And, following on from yesterday’s post, if there is any doubt as to whether The Cat succumbed to the charms of the visiting grey gentlemen, here are four photos to prove she did, namely kittens Tabby, The Cat’s son Pedal, daughter Big Bang, and son Greyfur.

Firstborn was Tabby, litter-mate to Ginge, Blackie and Splodge (whose colours are explained by their names). The Cat and her family were not yet friendly so we didn’t know whether The Cat’s kittens were male or female; the kittens spent their early weeks in the fields and The Cat brought them to the garden for weaning.

Next was Pedal, brother to Ratchet and Sprocket (who were both calico girls). Pedal had some lovely grey tabby marbled markings, and bright white fur. From an early age he made it his job to protect his mother and sisters and guard the garden, something he did very well and with much bravery for a young cat.

The first grey-and-white tabby daughter for The Cat (that we knew of) was Big Bang, who was sister to Orangiboom, Tippex and Prince. Orangiboom and Tippex were orange and white boys and grew up to be quite fluffy. Prince was a black kitten who, contrary to his name, turned out to be a girl. Big Bang had a white ‘scarf’ and grey marbled tabby markings and was very much a mummy’s girl.

And last but not least was Greyfur, a very handsome grey-and-white boy whose markings were more mackerel than marbled. He grew into a big, strong cat but, despite his size, remained graceful and lithe. He had a gentle character and was not a fighter, making his home in the fields on the other side of the road in later years.

The fur patterns of these grey-and-white sons and daughters of The Cat were all different and mostly included some tawny in addition to the grey and white, probably inherited from The Cat’s tortoiseshell genes.

And so we learnt that, while The Cat’s preference was for orange gentlemen, she could be swayed by the likes of Mr Grey, Kbir, Mr Tiffin and Pikabu.