edge of the sill.

Dreaming her dreams under the citrus trees in the garden, on a bed of dried olive leaves.

Striking a familiar pose on some old wooden boards which the cats loved, especially in damp weather when the wood dried out faster than the ground. The Cat was more of a summer person, and tried to avoid the worst of the damp and cold weather.

Fast asleep in the drive. Just over the wall was the garden with comfortable boxes and cushy grass, and the verandah for added shelter, but no – The Cat preferred this corner of the drive, lying on top of the old leaves and brushed up rubbish, with her head on a stone. Surely that cannot have been comfortable!

Overall, this was The Cat’s favourite box in the garden as it gave her 360° vision of the comings and goings of other cats without her having to do more than lift her head and look around. The cats loved these upturned greengrocer’s boxes with their hardboard bases, as the damp weather made them flexible and they moulded themselves into the shape of whoever was lying on them (a sort of feline equivalent of memory foam). Despite The Cat’s coat thickening up over the years, she was still as skinny as ever underneath and a sympathetically-shaped box must have been a big bonus for her.

This was The Cat’s favourite private corner of the garden, with the vine above, its long grass, and walls on two sides, giving shelter from the elements but still allowing the afternoon sun to come through. Here, The Cat gave birth to The Furries (Whitefur, Greyfur and Blackfur) on a sunny spring day at the end of March one year.

Yes, of course it was comfortable. Of all the places in the garden, The Cat chose to lie on top of an irrigation pipe complete with taps, on top of chunky bark spread under one of the citrus trees – what could be more cosy and soft?

The Cat enjoying the sunshine during her last spring in the garden. The long grass gave her privacy, and being an older lady who was more interested in napping than adventuring (or so we thought…), she had several of these ‘nests’ where she would doze the day away.

Of course we were proved wrong when we lost The Cat on the road that spring. It seemed that she was not wiling her dotage away in the garden as we thought, but out and about exploring, visiting the fields, and generally doing her everyday cattish stuff.