In addition to the water tank on the verandah (which was one of The Cat’s favourite places for the morning sun), there were upturned plastic crates which made steps up to the tank via the garage windowsill for the less able cats, and fruit-and vegetable-boxes and a wooden shelf where the cats could nap and wash. There was also fresh water and food and plenty of pot plants to shelter the area from wind, rain and sun (or, if you’re a cat or kitten, to play in).

When the weather was really bad, the cats could be fed on the verandah – it was cramped and far from ideal, but at least they had somewhere under cover to eat.

So, if you’d like to join me for a tour around the verandah, we will start right now…

The boxes in the corner where Dandy Grey was trying to sleep were The Cat’s favourite boxes on the verandah as they were tucked round the return in the blockwork and sheltered from the wind and rain, but still meant she could keep an eye on what was going on in the garden.

Through the small gate down a step, there was a square metre or so of rough ground which was used by mothers with kittens as a little playground as the step up was too high for the kittens to manage. I named it The Nursery End (cricket lovers will understand).

The cats and kittens loved the green-grocer’s boxes (usually stacked double to keep them off the ground), as Mini’s kittens Bubble and Squeak were demonstrating here.

Continuing anti-clockwise, this shelf on the back wall of the verandah was a favourite in really bad weather. Here Lychee and Swift are sleeping on it; it was surprising how many cats would squeeze on here when it was raining.

And to the left of the shelf were green plastic farmers’ crates which formed steps to access the top of the water tank (via a windowsill, if needed). Satsuma is our model here, with her stumpy tail. The brown bowls contained bottled water but there was also water from the well in little pails, so the cats had a choice as they did between wet and dry food.

The header photo shows Cheese on the plastic crates.

And at the front of the verandah where it stepped down into the garden were plant pots which were ideal for playful cats like Tumbleweed to hide, ready to pounce on the next cat to wind their way in between the plant pots on their way to the verandah.

The verandah wasn’t a large area, but it had a lovely atmosphere, and it provided shelter both from the wind and rain, and from the sun when it was high in the sky, which made it a perennial favourite with the cats.