Mr Tiffin arrived as an up-and-coming feral alpha-male. At that time, most of the alpha-males were orange (much to The Cat’s delight), and it was The Cat’s daughter Sprocket who fell for the charms of the handsome newcomer. He was mature but still young; he had beautiful peppermint green eyes, a steady gaze and a certain confidence, and he and Sprocket enjoyed spending time together. We first named him The Boyfriend.

Sprocket’s boyfriend started to visit regularly. He came to eat in the garden and the drive; if there were no orange cats around, The Cat was happy to nap with him nearby – maybe she thought it was useful to have a spare gentleman around the garden, or maybe she was vetting her daughter’s love interest. Either way, he was welcome in The Cat’s Garden and obviously felt relaxed there.

The Boyfriend continued to come to eat, even after we had sadly lost Sprocket on the road and, in her absence, we renamed him Mr Tiffin.

He had worked his way up the ladder by now and grown bigger and stronger; he was one of the alpha-males of the neighbourhood, and the only grey-and-white tabby.

Despite being younger and not as chunky a build as some of the other alpha-males of the orange variety, Mr Tiffin seemed to have earned their respect and was treated as one of them. It was always a surprise to see two males together, as G7 and Mr Tiffin are here, within striking distance of each other and yet (reasonably) at ease … although of course everything could change in the twinkling of an eye.

Of course there were confrontations, and Mr Tiffin’s nose would often bear the scars of an unfriendly meeting with another male. But, like The Cat’s son Ana, Mr Tiffin seemed to choose his fights wisely, although there were times when you could only feel sorry for his nose.

Seven weeks after Sprocket’s demise, a little voice whispered in a human ear that November 5th was Mr Tiffin’s birthday and he might appreciate some munchie-crunchies outside the front door. The humans took heed of this message and snacks were provided for, and enjoyed by, Mr Tiffin. In fact, snacks continued to be provided for him daily and, from this point, feeding and water bowls were placed in the front path (in addition to those already in the drive and garden), something that continued for the rest of the humans’ stay at that property.

Mr Tiffin continued to visit and retained his place in the alpha-male pecking order for a couple of years before he disappeared. He had probably contributed to the local feral cat gene pool and his descendants were no doubt part of later families in The Cat’s garden, carrying on his tradition of an afternoon nap on our neighbours’ aviary, followed by supper in the garden.