There were two things that made this a landmark year in The Cat’s life. Firstly, she gave birth to her kittens in the garden for the first time; she chose a dark and private spot, under some olive branches in the shade. And secondly, a few days later, The Cat’s kittens were joined by Sprocket’s. They each had two orange or orange/white kittens, and one grey-and-white. The runt of The Cat’s litter was Prince who was black, and the runt of Sprocket’s litter was Snopake who was a very dilute calico and almost white.

Both mothers spent the first two weeks of their family’s life in the garden before moving to the first floor terrace for a fortnight. After that, they all went back to the garden so the kittens could start weaning. They were one big family, nursed by both mothers and living the life of colony cats and kittens.

The fights between Ana Half-Tail, Warrior Cat, King of the Culvert and Mr Grey (now renamed The Evil Grey) had continued through the autumn, and before the kittens were born, Ana had headed off into the fields, ready to set up his own colony where he would be the undisputed boss.

The Evil Grey disappeared around the same time, leaving the coast clear for other males, both mature and up-and-coming.

So we started to see more of the other feral cats from the fields who started to visit more often; times were a-changing.