There were many combinations of tortoiseshell and calico colours evident in the fur colouring of The Cat’s daughters. The feature which over half of these kittens inherited was The Cat’s trademark black eye patch, with the balance of white, black and orange fur varying from kitten to kitten (and occasionally being diluted as well).

The first calico kitten we saw was Splodge. The colours and patterns of colours on her face were very like The Cat’s including the black eye patch, but bodily she was predominantly white, with orange and black patches – definitely a calico cat rather than a tortoiseshell.

And then there were Fickle, Fleckle and Drip – three tortoiseshell/calico kittens in one litter, and all completely different. Fickle’s colours were more muted. The black had become grey and the orange diluted, and she was blessed with amazing pointy ears which made her look rather like a fennec fox.

Her sister Drip was quite like The Cat; she had the black eye patch and facial colouring, but still overall had a little more white than her mother – a very traditional tortoiseshell.

Fleckle was different again, a dark tortoiseshell with a longer coat and her mother’s big paws, inheriting the darker colours from her mother’s coat but still with some white patches. Whereas Fickle had markedly pointed ears, Fleckle’s flamboyant whiskers were what you noticed first.

Between Fleckle and Drip, they probably embodied all of The Cat’s features.

Next came Ratchet and Sprocket. Ratchet again had the black mask and her mother’s facial features but was bodily a lot more white.

Sprocket had more white and orange fur, and the black tended towards charcoal. She didn’t have the mask, but her orange fur was just the same shade as Ratchet’s and they blended well when they cuddled up together.

And The Cat’s last tortoiseshell/calico daughter was Flora. Once again there was the black eye patch, but with more white overall. The black was coal black, and the white was bright – Flora was a cat of contrasts and, in some ways, this matched her character as she matured as she was a cat of very strong likes and dislikes (most of the dislikes being aimed towards the humans, for some reason we will never know).

It seemed the variety was infinite, and the more you look at them, the more differences you see. None of the kittens were identical to each other, and none replicated exactly their mother’s features; they were a lovely mix-and-match of calico and tortoiseshell colours, and their characters were equally as various.