The Cat’s daughters Ratchet and Sprocket spent their early weeks with brother Pedal in the fields, until The Cat decided it was time for weaning.

Step one was for The Cat to introduce them to the food and water bowls in the drive, accessed by jumping or clambering from the wellhead in the field onto the wall, and down into the drive.

Step two was for The Cat to show her family that there was also food and water available in the humans’ front path – this was trickier.

The Cat was an ambitious mother and her kittens were naturally curious. Many mothers would have dissuaded such small kittens from following them, but one day The Cat allowed Sprocket to follow her to the path. They walked up the steep driveway, through the big gate, a few steps along the pavement, and through the small gate into the front path. There they found the food and water bowls, and The Cat jumped nimbly up onto the wall, using the plant pots as steps. Sprocket was enjoying her adventure and followed her mother, marveling at the panoramic view over the fields.

And then The Cat suddenly jumped back down into the path and dashed back to the drive, leaving her daughter on her own. This was The Cat’s tough love parenting method – she had done this before, taking kittens out into the fields and leaving them to work out for themselves how to get back home.

But Sprocket was confused. She wailed and cried. She could see her mother a long way down in the drive, but she couldn’t work out how to get there. The Cat stared unhelpfully up at her tiny daughter. It hadn’t occurred to Sprocket that she had to go in the opposite direction to the end of the path before turning back down into the drive; all she could see was her family far below.

And, getting more and more distressed, and not knowing how to get back to them, Sprocket jumped.

It was a huge jump for such a small kitten, and Sprocket hurt one of her back legs as she landed but, after a couple of days resting and recovering, she was back to normal.

A few weeks later, Ratchet followed her mother into the path. Like Sprocket, Ratchet was entranced by the view (and the plant pots – it was a recurring theme with the girls this year).

But Ratchet wasn’t given to panicking like Sprocket. She took her time and worked out that she had to jump down into the path and go through the gate to get back into the drive, which she did safely with all four paws on the ground.

The plant pot on the corner held some fascination for the cats; adults and kittens alike would nap in there, enjoying the afternoon sun opposite the front door. Over the years, no one fell out accidentally into the drive to our knowledge – something which never failed to amaze us.