The Furriquin kittens grew up in the fields and the garden. In general, female feral cats don’t roam as far as the males and tend to make their homes close to their food source to make life easier when they are rearing their families, and maybe this was why Storm, Dawn and Dusk Furriquin, Twilight’s three female kittens, decided to make The Cat’s garden their home.

They were growing up fast and Storm was the first to have a litter. She brought her son, Tumbleweed, up in the fields; he had a thick, fluffy, grey coat and a stump for a tail where it had been damaged as a kitten.

Tumbleweed grew up into a fine young cat and become a member of the Garden Family, dividing his time between the fields and the garden.

Dusk was very similar to her mother, Twilight, in appearance – maybe a little lighter in colour and a touch more white, but the same brindle tortoiseshell colouring overall.

Dawn was a calico cat. She was less bonded to Twilight than was Dusk, and grew into a good hunter, honing her skills in the fields.

Dawn had her first litter in the fields and brought them into the garden for weaning when they were a few weeks old. Sadly Swallow didn’t live for very long, but Cetti, Linnet and Raven remained, and made the garden their home.

The following year, Dawn had another litter in the fields and, once again, brought them to the garden when the time was right for weaning. Sadly they were not strong and Sherpa was the only survivor; unlike the previous year, Dawn was not a keen mother and soon decided that her parenting days were over. Her visits to her son became shorter and shorter and he was left alone for most of the time.

As a result, Sherpa’s health started to decline to the point where we were worried for his survival, so I placed him with Cheese, a female who had seemed tolerant of him, in the hope that she would accept him and finish raising him. Thankfully the plan worked – within four days, Cheese had taught Sherpa how to eat solids and drink water, she had cleaned him up and shown him how to groom himself, and was encouraging him through play to interact with the other cats and kittens in the garden. Thanks to Cheese, Sherpa grew up into a fine young cat.

So the Furriquin name lived on and Furrileesa’s legacy continued.