Spring-cleaning for cats? Well, probably not! but maybe because it was spring and the grass was longer and covered in dew, the cats liked to sit in an elevated position to have their after-breakfast wash. On a nice morning, they would head for boxes in different areas of the garden after they’d finished eating, and have a good wash in the sun.

Their toilette was a very personal thing, something that took complete concentration (and quite a lot of time!) and here are six photos, all taken within the space of a few weeks one spring, showing the Garden Family having a good wash.

Here Dandy Grey is clearly wondering how it’s possible for a cat to taste soooo good. Sometimes he even amazed himself.

Mini combining ‘oh no, not another photo’ with ‘please don’t come any closer’.

Raven had hit those teenage years when a boy’s thoughts turn to ladies, hair-gel and strutting their stuff.

Note Pippin’s skillful use of her back leg indicating that any request to share her box will be met with a sharp ‘no’.

Talk to the paw. Literally. Because for one day, and one day only, thanks to the shadow of the morning sun, there was a five-pawed cat in residence in The Cat’s garden.

Before you ask (because I know you will), if you put together all those seemingly randomly-placed cat body parts, you get one complete Moonstruck (and no left-over bits).

And there is was – spring-cleaning for cats.