Visitor Cat was one of the first female cats to come to The Cat’s garden in search of food and water. She came from a garden across the fields where cats were also fed, and roamed the fields in between.

From the moment that Visitor Cat placed her first paw in The Cat’s Garden, The Cat knew that she disliked Visitor intensely. One Day 1, The Cat chased her out of the garden at full speed – an unusual sight for two female cats whose preferred speed was a sedate stroll.

After that, Visitor ate on top of the wall and relaxed on a plant ledge – so long as her paws did not touch the ground, The Cat was mollified.

The following year, Visitor gave birth to her kittens in the fields but sadly lost her daughter, Wee Tortie, a few weeks later. There must have been intense negotiations the following night, because the next morning, Visitor had moved into the garden with her remaining kitten (who we named Tiger). Visitor was initially nervous and stayed off the grass as much as possible.

It seemed that The Cat had allowed Visitor the use of the strip of grass adjacent to the wall and, when local male Longtail moved in as the protector of Visitor and Tiger for a few days, Visitor relaxed and soon the garden was being shared quite amicably.

As soon as Tiger was independent, Visitor moved out of the garden, leaving Tiger to continue living there as a younger member of The Garden Family.

The following year, Visitor once again raised her kittens in the fields. Sadly Biscuit was killed by a pack of dogs, but this time, twins Cheese and Cracker and their brother T were already old enough to move into the garden on their own, and join The Garden Family.

And then history sadly repeated itself. Visitor’s next kittens She-Girl 1, She-Girl 2 and He-Boy were born in the fields, but sadly He-Boy was killed – this time on the road.

The two remaining kittens were still young and needed to be with their mother, so once again The Cat allowed the family to come into the garden, this time giving them the run of the verandah.

This time, it was Visitor’s older son T who moved into the garden as their protector. As soon as She-ba and Fennel (as they were now called) were weaned, Visitor once again left, but this time the girls left with her, making their home back in the fields and visiting the garden occasionally.

As The Cat got older, she mellowed a little in her attitude to the other females, although there were two in the following years (namely Kiwi and then Phantom) who The Cat would simply not tolerate. It seemed that Visitor was not the first female not to be welcomed in the garden, and neither would she be the last.