The Cat was an excellent mother and her kittens were brought up in a loving environment, but, outside of motherhood, she was not an overtly affectionate cat. There were few other cats whose company she sought; for most other cats, being tolerated by her was compliment enough, and she was quick to make it known if someone was unwelcome in the garden.

Sprocket was the first of The Cat’s daughters to reach adulthood and still be living in the garden. The Cat had remained close to Sprocket and her brother, Pedal, during their first year, and they stuck together as a family unit. The Cat and Sprocket spent a lot of their time in the garden, eating together but going their separate ways for some of the day.

As soon as the first pod arrived in the garden, The Cat claimed it as her own. The humans, by now well-trained by the cats, placed a box adjacent so Sprocket could be close to her mother (and, without delay, placed an order for another two pods).

It seemed that, even when Sprocket was feeling quite grown up, she was never too old to have her face washed by her mother. Allogrooming was something that they continued doing even after the arrival of their kittens.

The Cat and Sprocket surprised us by combining their kittens (born within a few days of each other) into a single colony that spring, nursing and mothering them together. The first two weeks of the kittens’ lives were spent in the garden. Then Sprocket carried the kittens to the first floor terrace where there was a pile of recently-pruned olive branches. The Cat installed herself under the branches at the very back, and, apart from coming out for food and water, remained hidden for a full week, nursing the runts of their litters. Sprocket supervised the stronger kittens’ first wobbly steps and forays into the daylight and, once all the kittens were strong enough to leave the den, The Cat emerged.

After a fortnight on the terrace, the kittens were transported by Sprocket back down to the garden for weaning to commence, but even on the first day of weaning, the mothers made time to eat together (once the kittens had eaten their first solid food and fallen asleep, worn out by the exertions of their day).

The Cat and Sprocket had been close before they formed their colony, and bringing up their kittens together had brought them even closer. Even when the kittens could be left on their own for short periods, their mothers chose to spent their ‘time off’ together.

Allogrooming continued to be important, but in a larger, family group with various kittens pushing in between The Cat and Sprocket, vying for attention.

A few years previously, it would have been inconceivable that The Cat would team up with someone. She had always been such a capable yet solitary feral, and it was quite touching to see her with Sprocket, dispensing and receiving love and affection with her family.