Lightning came to the garden as a solitary kitten of only a few weeks old. There were no clues as to where he had come from or why he was on his own, but he seemed entranced by the fields. Despite being too small to negotiate the walls and jumps needed to get to the field, he would lie on the high wall and stare out over the fields, scanning the rows of crops and hedgerows.

As soon as he was big and strong enough, he started going out, exploring the fields methodically in different directions as though he was looking for his original home. He would start off from the well-head where the cats jumped into the first field, and take a different direction each day, striking out in a straight line, then returning from the same direction later. He was searching for something, but what it was, we had no idea.

And that was how Lightning came to get stranded in the fields during the first torrential rain of the autumn season. When he set out up the drive before jumping over the wall, the weather was fine and sunny, but it was set to change, and quickly.

At the end of the long, hot summer the ground was like concrete and, when the heavens opened that afternoon, the rain flowed over the top like a river. Lightning had probably taken shelter in a hedgerow on the edge of a field when the water came flooding down, leveling the terraces and carrying stones and undergrowth with it. Luckily, Lightning was unhurt and, when the rain stopped, he found his way back to the garden for dinner.

He was not a happy little cat, and it was hardly surprising. He was caked in mud (he had obviously been swept through the vegetation by the torrent of rain) and his tail was between his legs. But at least he was back home, although it was concerning that he did not have an appetite after his big adventure. The following day he was looking much cleaner, but his tail was still between his legs and he looked completely miserable. And then the humans realised that he was unable to move his tail because it was actually stuck to his rear end with stickyweed, which he must have slid over in the hedgerows. Stickyweed has a similar effect to double-sided tape, and his tail was firmly glued to his rear end.

After a few attempts by the humans to grab the end of the weed (which was now sticking out), one of the humans got lucky and, with a judicious tug, the weed was pulled out of his fur and Lightning’s tail was freed off. The relief was palpable for everyone and Lightning was quickly back to his usual happy self, having a good wash and filling his belly with a bowl of food.

It didn’t stop him heading out into the fields, however, and eventually he did find what he was looking for and left the garden for his new home.