The Cat enjoyed motherhood. She never seemed unduly impatient with her kittens and was content in their company even after weaning and into adulthood. But this wasn’t the case with all the females; some had much stronger mothering instincts than others, and no two females brought up their kittens in identical fashion.

Souci was The Cat’s first grand-kitten and the sole survivor of Flora’s first litter. Flora was a very protective mother until Souci was around three months old when Flora felt her mothering duties were complete and resumed her single life. Luckily, Cracker adopted Souci as a companion for Clover, her remaining kitten, as his brother Dandelion and sister Daisy had recently passed away with a virus.

As she grew up, Souci developed a particularly strong mothering instinct and, when she became a big sister to Pippin, Black Tulip, Brunel, Mango, Calypso and Vi, Souci could often be spotted kitten-sitting her younger brother and sisters while their mother Flora was out of the garden (in this photo, Souci is pictured with Calypso and Mango).

And Souci’s adoptive brother Clover was similarly inclined, acting a kitten-sitter to his little step-brothers and sisters and encouraging them to eat at the food bowls when it was time for weaning. This photo shows Clover with kittens Brunel (just visible at the top), Vi, Mango and Calypso.

(And the header photo shows Clover cuddled up with Pippin, and Souci with Calypso.)

The following year, Calypso took on a similar role when she also became a big sister. She helped her mother Flora with kittens Buffy, Dandy Grey, Swift, Checkers and Satsuma, often cuddling up with them as an extended family group. Here you can see Flora on the left with Calypso on the right, and Buffy, Checkers and Dandy Grey cuddled up between them.

And history repeated itself the following year when Pippin did the same for her mother, Flora. Sadly, Pippin’s kittens were born prematurely and didn’t make it, but a few days later Pippin’s milk came through and she was able to help her mother by nursing her own little brothers and sisters (as well as adopting Fortunato, one of Mini’s kittens, as her own), lessening the burden on Flora and strengthening the bond between Pippin and her younger siblings.