The Cat’s sons, Part II.

The following year, The Cat and her daughter Sprocket gave birth within a few days of each other and combined their litters into a single colony.

The Cat had four kittens – two girls, and two boys (who were both orange and white). Oranjiboom was the biggest of the litter, a solidly-built fluffy boy with big paws and white toes.

Tippex was quite different in appearance, being more athletic and with more white fur than his brother. Oranjiboom was docile and friendly; Tippex was not. His attitude shone through, even in photographs.

At the age of 11 weeks, our local SPCA arranged for them to go together to their forever home in another village where they lived happy and fulfilling lives, coming and going as they pleased. We were delighted that they had stayed together, continuing their adventures in a different part of the island.

Two years later, The Cat gave birth to three kittens in the garden. Two were boys – Greyfur (a grey-and-white tabby) and Blackfur (who was tuxedo).

They were completely different in character as well as in appearance. Greyfur grew into a solidly built, powerful cat, with a deceptively gentle demeanour. Blackfur remained leaner, but all the same powerful; he was an intuitive and sensitive cat with the ability to reason things through. With their sister Whitefur, they grew up in and around The Cat’s garden, making their homes in the fields and returning for food and water.

And Furrileesa was the only male kitten from The Cat’s final litter. With Flora as his littermate, Furrileesa (who was completely black) grew up in the fields and the garden but was always frail and only lived for four or five months.

So, despite The Cat’s soft spot for orange gentlemen, her sons (that we knew of) tallied three orange, three tuxedo, two grey/white and one black, all of whom were as loveable as each other in their own different ways.